The musician, Sanya N’ Kanta‘s music is heavily inspired by his roots growing up in Kingston, Jamaica. That inspiration blended with classic rock when Sanya was introduced to Aerosmith, specifically guitarist, Joe Perry. With these inspirations, Sanya’s love of music includes 80s, late 90s/early 00s hip-hop, with soul/alternative. All of these influences can be heard on his latest record, The Counterfeit Revival, and with his new single “Can’t Stop Thinking Bout You.” His new single is a chilled out, yet club-happy, dancing single.
The video for “Can’t Stop Thinking Bout You” features Sanya playing his guitar, featuring a backdrop of celestial bodies, with a beautiful woman descending earthward, and representing falling stars, nighttime divinations, but most importantly, stars that stand out among the countless celestial bodies. The music video has received well nearly 300,000 views and counting. In our chat with Sanya, he explains how the guitar gives him the freedom to express himself, writing and recording his latest album, what drew him to guitar and ultimately performing, and his strongest influence with guitar.
I really enjoy how you express yourself with guitar and other genres in your music. What is it about the guitar that you feel allows you to fluidly express yourself?
Sanya N’ Kanta: The guitar is my favorite instrument by far, and the one I play the best. I find acoustic extremely easy to write with, but for The Counterfeit Revival, I decided early on to put it down. I knew I wanted to create something new and different, and that required me to get out of my comfort zone.
Your single “Can’t Stop Thinking Bout You” blends your love of music genres quite succinctly. What is your writing process like?
Sanya N’ Kanta: For the album The Counterfeit Revival, I primarily used Ableton’s Push2 for my beat making. I’ve found that Ableton’s Session View is perfect for hashing out ideas and song structure. I often will record the different sections of a song in session view with the primary instruments; then I start adding the various parts, including the vocals. I get much better results when I tackle everything at the same time. Ableton was a huge learning curve from Logic for me, but I’m happy I made the switch because it improved my workflow.
This single is also on your debut album, The Counterfeit Revival. What was the recording process like for it?
Sanya N’ Kanta: The album was written and recorded simultaneously in 4 months starting late last year, and the mixing took me a couple of months after the fact – so six months total. I wrote everything and played all instruments, so by the time mixdown came, it was a grind, but I loved it. I’m a Studio Rat through and through. It’s where I want to be all the time.
Taking you back a little bit, what drew you to pick up a guitar, and ultimately, start playing?
Sanya N’ Kanta: I developed a love of Classic Rock music in middle school after a friend introduced me to classic Aerosmith. “Toys In The Attic” was my jam for years. I eventually moved on to Jimi Hendrix and Led Zeppelin. I was a huge classic rock fan, although I don’t listen to much of that anymore.
Who has been the most influential for you on the guitar?
Sanya N’ Kanta: That would have to be Joe Perry of Aerosmith. I just loved how he would lock into a grove, and I also loved his guitar tone and the licks he created.
Was it your idea to have astronomy featured prominently throughout the video? If so, what about astronomy fascinates you the most?
Sanya N’ Kanta: Not my idea at all, that was all John Isberg, the video’s director. When I think of space, I start thinking about aliens, not astronomy.
How are you maintaining your creativity during this pandemic?
Sanya N’ Kanta: I’ve been extremely productive and have started working on my next album since touring is not an option right now. My most significant adjustment was having my family home 24/7, where I have my studio. I am used to having the house to myself with very few interruptions, but I’m enjoying all the extra time with family. I’ve resorted to writing and recording late at night, which has been working well.
