Sariyah Idan lifts us through pain and into healed joy with her sweetly soaring single and video Fly — showcasing today on Tinnitist.
A track from the singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist and producer’s upcoming sophomore release Glitter & Blood, Fly invites us to let go of our toxic past, be bold, and ignite joy. “I wrote it as a letter to myself,” Idan says. “I was actively letting go of a lot of negative mental and emotional patterns. Many people I know have been moving through this kind of stuff, both during and now post-lockdown.”
The song features the depths and heights of Sariyah’s evocative voice over a lush arrangement including full brass and rhythm sections, lilting clarinet, dynamic percussion, and more ethereal electric guitar playing than her previous releases. “Yeah, this song is definitely a new direction for me as a songwriter, both lyrically and musically. The whole album is, really,” she adds.
In addition to being an accomplished musician, Sariyah has extensive background as a dancer and actor. She drew from both her theater and film experience to conceptualize, direct, and act in the video, offering a ceremony of broken glass, dance, and roller-skates. “My dance background very much informs the way I write, produce, and play music; it all starts with an impulse of movement in my body,” she says.
Due Nov. 3, Glitter & Blood is the followup to her 2019 debut solo LP Breaking Shadows, an album that addressd heavy issues, both personal and societal. By contrast, Glitter & Blood is about choosing to walk away from heavy issues that cause unnecessary suffering. “On a very personal level it’s about me relocating to New Orleans from Los Angeles, but more broadly it’s about boldly moving in the direction of freedom. Fly kind of epitomizes those themes that run through the whole album,” she says. It was recorded in New Orleans with a collection of local musicians and engineer/co-producer Andy Schlegel, who also worked on Breaking Shadows and flew in from Berlin for the project.
For her part, the New York-bred Sariyah relocated to NOLA from L.A. in 2021. “I moved for a whole bunch of reasons, from community here to my history as a jazz singer studying under Yusef Lateef. But mainly I just really wanted to play, and whether on the street or in venues, I knew I could do that here. That wasn’t possible in Los Angeles, and not just because of the pandemic — it’s just not really a live music town. I’m incredibly grateful for the support I continue to receive in New Orleans, and I’m actively creating programs to give back to the community here.”
Since relocating to the Crescent City, Sariyah has played iconic venues like The New Orleans Jazz Museum for French Quarter Fest, and regularly plays at House Of Blues, which will host her Glitter & Blood release party on Nov. 3. Known as “the most hauntingly beautiful voice of the New Orleans streets,” Sariyah’s tones echo through the French Quarter when she performs on the street. “I call it being initiated by Royal St.,” she quips. “There’s a lyric or two about that on the album.”
Watch the video for Fly above, listen to the song on your preferred streamer HERE, pre-save Glitter & Blood HERE, sample more music from Sariyah Idan below, and keep up with her on her website and Instagram.
