The 19-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist transforms a moment of doubt into an anthem for moving forward
Sometimes the song you’re trying hardest to finish isn’t the song you’re supposed to release.
For Sahej, that realisation came after weeks, eventually months, of working on what was intended to become his third song. The track was finished. It sounded good. On paper, everything suggested he should move forward with it.
There was just one problem.
He hated it.
After stepping away from the project for a week to spend time with his family, Sahej returned to his music with a different perspective. What had once felt promising suddenly no longer felt like his. Rather than force the song into existence, the 19-year-old singer, songwriter and multi-instrumentalist did something much more instinctive: he walked out of his room with his guitar.
In the middle of that frustration, a new melody began to emerge.
So did a phrase.
“I’m not ready”.
That moment became ‘Not Yet’.
Released on September 10, the new single captures the uncertainty of standing at the edge of something bigger than yourself and deciding to take the next step anyway.
Built around a persistent acoustic-guitar arpeggio, delicate piano, sweeping strings, layered vocals, understated drums, synths and atmospheric production, ‘Not Yet’ creates an intimate, almost dreamlike world. Sahej’s subdued vocal delivery allows the emotion to sit beneath the surface, gradually building into something both deeply personal and immediately relatable.
Because ‘Not Yet’ isn’t really about fear disappearing.
It’s about learning how to move with it.
“It’s a testament to the fears I have accumulated throughout my life, and the fact that my purpose will not change no matter how afraid I am,” says Sahej. “It’s in essence a song about admitting to a moment of weakness, and that the job will still be done once that moment subsides.”
That idea of purpose runs through Sahej’s life well beyond music.
Currently studying Neuroscience at the University of Michigan-Ann Arbor, he is pursuing two seemingly different paths at once: science and songwriting. Yet, beneath the surface, the two are connected by the same fascination: people. Their experiences. Their emotions. Their struggles. And ultimately, what makes someone feel understood.
For Sahej, music has become a way of exploring those questions. His songwriting draws from difficult and sometimes haunting personal experiences, but the intention is never simply to dwell on them. Instead, he uses those experiences as a starting point for something broader: understanding suffering, searching for meaning and finding ways to connect with other people through shared emotion.
That makes ‘Not Yet’ particularly powerful.
The song doesn’t present its creator as someone who has conquered fear. Quite the opposite. Sahej acknowledges the fear directly, gives it a voice, and then refuses to let it decide what happens next.
There is something universal in that.
We’ve all had moments when we’ve questioned whether we’re ready. Whether we’re good enough. Whether we should take the next step or stay where it feels safe.
‘Not Yet’ offers a different answer.
Maybe you aren’t ready.
But that doesn’t mean you stop.
For Sahej, the moment of weakness isn’t the end of the story. It’s simply a moment; one that will eventually pass, leaving the purpose that was there all along intact.
And sometimes, the most honest thing you can say isn’t “I’m ready.”
It’s “Not yet”.
