Radio Milwaukee LOVES Say She She. That goes for our listeners, our entire staff and (maybe most of all) our members.
Every time the discodelic trio visit for a Studio Milwaukee Session, we send our members-only invites and count the seconds until the room is at capacity. This rare Saturday session was no exception, as a standing-room-only crowd turned out for a dose of perfect harmonies and choreography — with a twist.
Founding member Nya Gazelle Brown was taking a breather to celebrate her daughter’s very first birthday, so Say She She teammates Sabrina Cunningham and Piya Malik called in a more-than-capable pinch-hitter: Alecia Chakour, a longtime friend of the group who has never hesitated to step in when needed. In fact, having Alecia waiting in the wings isn’t a luxury; it’s a necessity.
“It's just an amazing feeling to know that we're supporting more women in music and that means having kind of joint roles,” Malik explained during the mid-set interview. “We've always advocated for joint leadership structures, and even women political leaders should be able to job-share. [It’s] a thing that we really believe in, and it should happen in the music business, too.”
Respecting the work-life balance is just one brick in the strong foundation Say She She is built on. Having that in place makes it possible for them to transmit joy consistently and genuinely, with Saturday’s session just one example. Their voices rang out from the stage, each one getting a chance to shine (most brightly on “Chapters”) while also merging seamlessly throughout the set that pulled from their most recent release, Cut & Rewind.
Laying down any album isn’t easy, but the logistical calisthenics are even more taxing for a hard-touring group like Say She She. “Whenever we had a free moment, we'd kind of all plan to be in the studio,” Cunningham recalled. “So I think the title track off of the album is definitely autobiographical in that way where it's like, you know, cut and rewind — grind, grind, cut and rewind.”
“By the way,” Malik added, “getting into the studio requires flying everyone to L.A. And we might have been in Saigon or in the south of France or Spain. We've been traveling around the world a lot — relentlessly really — for the last three years. And I say relentlessly because it is a grind, but it's also this amazing feeling knowing that our songs and our message and what we do is hopefully spreading joy.”
Studio MKE: Say She She set list
- “Disco Life”
- “Chapters”
- “Cut & Rewind”
