Arlington, Virginia
For Sabrina Movitz, songwriting is less about finding answers than asking better questions.
Every melody, lyric and production choice begins with paying close attention, not just to the world around her, but to the inner experiences that often go unnoticed. Rather than chasing the path of least resistance, the Arlington-based indie pop artist embraces curiosity, allowing songs to become a way of understanding herself as much as expressing herself.
Music has always been a natural part of her life. Singing came long before songwriting, and long before she considered becoming an artist. As a lifelong music fan, creating her own songs simply became the next chapter of a relationship that started in childhood.
“I’ve been singing since before I could really put sentences together,” Movitz said. “Being an artist just flowed from being a fan first.”
Although her music now lives comfortably in the indie pop world, many of her earliest influences came from growing up in St. Louis during the 2000s. Artists like Nelly, Usher, Missy Elliott, Ashanti, Kelis and Ciara filled the city’s airwaves, shaping her understanding of what music could accomplish. Today, those influences surface less through genre than through thoughtful songwriting and carefully crafted production.
Her current inspirations stretch even further, drawing from Bon Iver’s emotional depth, Lady Gaga’s fearless creativity, FKA twigs’ embodiment of performance, Rosalía’s lyricism and the hypnotic repetition often found in electronic music. Together, those influences have helped shape a sound that blends organic songwriting with modern textures while always prioritizing feeling over formula.
That philosophy carries into her creative process. Voice memos, unfinished melodies and an ever-growing archive of lyric ideas become pieces of a puzzle that slowly come together over time. Often, hearing a song she loves is enough to send her back to the notebook, inspired to begin again.
“I think I’m always trying to get to the center of a feeling,” Movitz said.
That pursuit is especially evident in “Slept Funny,” a song she performs for this Sound Off session. Originally written five years ago, the track evolved alongside her own life before finding its final form in the studio. What began as one moment eventually became a reflection of growth, love and the ways emotions change over time.
For Movitz, authenticity has less to do with originality than intention. It comes from creating because you genuinely love the work, not because you’re trying to fit expectations or stand apart in an increasingly crowded musical landscape.
Ultimately, she hopes listeners walk away feeling something simple but meaningful: a little closer to themselves.
“I want people to feel closer to their own feelings,” she said. “To really accept them without judgment.”
As she continues releasing new music throughout the year, Sabrina Movitz remains committed to the same quiet pursuit that has shaped her work from the beginning: listening closely, creating honestly, and finding the center of a feeling.