Ears Wide Open: SAÍGO

Kevin Bronson on April 7th, 2017

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Like the legions engaging in what’s become known as future-soul or alt-R&B, SAIGO valiantly raises his falsetto, not just in hymns to love but in paeans to modernity and its pratfalls and possibilities. The L.A. singer-songwriter-producer — real name: Tien Nguyen — is a Maryland native and the Vietnamese-American son of refugees who debuted in 2014 under the name Tien and released the EP “Invitation” (apparently expunged now from the interwebs).

In his new persona, Nguyen has released three singles, each showcasing his labyrinthine production, but no two alike. The latest is the weighty “Waiting Game,” which he says “is my long-view perspective, perhaps even a mantra, of progressive ideals in the midst of cultural evolution. If the goal is to adapt justice to an ever-changing society, the results-oriented ego will always be left waiting, unsatisfied.” Really forward future-soul fans, though, will matriculate to “So Natural,” a jazz suite that clocks in at under 3 minutes.

SAIGO is also a featured artist on the forthcoming album by Kan Wakan, “Phantasmagoria.” This week, Kan Wakan mastermind Gueorgui Linev unveiled the new song “Still Feather,” a headlong dive into a dystopian present where the relentless onslaught of technology, in the name of progress, nudges us farther and farther from our mortal coils.

||| Stream: “Waiting Game,” “The Other” and “So Natural”