Music producer Sasha Smirnova is poised to captivate listeners with her latest single and video for, Of My Mind. This track serves as a haunting introduction to her upcoming album Gone Stray, a project that delves into themes of nostalgia and exile, evoking a poignant yearning for places that can never be revisited.
“I recorded this track in one go, without even planning to make a track,” says Sasha. “It was just my singing voice, layered and shaped in the moment. Only afterward did I realize how personal it had become—especially in the moments where it echoes Belarusian folk. It wasn’t intentional, but a natural reflection of a homesickness that’s hard to name.”
What sets Of My Mind apart is its unique sonic palette, crafted entirely from layers of raw and processed vocals, with minimal additional sounds introduced as ear candies and effects. The recording was executed with remarkable spontaneity, captured in a single take that allows each moment to breathe organically. Notably, traces of Belarusian traditional singing emerge within the mix, enriching the track with an emotional depth and a longing for home that is central to Smirnova’s artistic expression.
“Dacha is a universal place in the post-soviet mind, and in listening to Sasha’s music I found myself imagining a void that acts as a portal into a shared past spent in these spaces,” says Director Michelle Roginsky on the video. “The shapeshifting character we created for Sasha is meant to embody and evoke the longing which I hear when I listen to this music. Our film follows Sasha’s character as she emerges from the void as a doppelganger who stalks her double and attempts to inhabit this collective human memory.”
Smirnova’s musical journey has been anything but conventional. With a foundation rooted in classical piano, her path was disrupted by a wrist injury that derailed her initial aspirations. However, following a series of professional explorations, she has made a triumphant return to music with her debut single and EP released through the Helsinki-based label World Canvas. Now, as she prepares for the release of Gone Stray with White Forest, her creative evolution continues to unfold.
In her productions and performances, the keyboard serves as the cornerstone of her artistic vision. Smirnova crafts intricate soundscapes by merging meticulously designed digital and analogue tones with processed vocal lines and adventurous rhythmic patterns. This fluid interplay creates a dynamic sound where harmonic and rhythmic elements intricately weave in and out of conventional structures. Drawing from a rich tapestry of influences, her work oscillates between ethereal drone-like sounds and vibrant trap-inspired beats, encapsulating a powerful sense of melancholy and longing for the familiar yet distant places of her past.
Credits
Artist: Sasha Smirnova @sssha_smirnova
Director: Michelle Roginsky @mother.aiff
Field Producer + AD: Oona Mattila @onamattila
DP: Gil Corujeira @gil_corujeira
Art Direction + AI VFX + [EXT] Wardrobe: Uliana Velgosh @ulianavelgosh
Editor: Charlotte Savage @charlotte_savage
[INT] Costume Design: Nasia Sydeta @sailorsmelody
Hair & Nails: Zola aka BBYAGA @___bbyaga___
SFX Makeup Artist: Luciana Gutierrez @lulu.shades
Colorist + AC: Thomas Gill @tco.gill
Gaffer: Bruno Della Coletta @brunodc_
Movement Director: Elena Francalanci @francaele
BTS: Vilma Leino @vauhtivilma
Camera + Lighting Gear : @25pcinesupport w special thanks to @domsgmnn
PA: Matthew Moran
