Josh Sahunta
Pop/R&B singer Josh Sahunta takes his past and puts it into his music. Coming from a family who was initially unsupportive of his early musical pursuits, the Canadian artist first went to the University of Alberta as a backup plan. However, the singer always kept music in his mind. He decided to give himself a year to try and kickstart his career— and after three years, Sahunta is more popular than ever and doing music full time. The artist has toured England, Canada (twice), and played at a handful of festivals across the world. His song “I’d Leave My Happy Home For You” has over 126k streams on Spotify and hits all the notes of an Indie/Acoustic classic. We recently spoke with Josh— a singer, songwriter, and producer— about his creative process, how he spends his time away from work, and more!
How did you start making music?
I first started really making music in junior high. I would make up compositions on the piano and post the videos on Facebook for my friends to see. I also played drums in the school jazz band, but I was terrible at reading music so my teacher let me just “wing it”— which now looking back, was very cool of her. I then started a guitar-drum duo with my friend at the time and we only played instrumental Blink-182 covers. He then started singing and we made crappy sounding demos that we used to impress girls with. It only worked half of the time. In high school, I started singing. I started a proper band with some friends and we played gigs semi-regularly. It was mostly school talent show type stuff but it was my first experience of actually being a “frontman”. This band lasted until my first year of university and then we all got too busy to continue, so we went our separate ways.
Where do you find the drive to make music?
I find the drive to make music because it’s the best way I know how to express the feelings that often linger for years after the event that caused them happened. It’s cathartic and therapeutic for me. It’s turning a sometimes ugly situation into something beautiful, something that someone else can relate to. I think it’s incredibly powerful and needed in a world where people are becoming more and more unable to express their emotions in healthy ways outside of social media.
You released Dissonance in 2017. What’s the hardest thing about making an album?
The hardest thing about making an album for me is the self-doubt that comes with it. Every song could always be better. There’s never really a ceiling when you’re creating music. It could always use a little bit more of this, and a little more of that, and so it’s hard to say: “this is the finished version”. I wrestle a lot with which songs should make it onto the record and which ones shouldn’t.
How do you spend your free time?
On my free time, I’m usually reading, hanging out with friends, or traveling. But to be honest, I don’t have as much free time as I’d like to! I’m kind of wearing many different hats trying to manage my career so when I’m not writing, I’m practicing, doing marketing or promotions, creating graphics, or whatever else needs to be done to stay on top of things haha.
With such a wide range of styles there’s definitely room for a collab. Who’s the partner of your dreams?
The collab partner of my dreams would either be John Mayer or Ed Sheeran. Both of them have inspired me so much in my own journey and it would be absolutely surreal to work with them.
What can fans expect from Josh Sahutna in the future?
A lot of new music, more touring when it’s safe to do so, and another song on a Netflix show!
