Sarah Solovay has spent the majority of her life performing and creating music. Leading up to her 18th year, she had accomplished more than most seasoned musicians have by sharing the stage with John Mayer and Train, and also having once of her songs featured on the 90210 Soundtrack. But instead of pushing her career forward, Solovay made a bold move and step away from music to take time for herself and pursue a degree at Yale University. The time spent away from New York City and her personal music career allowed Solovay to mature and hone in on the aspects of music and art that made her fall in love with it in the first place.
Now, Solovay has stepped back into the musical world that raised her with a newfound sense of self and more determination than ever. Her quirky pop sound is none more realized than on the track “Trick Me” off her upcoming EP due out later this year. It’s a sound that straddles the boundaries of traditional, mainstream pop while also sounding authentic and raw like the songs of today’s indie pop artists.
“I wanted the original version of ‘Trick Me’ to feel light and whimsical, while still having a dark streak to it, just like the kind of relationship I was writing about–one that’s exciting and intoxicating but will eventually crash and burn,” Solovay explains. “In stripping it down and making it acoustic, I wanted to shift the emotion and reframe the song. I changed up the chords and instrumentation to capture the melancholy undertones of passing the point of no return with someone you know isn’t good for you. The pop version and the acoustic version are both emotionally honest to the song and my experiences–they’re two sides of the same coin.”
But while visiting Nashville, Solovay found herself inspired by the home of country music, which ultimately led her to recording a stripped down version of “Trick Me” and a few other songs. The songs from this session are appropriately referred to as The Nashville Sessions and were produced by Mike Shimshack at Joe West’s studio, The Barn.
“I think this version of ‘Trick Me’ captures an important part of my identity as an artist, and a part that people haven’t heard much of yet in my recordings,” Solovay says. “I grew up writing songs alone in my room on my acoustic guitar, and a lot of my songs still start out that way. As an artist, I feel like I’m always fusing my love of more current, fresh sounding pop music with my background as a more acoustic singer-songwriter. I’m excited about this version of ‘Trick Me’ because it really is a snapshot into my background and upbringing as a songwriter and an artist.”
The Nashville Sessions version of “Trick Me” pulls away the electronic and pop elements that exist in the original version to transparently showcase Solovay’s stunning vocals. When asked about her decision to record The Nashville sessions, Solovay said:
“I love Nashville! Music is a such a part of the culture and the people–everyone I’d meet would be somehow involved in the music world, and all the musicians were so incredibly talented and welcoming. This Nashville trip felt a little extra special, too, because I got to work with Mike Shimshack, who I’ve known since forever–he produced my first EP when I was 14, so it felt really full circle to be 22 and working together again on a totally new, totally different batch of songs.”
You can listen to both versions of “Trick Me” below.
