Rina Sawayama says lockdown Zoom sessions “yielded good songs” for new album
The pop singer said her second studio album has got "that core" her debut 'Sawayama' had
Rina Sawayama has teased what to expect on her new album, sharing that writing on Zoom during lockdown “somehow they yielded good songs”.
Speaking in a recent interview with Music Week, the ‘Comme Des Garçons’ singer said that she is trying to round up the writing process for her second studio album, which she hopes will be out next year.
“So much of it was written during lockdown on Zoom sessions, which I hated. But somehow they yielded good songs,” she said.
The pop singer added that she is “just trying to finish writing [the album]”, adding: “I’m working with some incredible people. I’ve got a couple of songs with [producer] Paul Epworth.”
She also shared that she is working with electronic musician Stuart Price on much of the album, who has worked with the likes of Madonna, Dua Lipa and New Order.
“Most of the songs were started with me and Clarence Clarity, so it’s still got that core that ‘Sawayama’ had,” she continued.
She added that “it will be out next year, hopefully.”
Sawayama, who is currently on a UK headline tour, last night (November 13) debuted brand new song ‘Catch Me In The Air’ in Glasgow.
Listen to the new track below.
Introducing the song, she said: “I wrote this song because, in these unprecedented times, I am touring my first record at the same time as finishing my second record.
“I thought that the first record was really personal, and it was, but this new record is even more personal.”
She continued: “This song, I wrote it about my mum, who is a single mum. You know how intense that relationship is, they feel like a sister or a brother or they feel like a sibling, or they even feel like a child sometimes.”
She added: “I felt throughout my life my mum and I have caught each other when we’re falling.”
The singer also features on Elton John’s number one album ‘The Lockdown Sessions’ on the track ‘Chosen Family’, which also includes collaborations with Nicki Minaj, Lil Nas X and Stevie Wonder.
Speaking about the collaboration, Sawayama said the artists both had to quarantine for two weeks and take tests before getting together in the studio at the height of the second wave of Covid-19.
“Elton described it as like going back to his session player roots. It was just him being so collaborative and open to ideas. He’s such a muso, in the studio he just really just counts himself as one of the players.”