SAIAH has shared their first new single of the year with the release of the emotionally bristling “ihateyouandyouhatemetoo,” as well as announcing a tour this spring with easy life that will stop at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on Apr. 21. As a rising queer Black voice in music, they’ve been steadily honing their sound since the release of their debut EP Loverboyraceway Lostboy, bringing together an explosive patchwork of genres to create raw and gushing tracks. Like the paced rager “Blue,” the final single SAIAH shared at the end of last year, which grows out of heady acoustic dronings into a clamorous rock finale.
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In “ihateyouandyouhatemetoo,” SAIAH explores the fresh wounds of a breakup’s aftermath. Produced by Jack Kolbe (Jelani Aryeh), as well as featuring some seriously blistering and ecstatic guitar work from the artist’s tour mate Estelle Allen, the track is a staple of SAIAH’s explosively emotive music. From the way they howl that chorus line with such pain-stricken vocal cords to the grungey wave of noise that carries it.
Caught in a current of anger and sadness, the song is a woefully accurate portrayal of the confusing array of feelings that course through you after such a momentous heartbreak. “Fair, you were right there / In the pool of all my own mess,” SAIAH sings as the song opens with a bittersweet piano medley.
But despite its brash title, “ihateyouandyouhatemeto” doesn’t revel in the hate. Instead, it sits in an impossibly hard and seemingly contradictory place of reconciling such immense pain with the very real love you once felt. To disappear into hate would further taint those feelings. So SAIAH tries to deblur that line between love and hate by just moving on. Something made infinitely harder by the presence of the voicemails sampled on the song, which add a far too real dimension to this already aching anthem of heartache.
“‘ihateyouandyouhatemeto’ is about a love that is spiritual,” SAIAH explained. “A love that isn’t waning. The truth behind the thin line between love and hate. Love will prevail.”
Don’t miss them when they make a stop at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles on Apr. 21.
Visit SAIAH on their Twitter and Instagram to stay updated on new releases and tour announcements.
SAIAH tour
April 20th: Mexico City, MX @ Foro Frontera
April 21st: Los Angeles, CA @ El Rey Theatre
April 22nd: San Francisco, CA @ Rickshaw Stop
April 24th: Denver, CO @ Gothic Theatre
April 26th: Santa Fe, NM @ Meow Wolf
April 28th: Dallas, TX @ House of Blues – Cambridge Room
April 29th: Houston, TX @ House of Blues – Bronze Peacock Room
May 1st: Atlanta, GA @ Aisle 5
May 2nd: Nashville, TN @ Exit/In
May 4th: Evanston, IL @ Space
May 5th: Toronto, ON @ The Great Hall
May 9th: Brooklyn, NY @ Elsewhere
Words by Steven Ward
Listen to “ihateyouandyouhatemetoo” the new single from SAIAH below!
