Say She She- “Discodelic” Soul !

Say She She / photo by Milton Arellano / courtesy of the artists

Nya Gazelle Brown, Piya Malik and Sabrina Mileo Cunningham are the driving forces behind “Say She She”, a Brooklyn based , all female  seven piece band. New York native Sabrina,  Piya , who is from the UK and Nya from the Washington DC Metro area, the three first came together in 2017 in New York City , where Piya and Sabrina lived in the same apartment building.   “We used to hear each other singing through the floorboards and very quickly made friends,” writes Sabrina. “A few years after that, we enlisted our close friend and Piya’s former collaborator – Nya – to join us as the third lead vocalist. The trio was formed!”  The three proclaim that their musical styles and interests vary greatly, which is the main reason for their wide range of sounds in their own projects. Their combined styles can be heard in their four singles released this year. 

On Stage photo by Veronica Lechuga / courtesy of the artists

Nya’s biggest musical insp iration came through encouragement from her Mom, who also was an artist. Aside from Minnie Ripperton, Al Green, Aretha Franklin and Stevie Wonder , Nya said her mom was her biggest cheerleader.  “My mom always encouraged and inspired me to pursue music, from the moment she recognized my love for it. I joined my first girl group at the age of 12, so that’s definitely influenced what I do today!”

Piya, who grew up listening to the opposite genres of Jazz, British rock and roll and Bollywood, also credits her family for her love of the craft, whereas Sabrina says the same of her background and influences. “I think all three of us grew up singing with other women in girl groups and choirs so that has clearly made us all extremely drawn to playing in a band with three part harmonies!,” writes Sabrina. “It’s so fun but also takes a lot of technique to transition from solo voice to blending.”

In The Studio / photo by Milton Arellano/ courtesy of the artists

While the range of genres they listened to growing up stretch through many styles, they have many influences in common, including the band Rotary Connection among others. Piya describes their range as  “from Bollywood, Funk, Soul, Psychedelic Rock to classical arias, Cumbia, Samba Rock, Japanese Synth Pop and Disco we love the amalgam! We actually describe our music as discodelic soul.”

One of the groups’ aims is to have their unique and self-coined genre of records scattered across multiple sections of the charts and stores.  The three are constantly moving about, with their most recent gig opening for fellow band and good friends, Chicano Batman. 

Their debut album Prism, which was mostly self produced, drops on September 23rd , where you can hear even more of their jaw dropping and transporting vocals.