Sansa offers a fresh breeze of new acoustic folk-pop on Texicalli Records with her self- titled release, out now. She is an up-and-coming artist hailing from Helsinki, Finland. Drawing from a wide variety of influences, her sound is characterised by its direct approach and a natural way of showcasing the talented singer-songwriter’s persona. Although drawn into the world of sounds and music already as a teen, it was not before Sansa turned 20 that she started to concentrate in her music more seriously. She started studying music and consuming it obsessively, with an equal love of simple blues, all kinds of jazz, soulful folk/pop/soul, Finnish good old folkie, Debussy and even operettos. Like the tracks on her new album go to show, what Sansa has transformed this all into is a delightful bag of surprises, staying true to her own voice all through the album’s down- home groove of ten original compositions. From the opener and Sansa’s self-proclaimed favourite track ‘Sorry My Love’ via the rootsy groove of ‘Nectar’ to the dreamy pop of closing track ‘Is It You’, the album meanders along with a momentum not often belonging to a record of an artist just getting started on their solo career. That being said, Sansa has already made a strong impression on the live scene by opening for acts such as Robert Plant, Genesis, Katie Melua and Bryan Adams. In addition to being active as a guitarist and singer, songwriter, and also as an arranger on the album, Sansa has gathered a potent group of innovative colleagues around her. Producer Janne Oinas’ name is a regular find on the credits of recent Finnish pop masterpieces, guitarist Miika Colliander is familiar to many due to his work with Husky Rescue, and drummer Tatu Rönkkö holds the seat of many an accomplished contemporary jazz ensemble. According to musical sources of inspiration, Sansa reports “life in general” as being high on her “favourite artists” list: people, countries, movies, nature and sudden encounters are just examples of themes that shine through on Sansa’s new album. While somewhat self- explanatory, these references perhaps indicate why the talented artist can boast such a mature take on her art. By keeping things simple and inserting enough of her own soul into the music, Sansa succeeds in one of the most difficult things in the business: sounding like herself.