Feature by Ellie Garno
Last week, Toronto twenty-year-old Saya premiered her debut single, “Wet Dreams,” on Pigeons & Planes, and it has a certain je ne sais quoi. Check out the cover: the singer-songwriter sits knees to her chest on a black-tiled Jacuzzi next to a red, heart-shaped tub, looking coyly over her; taking up the middle half is the slightly suggestive title in bold and 70s sunflower yellow. Drawing on her early influences of blues, disco, and funk, Saya keeps things fresh, fun, and sexy.
“Wet Dreams” opens with Madonna-type dancehall vibes, then transitions to a spoken word situation. The song is made special by these sort of switch-ups in vocal delivery throughout. One minute Saya is singing along to catchy pop melodies such as “I can feel your hypno-sis/Pull me in with your for-ces,” the next, using hip-hop rhyme schemes. And all in a voice that’s filled with the bubbly confidence of someone who’s just acting their age, or just over doing so. Finally, a bridge adds color (which, if an actual color, would be neon), before a meticulously mixed close.
Filed under: feature friday, Features Tagged: feature friday, saya, wet dreams
