WHAT IT IS: During her time at Cambridge University, where she studied politics and psychology, Japanese-British Rina Sawayama applied her experiences in her musical journey to carve out an identity of her own, entwining her culture with her Western life and evolving her into the artist she is today. After releasing a string of singles, the singer/songwriter/producer dropped her deeply personal debut album, SAWAYAMA, showcasing her genre-blending capabilities. Featuring tracks like lead single “STFU,” which fuses early 2000s nu-metal elements with the delivery of a young pop maverick, the album was executive-produced by Clarence Clarity and includes co-writes from Nicole Morier (Britney Spears) and Kyle Shearer (Carly Rae Jepson), among others.
ALBUM: SAWAYAMA
RELEASE DATE: 04/17
SINGLE: “STFU,” “Comme Des Garcons,” “XS” and “Bad Friend”
LIVE: U.K. and North American tour scheduled for the fall
INTERNET: 1.3m+ monthly Spotify listeners, 50m+ plays across DSPs; 185k Instagram followers, 66k Twitter followers
RADIO: “XS” and “Bad Friend” added to Annie Mac BBC Radio 1 Hottest Records
PRESS: NME, DIY, Hot Press, Dork, The Guardian, Rolling Stone, CLASH, Pitchfork
BOOKING: X-ray (EU + rest of world), Paradigm (North America)
PUBLISHING: UMPG
MANAGEMENT: Will Frost & Caspar Harvey/House of Us