Spotlight On... Saint Sappho

Glasgow queer duo Saint Sappho are fiercely DIY when it comes to their music – they write, record, mix and produce everything themselves, and even create their own music videos. When they formed in 2022, Tammy Dyson was so committed to the idea of the project that she learned to play the drums so she could back partner, singer and multi-instrumentalist Zoe Young. Since then, the pair have released their debut EP Green Door, as well as a clutch of singles, including End Of the World which came out on Glasgow label Optimo Music Rocks. 

At the end of September, to mark the one-year anniversary of the passing of Dyson’s mum, the pair released M.A.D., a beautiful and floaty 90s-indebted indie track navigating the mysteries of the afterlife. The way people process grief varies greatly from person to person, but ultimately it’s about remembrance, and with M.A.D., Saint Sappho have created something everlasting. Following its release, and ahead of some live shows, we catch up with the pair to find out more.

You formed as a band in 2022 – Zoe already a musician, Tammy devoted to learning to play the drums. What made you want to start a band together and what were those early days like where you were just figuring stuff out?
Zoe Young: I was writing and recording a lot of original music but not performing as I didn’t have a band. Tammy was pretty ambitious and really wanted to push me to play live, which inspired her to learn the drums so she could play with me. We had an electric drum kit in the house which Tammy just started to play and eventually, we started to play together, it was all so natural. At first we didn’t make a plan, we just practiced together and once we thought we sounded okay we officially made Saint Sappho.

We played our first live gig when our friend Dayydream was doing a show and asked us to support her. I had some live experience but it was Tammy’s first time and we were both so nervous – but this was a huge part of us figuring out how we would do this live, and from then we auditioned other session players to play with us for live shows. We spent over a year building up our live experience and now, finally, we are happy with where we’re at. It was a lot of figuring out how to make our recordings translate well live, which just comes with experience playing live and making lots of mistakes. It helps as well that we have two great session musicians that play with us, both called Jack: Jack on lead guitar and Jack on bass.

There’s a nostalgic vibe to your music that feels very much rooted in the 90s. Who/what inspires your music making?
Both: We both love 90s music – Britpop and trip-hop has been really influential recently. Artists such as Moby, Massive Attack, The Verve and Portishead are some of our favourites. It’s hard to pinpoint exactly what is the inspirational thing as it varies depending on what is going on in our lives at that time, so I suppose, life is the inspiration – usually the harder parts of it and existentialist questions.

I love that you write, record and self-produce all of your music – what’s the process like, and what advice would you give to others thinking about doing the same?
ZY: Mostly I will pick up the guitar and sing and the whole song will come out at once – music and lyrics, then we build the rest of the song around this. For the production part we sit down together and experiment until we like what we're hearing. It’s our favourite part of the process because you get such an amazing feeling when a song comes together and starts to sound the way you want it. We’ve got our own ‘studio’ setup at home, which is minimal, but it works, probably because it’s a very relaxing environment and there’s no pressure. My advice to others is to not overthink it, just record your ideas – even on your phone – and don’t delete anything, because going back to a song one week later can totally change your opinion.

Your latest single, M.A.D., is a beautiful tribute to Tammy’s mum, who sadly passed away last year. Why was it important for you to write this song and can you tell us more about it? And more about your mum, if you feel you can?
Tammy Dyson: I picked up the guitar one day and played a melody, I’m not sure why but I just felt there was something special in it, so me and Zoe started producing the song and recording the rest. The lyrics just came naturally; at the time I didn’t even realise it was about my mum. I think that’s the case with all our songs, we don’t realise the narrative until we reflect afterwards. Then the title of the song M.A.D is actually my mum's initials, so that was a little reference to her as well.

After sharing the song, it was really nice to hear from others how they connected with it, and how their experiences of grief allowed them to relate. All our songs derive from personal real life experiences which ultimately allows people to relate and share the same raw experiences. My mum was a wonderful human, it is hard without her, she was a single parent and really tried to make sure my sister and I had a good life, I am really grateful for everything she did for us. I think she would definitely be proud though.

I’d also love to know more about the accompanying music video too, which I believe you also devised and shot yourselves – what was the idea behind it?
TD: It works out so well because Zoe specialises in everything audible, and I specialise in everything visual. I graduated last year from Glasgow School of Art, which helped me explore the more surreal and conceptual themes within my work. This is something I incorporated into this music video, hence the wings and the cube we made; I love conveying ideas and notions through symbolism. For me, the cube we made sort of represented death and life simultaneously, which informs the lyrics and overall narrative.  

What does the rest of the year, and in fact 2025 look like for Saint Sappho?
SS: We’ve got a few upcoming shows: 12 October at Nice N Sleazy’s with Dog Unit, 22 October at The Drill in Lincoln with Bernard Butler, 23 October at The Hug & Pint with Ferri and the Fevers, 7 November at The Rum Shack with Wishy.

We will be recording a live session with some other great musicians for our song Fade Away. We will continue to write, record and release throughout the rest of the year with our record label Optimo Music Rocks and into 2025. Our plan is to release an album – available on vinyl – in 2025.

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M.A.D. is out now
Saint Sappho play Nice N Sleazy, Glasgow, 12 Oct; The Drill, Lincoln, 22 Oct; The Hug & Pint, Glasgow, 23 Oct; The Rum Shack, Glasgow, 7 Nov

Follow Saint Sappho on Instagram @saintsappho_