Sasha Alex Sloan starts her day like most people do, with coffee in hand and a sense of quiet purpose. “Pretty much my routine every morning,” she says, smiling as she describes the ritual that keeps her grounded. For Sloan, even the simplest moments, like hunting for a Starbucks or wandering through a grocery store, carry an unexpected weight in her work. Everyday encounters, fleeting observations, and little signs on city streets often seed her songwriting.
It is in these ordinary spaces that Sloan’s creativity thrives. “When I’ve been home for a while I feel like, ‘Oh shit, I need to create again,’” she explains. “Being out of your usual comfort zone, even if it’s just walking somewhere new, makes you see things differently. That’s when the songs start.” Sloan’s approach flips the conventional “all work and no play” notion on its head. The moments most people overlook — an odd store display, a stranger’s comment, or the cadence of life passing by — become sparks for lyrics that are haunting, witty, and achingly relatable.
Even the mundane can be surreal. Sloan recalls eating at an Applebee’s in Georgia on a past tour, an experience she calls “spooky” in the way only a mid-range chain restaurant offering dollar cocktails for weeks can be. These small adventures, whether humorous or slightly absurd, feed into the emotional honesty of her music. She balances observation with reflection, seeing life as a collection of stories waiting to be transformed into song.
It is in these ordinary spaces that Sloan’s creativity thrives.
Downtime is another unexpected catalyst for her creativity. Sloan thrives on the tension between structure and leisure. “Uno, we’ve been binging Netflix, playing lots of video games,” she says. “Even when I’m home, books and shows help me grow creatively.” It is a reminder that inspiration does not only arrive in dramatic bursts but often lives quietly in the spaces where life unfolds normally.
Her voice, by contrast, is anything but ordinary. Sloan’s songs explore the ache, confusion, and humor of human emotion with disarming honesty. “I don’t know if I really have a process… It just happens. I know it’s the cheesiest answer ever,” she admits. Her songwriting emerges from lived experience, not strategy or calculated ambition. Pain, joy, and the messiness of relationships provide the raw material for songs that linger in listeners’ minds long after the first listen.
Sloan’s charm lies in her ability to be both extraordinary and approachable. She navigates fame without pretense, acknowledging her talent while staying firmly connected to what makes her human. “I’m just lucky that I have a voice that sounds ok,” she says, undercutting her own artistry with humor that feels genuine. Her confidence is quiet and unassuming, grounded in the simple reality of creating music that resonates.
In an age where pop often feels overproduced and emotionally distant, Sasha Alex Sloan’s work stands out. Her lyrics capture the universal uncertainty of modern life while never losing sight of the personal. She sees the world, feels it deeply, and then distills it into music that is both relatable and cathartic. “‘I’m not the only one who’s like, ‘what the fuck is going on?’” she says. That shared sense of vulnerability is what has endeared her to fans who find in her songs a mirror of their own emotional lives.
For Sloan, artistry is inseparable from living. The songs are not just work, but an ongoing conversation with the world around her, sparked by coffee runs, street signs, books, and quiet moments of reflection. It is a reminder that sometimes the most profound inspiration comes not from stages or spotlights, but from the everyday spaces where life quietly happens.
From the LYFSTYL original series - “On the Road.”
Originally posted in 2018 during the rollout of Loser Ep.
Words by Sam Farrell - Photography Anthony Caebero.