Say She She on disco as a form of political defiance: “It’s a happiness ‘in the midst of'”
Disco music tends to spark division among music fans. Depending on one’s perspective, the four-on-the-floor beats and funky rhythms are either perceived as a product of a superficial pursuit of commercial success or revered as one of the most infectious and significant musical styles of the past century. The core trio behind the memorable music of Say She She leans towards the latter viewpoint.
Hailing from disco ground-zero, within the concrete jungle of Brooklyn, New York, the band have been dishing out discodelic rhythms since their inception in 2019. Five years on and with two studio albums under their belt, including 2023’s Silver, which is inarguably one of the best releases of that year, Say She She has risen to the top of contemporary disco, even receiving the seal of approval from disco godfather Nile Rodgers.
Far away from the vibrant streets of Brooklyn, in a bedroom in West Yorkshire, I sat in the waiting room of a Zoom call waiting to meet the three women who had re-energised the world of disco. The usual pre-interview nerves were soon quashed when my laptop screen was filled with the smiling faces of Piya Malik, Sabrina Mileo Cunningham, and Nya Gazelle Brown. After immediately bonding with the London-born Piya over my Bradford accent, we descended into the nitty gritty of Say She She, disco history, and political activism.
What became immediately clear upon beginning to talk to the trio was the infallible friendship that bonded the band. Even over a video call, the obvious adoration that the three classically trained singers have for each other is clear to see. According to Malik, it is this friendship that acts as a guiding light for the group, saying, “Us three have this long history of musical sharing and digging in the crates together, hanging out the record shops, and, you know, sharing songs, singing, going to shows and friendship for years as well.”
“There’s so many things that inspire us, including each other,” Piya continued, “And that maybe sounds like a cop out. But I’m really so inspired every time these two start singing, I’m just like, ‘wow, what was that? That’s crazy’.”
The levels of love within the group are not exclusive to the core trio present on the Zoom call, with all three shouting out their backing band. From the way they spoke about the creation of Silver, it seemed as though the album arose from a beautiful menagerie of ideas and creativity within the studio. Speaking about that time, Malik explained, “It was almost like we were all sort of falling in love, and everyone could feel it. You couldn’t help the beaming smiles in the room when one person would chip in a little bit and an idea, and another one would build on it. And then all of a sudden, we just had a song a day.”
As Far Out claimed at the time, Silver was the perfect combatant to the drudgery and sadness that brought in the early years of this decade. The danceability and euphoria of the album is utterly infectious, but the album covers some pretty heavy topics, too. “There’s 16 songs on the album,” explains Sabrina, “So, you know, we touched on a lot of different topics across the record. A little bit of sexy love vibes on some of them; we talk about grief in one, and we touch on gun control in our song ‘Norma’.”
The penultimate track on the album, ‘Norma’ details issues of gun control and issues within US politics. Continuing on their fantastic track, Cunningham said, “It’s kind of our protest anthem, where we say we won’t go back in reference to Roe v. Wade being overturned here in the States. So there is a lot of ground that we cover, I think. The inspiration really just comes from personal experience, personal stories.”
Thus followed a fascinating conversation surrounding the political activism of disco. Raised on a steady diet of punk rock, I was taught to rebel against the apparent complacency of the genre. However, once you grow up and accept that pretty much everything John Lydon says is nonsense, the captivating sounds of disco are hard to dislike. After all, disco is inherently political. Just because it does not feature distorted guitar tones and angry vocalists does not mean, by any means, that it has nothing to say.
“It’s a stance,” affirms Nya, “It’s a happiness in the midst of. It’s an escape from what reality is, or it’s a hope for what reality is. So I think it’s way deeper than ‘happy music’.” The art of disco has always been a vital aspect of both political activism and the celebration of Black artists. As Piya derisively stated, “If you don’t like disco, you’re probably a racist,” with a wry smile on her face.
With Say She She, Nya and the group are continuing that legacy of joy in the face of adversity. Silver is perhaps their most politically charged effort to date, something that came pretty naturally to the trio.
“We’re not intentionally political,” claims Piya, “I guess we’re just political by the very fact of who we are. I mean, we’re a bunch of women, and we’re all diverse and from different backgrounds, and we’re friends and navigating this crazy world living in America at a time when they’re trying to strip back a lot of our rights.”
Adding, “We’ve all been friends through Trump’s presidency. So how can we not be political when we’re singing about our life experience?”
In a quote that would put even Crass to shame, Piya said, “We’re all political because we’re all part of society – unless you decide to give it all up and go and live in the Himalayas. Even then, there’s probably some politics going on in the Himalayas that you don’t know about.”
Aside from discussing the politics of disco, the predominant reason I was able to chat with Say She She was to celebrate their largely sold-out tour of the UK, which sees them play the likes of KOKO in London and Project House in Leeds. In addition to their current tour, the band are due to return to Blighty in November for a headline at The Roundhouse.
With a list of previous artists boasting the likes of The Doors, Jimi Hendrix and The Clash, among countless others, playing The Roundhouse is something of a bucket list entry for any band. The gig is especially important for Piya, however, who explained that playing the venue has always been a dream of hers, “It’s insane, you know, it’s almost surreal. I can’t believe it. My girlfriend’s back home – because we all went to school in Camden – they just keep crying. They’re like, ‘I’m gonna see your name up on the billboard’.”
Say She She are constantly hitting milestones, though the group are working so tirelessly that sometimes it takes them a moment to truly appreciate their position. Cunningham explained: “It isn’t until you get back from the weekend at Glasto or the show ends at the Hollywood Bowl. It’s like, you know, it is pinching ourselves a little bit as it’s unfolding.”
Before Piya excitedly listed the next milestone in the band’s history, exclaiming, “I’m gonna put it out there, Royal Albert Hall.”
Whatever the future holds in store for Say She She, it is sure to be an exciting and endlessly danceable journey. In a concluding comment from Sabrina, she sets out what could essentially act as a manifesto of the group, saying, “I just want to keep putting out music and playing all over the world. I would love to visit Japan one day and play. But always the goal is to keep writing and keep dancing.” Don’t we all?
