Saint Harison Guides Clash Through ‘lost a friend’ EP
Saint Harison is speaking his truth. Across a blockbuster six months the UK vocalist has released a string of incredible tracks, blending impactful R&B with a rigorous desire to express himself.
So far, it seems to be working. Singles such as the Tiana Major9 collaboration ‘homies’ have made a global impact, with the likes of Jazmine Sullivan, Justin Bieber, Summer Walker, Ty Dolla $ign and Timbaland, to name a few, flocking to his cause.
New EP ‘lost a friend’ is out now, a dizzying displaying of soulful virtuosity that rises and falls with organic feel. As a project, it hangs together with terrific unity, acting as an assured lens for its makers emotions.
With the EP out now, Saint Harison wrote this track-by-track guide for Clash.
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why didn’t you call???
I wrote ‘why didn’t you call???’ in my bedroom during a Zoom session. It was the last song I finished for the project. It’s about the downward spiral after someone you care about doesn’t call you back. I tend to overthink a lot and usually believe the worst case scenario, I wanted to write from that vulnerable place. Even though I thought some of the lyrics were dumb and too honest at the time, since putting it out, so many people have reached out telling me about their own stories and how they relate to the song. I’m so happy that this song can do that for people.
homies ft. Tiana Major9
I heard ‘homies’ back in 2021 and immediately connected with it. It was written by a writer called Blush, and the way she articulated a situation that I was going through was so special, I just had to put it on the project. After cutting the song with Blush, the idea of a feature was being thrown around, and I knew that it had to be someone from the UK R&B scene. Tiana Major9 has been one of my favourite artists to come out of the UK in the last few years, and I never thought she’d do it, but here we are! It is such a privilege to have her on the project.
TMF
I wrote this song in LA with Marcus Semaj MarcLo and producer, Deputy. When I walked into the session I already had the title “Too Many Fucks” in my head and the idea of wanting to write something that expresses the feeling of caring too much about someone. Deputy produced Rihanna’s ‘Bitch Better Have My Money’ and I knew I really wanted to channel that energy.
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ego talking
‘Ego Talkin’ was another zoom session that we did whilst the UK was in lockdown. Fun fact about this song: I actually never saved the project because I didn’t think I was ever gonna use it. But luckily, I sent all the stems over at the end of the session, so we were able to rescue it! ‘ego talking’ is that inner dialogue you have with yourself when you’re reflecting on relationships and how the ego can get in the way sometimes!
james (bleeding alone)
A letter to my friend James. It was never intended as a song for the project, and I had to be persuaded to release it. I guess the song speaks for itself, but it’s almost like a promise to someone special to me. This is the quickest song I wrote for the project, it took me about 15 minutes. I didn’t write down any words, I just set up the mic and started singing. My main goal with my music is to help as many people as possible and although that wasn’t my initial intention with this song, I’m hopeful that it does that for people. Mental health has played a very big part in my life, including my friends and family and I think it’s important that we keep talking about it and sharing our stories.
lost a friend
‘lost a friend’ was the third song we wrote that day. I think it was past midnight, and we’d had some ideas but nothing was really hitting. And then Akeel Henry (producer) pulled up this idea and everyone had the same feeling of “we’ve got to write this!” I already had ‘lost a friend’ as a title, but I had imagined something different sonically to what we ended up with. I didn’t expect the song to have this groove, but I thought it was a cool juxtaposition.
‘lost a friend’ is about the realisation that coming out of a relationship also means losing someone you’re close to. I only have a small circle, so losing someone from that circle was tough.
more weed, less friends
I also wrote this song when the UK was in lockdown, I feel like it’s very pensive and reflective of that time. The first line “silly me to not tie up all odds and ends” – during COVID I think everyone had a lot of time to reflect on relationships that had been and gone. I also think it put a lot of things into perspective, and allowed me to re-evaluate the things that really mattered to me.
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