Saya Gray Shares New Single 'EMPATHY 4 BETHANY / GREEN APPLE (EVERY NIGHT I RIDE NIGHT MARES)'

Today, Saya Gray shares new single, "EMPATHY 4 BETHANY" / "GREEN APPLE (EVERY NIGHT I RIDE NIGHT MARES" from her forthcoming EP 19 MASTERS out via Dirty Hit (Wolf Alice, The 1975, Rina Sawayama, beabadoobee) on June 9th.

The Canadian-Japanese singer-songwriter, producer, musical director, and multi-instrumentalist hails a stripped back guitar and ethereal vocals on her latest offerings, their melancholy feel setting the stage as she unveils her deepest, inner thoughts.

On the sweet ripple of "EMPATHY 4 BETHANY", Saya unpacks constantly being on the move as a touring musician with avoidant habits and the fraught nature of falling in love when you are always having to leave. The shapeshifting interlude "GREEN APPLES (EVERY NIGHT I RIDE NIGHT MARES) sees her poke fun at money hungry leeches in the form of an off-kilter, lo-fi guitar lullaby that ignites into a ferocious call to action.

"EMPATHY 4 BETHANY" / "GREEN APPLE (EVERY NIGHT I RIDE NIGHT MARES)" follows Saya's captivating single "SAVING GRACE" and lead track "IF THERE'S NO SEAT IN THE SKY (WILL YOU FORGIVE ME???)". It also arrives after her striking performance of 19 MASTERS track "PAP TEST" for COLORS, as part of their HOMEGROWN campaign produced in collaboration with Burberry.

19 MASTERS is a reflection of Saya Gray's experiences of isolation and expectations as a mixed race woman of Japanese and Canadian descent growing up in a predominantly white environment. Her solitary nature echoes through the record via diaristic voice notes from her time touring with other artists, with delicate vocals that drift and shapeshift.

Indeed, 19 MASTERS is produced, written, and performed entirely by Saya, with the exception of her mother opening the album in Japanese, some guitar lines from her brother, and some trumpet from her dad. It's soft and deeply introspective, with songs primarily about her relationship with herself, delving into her mind, avoidant patterns, and the practice of self-celebration.

The album is a dazzling listening experience. There are significant key changes, unexpected tempo shifts, guitars and vocals warped into new sounds and shapes, and even tilts in frequency - at various points, Saya plays singing bowls, harp, and koto, bringing celestial sounds that are healing to the body, a restorative balm to all the fractured and fraught identities.

The project is acoustic and lo-fi, but not; it nods to hip-hop but isn't remotely in that space; it weaves in elements of alt-R&B, but it's not that either. Like the songs' own subjects, it is a stunning world entirely of Saya Gray's making, a peerless, genre-less sound that immediately establishes her as one of the most exciting new artists of 2022.

For Saya, the number 19 represents the beginning and ending of a cycle, from 1 to 9 and so 19 Masters takes us on Saya Gray's journey so far, fragmented and dreamlike, unafraid to be uncomfortable and pick apart the expectations, quietly sticking to her own path. It is a record that is all the more beguiling and immersive for it.

Watch the new music video here:

Listen to the new singles here:

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