Rina Sawayama

"13 Artists you need to know about in 2017” - Fader “Lush and propulsive off-kilter pop” – Sunday Times “Rina makes sugar-coated R&B with meaning for the digital age” - i-D “The glistening track tingles with a Justin Timberlake-esque guitar hook and spotlights anxiety in the digital age.” – Dazed 100 “An edgy and ambitious sound that fully justifies Rina being tipped as a super exciting artist to watch in 2017” – Dummy

Described as a “digital dream girl” by V Magazine, Rina Sawayama finds her freedom online. The video for ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ blends retro-futuristic cyberpunk with classic 00’s R&B; flashes of Brandy and Janet, set in an electro dreamworld. The video riffs on Rina’s kaleidoscopic influences; from Fruits Magazine fluoro fashion to Missy Elliot’s music video canon. Produced by Clarence Clarity and Hoost, the track is an intoxicating mix of watery pads and Timbaland-esque harpsichords. ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ has been remixed by LA singer/songwriter Nite Jewel, available on Rina’s upcoming 12” release, the pre-order for which is available now via Vinyl Factory.

‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ muses on how digital fantasies can be as exciting as real-life interactions. “It took two years of rewriting and revising as I wrestled with the beauty and anxiety of digital life” said Rina in a recent Fader interview. “Before, I saw the internet as a captor of our time and free will. But now, I see embracing a positive relationship with our online selves as an act of self-preservation and defiance. In this age, the digital world can offer vital support networks, voices of solidarity, refuge, escape. Marginalized people, or socially anxious people like myself can, in fact, be freed.”

Rina Sawayama is a London-based model, singer, producer and creative hailing from Tokyo.

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