I truly cannot put into words how much of a sensational artist Rina Sawayama is. Every single track she’s released has been absolutely spellbinding with her 2017 debut mini album Rina still being one of the best debuts to come out this decade. She continued this into 2018 with Cherry, her anthem for pansexuality, coming out and featuring a music video that contained a full queer production crew and was aesthetically gorgeous.
This time Sawayama has found power in her own name with Flicker being inspired by a painful experience she had during her first day at school, “The first day of reception year at school my teacher totally butchered my surname while calling out the register. I remember crying so hard and that was the first time I realised that I was different to all the others in class.”
“When I was writing ‘Flicker’ I was thinking how our name shapes our experience in life and identities us in a deeper way than we realise. Whether it’s a name that no one can say, or the frustration of being mis-gendered, or quite simply being misunderstood for who you truly are – this is a song for you :heart: #theyaintus”
The message of the track has spoken to a wide variety of people, including myself, with the lyric, “When you’re down, feeling low, just remember your name, they ain’t us, they ain’t us baby,” making you feel so empowered when you sing it out loud to the world around you.
The track was produced by her long time collaborator Clarence Clarity and features her signature glittering synth production, an empowering chorus that is made for singing out loud in your room with a hairbrush microphone, lyrical prowess that she’s possessed since her first release and her vocal bringing passionate emotion to the pop anthem that gives this track a raw edge.
2019 is Rina Sawayama’s year and I cannot wait to see what this ordinary superstar has to offer us in the new year.
Connect with Rina Sawayama: Twitter | Instagram | Spotify
