In honor of Mental Health Awareness Month and AAPI Heritage Month, Los Angeles-based artist, SASAMI (Sasami Ashworth) released a poignant cover of the Yeah Yeah Yeahs‘ indie anthem “Maps.” This rendition is part of the “Song That Found Me at the Right Time” series, a collaboration between the nonprofit Sounds of Saving and the 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline, aiming to highlight the therapeutic power of music. Filmmaker Rita Baghdadi directed the PSA video. It starts with a brief introduction by the indie artist before gliding into the music. Sasami casually sits on the floor, chatting about her admiration for Karen O, one of the few Asian Americans in the rock scene in the early 2000s. She highlights “Maps” as one of the songs that showed her the cathartic nature of writing music.
“I feel so lucky to have an art practice that allows me to go deep and process my emotional highs and lows,” SASAMI shared in a second PSA video she featured in for 988 Suicide & Crisis Lifeline. “I’m honored that SoS and 988 asked me to be involved—their work is so important.”
The cover features SASAMI delivering an emotionally charged performance emphasizing the original’s raw vulnerability through a softer sonic lens. It retains the glistening layering of melodies SASAMI is so adept at crafting in her music. But the melodics in this cover are string instruments, rather than the synths in her typical sounds. This gentle reinterpretation pulls at the themes of longing and emotional turmoil portrayed in the lyrics.
SASAMI’s music explores the intersection of music and emotional resilience. Her cover of “Maps” is a fitting tribute to the healing power of art. SASAMI also recently covered Sky Ferreira while promoting her third album Blood on the Silver Screen, as for the “Songs that Found me at the Right Time” series, last month Sarah Kinsley performed “Rilkean Heart” by Cocteau Twins.
