Photos: Saïna to Release HOTEL 555 EP with New Single 'Darkest Hours'

Japanese-English singer, producer and multidisciplinary artist Saïna has announced her forthcoming EP Hotel 555, landing 23rd October, alongside the release of haunting new single 'Darkest Hours'.

Co-produced with zuriel, 'Darkest Hours' sets sweeping orchestral instrumentation against a driving neo-soul groove. Inspired by Joe Hisaishi's compositions for Studio Ghibli films, music Saïna grew up playing from childhood, the track carries a dreamlike, cinematic beauty, gradually drawing the listener somewhere darker.

Written, produced and performed by Saïna, 'Darkest Hours' confronts the parts of ourselves we are taught to repress. Moving between light and shadow, the track questions whether perfection and imperfection are really opposing forces, or whether accepting both might be the key to becoming whole.

Speaking on the EP announcement, Saïna said -

'Hotel 555 has been my biggest leap of faith yet. A concoction of genres, emotions, stories - both visual and audible. It was the project that I was told I was 'too ambitious' and I had 'good problems'. I want to take you into my internal world of thoughts and shadows, brokenness and healing; and ask the question yourself: is escapism your friend or your enemy?'

That tension sits at the heart of Hotel 555. Set in the liminal space between death and rebirth, the EP imagines the hotel as a place of anonymity and transformation, where its guests are free to step beyond the boundaries of their everyday selves. Entirely written and co-produced by Saïna, the project will arrive alongside a co-directed short film shot in Tokyo.

A BRIT School alum, Saïna moves fluidly between alternative R&B, neo-soul and electronic music, building a world shaped as much by its imagery as its sound. Beyond her solo work, she has appeared in campaigns for Adidas and Samsung, while touring internationally as one half of DJ duo ZEE-2.

Hotel 555 lands 23rd October.

Live Dates

Thu 8th Oct - The Jazz Cafe [Sup. Liv East]