Hen Hoose x SNACK – Emerging Talent Spotlight: Saint Sappho

We’re back with our new monthly feature in collaboration with the Hen Hoose collective. A spotlight on emerging women and non-binary artists from across Scotland.

Each month, we’ll share a quickfire Q&A to get to know the artists behind the music (think Smash Hits, and your favourite 90s glossy music mags!). Short, sharp, and in their own words. Part interview, part personality check.

This month, we’re getting to know Zoe Young and Tammy Dyson AKA Glasgow-based duo Saint Sappho, who have just released their debut album Between The Lines.

Built on soaring, hazy strings, lazy breakbeats and widescreen guitars, Between The Lines feels like a forgotten 1996 classic unearthed from another era. Think Courtney Love duetting with peak Manic Street Preachers whilst Moby sits behind the mixing desk. Written, recorded, mixed and produced entirely at home, the debut album is a bold introduction to Saint Sappho’s emotionally charged, 90s inspired sound. Dreamy.

Previously signed to Optimo music, the duo have already shared stages ith Bernard Butler, earned multiple BBC Track of The Week selections and secured Creative Scotland support for their debut album. With a summer perfromance on the horizon for Back Doune The Rabbit Hole, we handed Zoe and Tammy the Hen Hoose x SNACK quickfire questionnaire to find out everything from their dream collaborator to what changes they’d like to see in the music industry.

Over to you, Saint Sappho!

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Describe your sound in 3 words: 90’s, cinematic, shoegaze.

For fans of: The Verve, Radiohead, Hole

Tell us about yourself (short + sweet): Saint Sappho are a Glasgow-based queer music duo, made up of Zoe Young and Tammy Dyson. Drawing inspiration from 90s Britpop and Trip-hop, their sound reflects the influence of artists such as The Verve, Travis, and Moby. They have been likened to Fonatines D.C. and Massive Attack. The duo are creating space for women in the Britpop landscape, challenging its male-dominated norms.

Beyond performing, Zoe brings her expertise as a sound engineer and producer, while Tammy’s skills as a videographer allow the pair to craft every aspect of their music and visuals in-house. Influenced in no small part by the full band sound of 90s era Britpop and Trip-hop. Their contemporary reworking of classic alt-pop and rock touchstones is made even more singular due to the personal nature of their lyrics, which frequently find direct inspirations in real life scenarios.

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WHAT’S HAPPENING (promo without being boring!)

What are you working on right now? Promoting our debut album Between The Lines which was released on 1st May.

What’s coming up next for you? (releases / gigs / plans) We are playing Back Doune the Rabbit Hole festival on 18th July.

A recent highlight moment:  Our album launch event at Assai Records was an amazing highlight for us. It was a good way to celebrate the album release and incredible to see it in a physical form.

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The Taste Test

What are you listening to on repeat just now? Tammy has Madonna’s Beautiful Stranger on repeat, and Zoe can’t get enough of CMAT’s Euro-Country.

A song you wish you’d written: The Verve’s ‘Bittersweet Symphony’.

First song that made you want to make music: Avril Lavigne – Complicated.

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Quick Fire!

Tea or coffee? Coffee.

Night out or cosy night in? Night in.

Go-to snack in the studio? Kinder Bueno.

Dream collaborator (alive or dead): Moby.

Biggest ick in the music industry: Mansplaining anything music-related.

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What’s your delusional long-term goal? That we can make a living from making music.

Tell us something we don’t know about you – the more weird the better! Zoe – Born in the caul (vampire). Tammy – I know every word to the film Titanic.

One thing you’d like to see change in the music industry: Just one? That’s tricky. The biggest one would be the lack of working-class artists. Things have changed drastically over the past decade, it’s only rich kids making it to the top, which is sad.

It feels like most people just wanna be famous due to social media and influencers etc. This industry is completely oversaturated with superficiality, every second song is just a copy of the one before.

What’s your most chaotic gig experience? There are actually a few, the first time using a backing track, something went wrong with the tracks and we went out of time and had to restart the song without it. We’ve been shouted at by male sound engineers before for asking for reverb on vocals, like really aggressively.

Have you ever cried over a song (yours or someone else’s)? Of course, lots of times.

What would your 16-year-old self think of you now?

Tammy: There’s no way I would believe you if you told me I’d be where I am today. I would be so proud of myself and really shocked.

Zoe: I would be surprised that I was openly a lesbian and achieved the things I have achieved.

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Where can people find you?

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/saintsappho_/

YouTube: https://www.youtube.com/@saintsappho8298

Bandcamp: https://saintsappho.bandcamp.com/

Official Website: saintsappho.com

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