Tokyo-based Alternative-Pop Starlet, Sarina, is set to captivate audiences worldwide with her debut EP, ‘Foreword via Sony Music Entertainment Japan. Slated for release on 4 August 2023, Friday, this marks an exciting milestone in Sarina’s career as an emerging force in the global music scene.
‘Foreword’ is a bold showcase of Sarina’s musical sensibilities and ability to captivate audiences regardless of her constant experimentation of crossover musical genres and self-expression. Drawing from her diverse background and multi-faceted talents, the EP takes listeners on a transformative musical journey through a total of 6 tracks, 5 of which have already been released. The EP explores themes of self-discovery, resilience, and the pursuit of personal growth, reflecting Sarina’s own journey as an artist. Each track on ‘Foreword’ showcases Sarina’s distinctive sound, effortlessly blending elements of various genres and infusing them with her own creative magic.
‘Foreword’ includes her debut single, ‘Identity’ as well as ‘Atlas’ which both tackled the themes of courage, confidence, love and sacrifice. ‘Sometimes I Wanna Cry 🙁 ’, a nostalgic 2000’s emo-inspired anthem about internet overdose and intense feelings of depression, sadness and apathy, which took the internet by storm and went viral on social media. In addition, the Japanese single‘憂鬱な道’ (Yuu-utsu na Michi, meaning ‘Melancholy Roads’) was written with the intention of following one’s dreams and persevering in the face of loneliness, while ‘Melancholy Roads (No More)’ is a revelation that no one is alone on this journey after all, and acts as an answer song to the former single.
Sarina comes full circle with one last single ‘Brace For Impact’ for the ‘Foreword’ EP. The focus track depicts the explosion of deep-rooted pain within the heart and the emergence of a new perspective that transcends it.
She shares “‘Brace For Impact’ was written while I was putting myself under obscene amounts of pressure to be a certain way. Ironically I wrote the song with the idea of the art that I would make when that pressure finally broke me. In a sickly masochistic way, the song was uplifting for me at the time. I kept telling myself to “keep smiling”, to shove down whatever I felt that didn’t fall into who I thought I needed to be. I was miserable, at the time, but I knew that that pressure and that misery was building inside me like a pipe bomb and whatever I produced when it exploded would make all the suffering feel worth it.”
Departing from her previous works, which incorporated Japanese sounds, ‘Brace For Impact’ showcases another aspect of Sarina’s roots which is represented by Arabic instruments including the Durmbakki and Naay throughout the song. A personal favourite of Sarina’s, the single combines literary and poetic lyrics with a melody and complex emotions. The result is a mystical and serpentine harmony that compels listeners to play the ‘Brace For Impact’ on repeat.
As a multi-faceted artist, Sarina is continuously on the road to discovery and creation, already establishing her own genre-less, borderless musical skills and creativity, which she applies to her own artistic activities. The accompanying music video for ‘Brace For Impact’ is no different. With the single heavily influenced by her Arabic heritage, Sarina pays homage to the Arabic art forms of belly dancing in costume while underwater.
Sarina explains, “When you’re underwater and you run out of breath, it doesn’t feel hollow, it feels like a building pressure in your chest as your mind and body scream at you to breathe in but you can’t. That was the feeling I wanted to draw on with the music video because that is the feeling I drew on when I wrote the song. Like drowning but making sure you were still beautiful. I was more moved by beautiful imagery with a darker undertone. The outward appearance of something can be so distracting you don’t realise it’s suffering.”
Watch the music video for ‘Brace For Impact’ here.
(Available on 5 August 2023, Saturday 8AM SGT)
The ‘Foreword’ EP will be available on major digital streaming platforms on 4 August 2023, Friday.
