Sally Crosby is a British singer-songwriter who grew up in rural Mid Wales. A ukulele, piano and acoustic guitar-based singer-songwriter, her songs are honest and raw, impassioned and emotive. She started out in music at the tender age of five years old learning the piano, a few years later and she’d taken up the violin and the clarinet.
Fast forward to Sally’s second EP ‘All I Seem to Know How to Do Is Write Songs About You’ which she released in April 2017 and is heavily ukulele based. So far Sally has received radio support, played a host of shows and sessions that focus on promoting under-the-radar talent, such as: Oak Sessions, The Narrowboat Sessions and Sofar Sessions. Sally’s singles “Good Enough” and “Beautiful” were released 2019 and 2020 respectively. In December 2021 Sally released her first Christmas single, “Like Christmas“.
In this interview spotlight, I chat with Sally Crosby about the music, adapting during lock downs, technology and more.
Full Q&A along with links and music below.
Where are you from and how do You describe your style of music?
Hi! I’m from Mid Wales and my music is primarily acoustic singer-songwriter music.
How did you get here? As in, what inspired or motivated you to take on this journey through music and the music biz?
I’ve always loved being creative, creativity and communication were the hallmarks of my favourite studies growing up. I started studying piano at the age of 5 or 6, shortly after the clarinet and violin followed. I was the leader of my youth orchestra studying A Level Music and then went on to study Music and Creative Writing at university. I did a dissertation in songwriting. It wasn’t until after graduating that I released my first single but my first choice career wise was to become a singer-songwriter from about the age of 14!
How does your latest project compare/contrast with your previous release(s)? Were you setting out to accomplish anything specific, follow a specific theme, or explore different styles of creation?
So far I have 2 EPs out and a few singles. My latest project is a rerelease. I wasn’t happy with the recordings and took them down, but since then I’ve realised these tracks should be heard. So “Bucket of Leaves” from 2014 is back up on streaming platforms etc. as of March of this year. The two EPs are quite different in terms of instrumentation. “Bucket of Leaves” is primarily acoustic guitar based, and “All I Seem to Know How to Do Is Write Songs About You” is ukulele-based. Both include piano tracks too however. I learnt to play guitar before the ukulele so “All I Seem” is me experimenting with this new instrument. All tracks are based on my own experience, and both EPs deal with love, loss and heartbreak.
Name the biggest challenge you faced as a creative during these unprecedented? How did you adapt? How have you kept the creative fires burning during all this?
I’ve struggled with anxiety for quite some time now. I don’t have the confidence to play live any more! Haven’t played live since before the pandemic! However, I’ve kept the “creative fires burning” by regularly uploading to my YouTube channel. I upload mostly “live style” videos, of both original and cover songs.
What was the last song you listened to?
“Sad Bops” playlist on Spotify
Which do you prefer? Vinyl? 8-tracks? Cassettes? CDs? MP3s? Streaming platforms?
Spotify! I have a record player, tape and CD player but primarily just use Spotify!
Where is the best place to connect with you and follow your journey?
http://www.youtube.com/sallycrosbymusic
http://www.facebook.com/sallycrosbymusic
http://www.twitter.com/UnpRfect
http://www.soundcloud.com/sally_c
