While the world is still going berserk about Adele’s big return to music after becoming a parent and a 3 year long hiatus with her technologically groundbreaking new video “Hello”, on the other side of Britain’s music scene of much less known artists there’s another powerhouse female musician who seems to have completely missed the eye of the crowd. An artist with an equally scintillating vocal ability, who writes her own songs and also recently returned to work after experiencing motherhood. That folks is Saint Saviour for you!
Saint Saviour is the solo outfit of musician/vocalist Becky Jones. Jones has been active as a solo artist since 2010, producing electronic infused alternative music. Before that she had been a part of the electro band RGBs and was creating magic as the vocalist of Groove Armada. I remember having watched her on some of Groove Armada’s live show videos from back then, and she was phenomenal! A monster on stage. And, the best thing about her is that she oozes honesty through her performance even when her act is larger than life in itself. Honesty out of appreciation for the art.
For the artist/project of that caliber, Saint Saviour is criminally underrated. I bet a lot of us might not have heard of her/it at all. I myself chanced upon her on accident back in 2012 when I was (like pretty much everybody else) tripping on M83’s “Midnight City” and came across her cover of the song. That cover rings in my head every time I listen to M83 now. I still love M83’s original but her version is a different dimension all together. It’s full of resonating electronic beats and subdued emotions. If you have heard and enjoyed the song I recommend you check out the cover, pronto!
From there onward I have been following Saint Saviour and I believe Jones’ music has had a huge effect on my music palette. It’s the kind of electronic music that haunts you for a long time and makes you think. The second song I heard from her was “This Ain’t No Hymn” and it was another revelation. Her ability of writing soul-wrenching, profound lyrics swept upon me like a sudden wave. And as I watched her live perform the song in some Youtube video, her fists pumping in the air as she hit seemingly impossible notes effortlessly, Saint Saviour had earned herself a forever listener in me. Last year she released her album “In the Seams” and I hope to do a review of that too one of these days.
It is just funny to me sometimes, how some artists become more famous than others and it completely escapes me what actually works as the popularity formula. And while I think Adele deserved every bit of the attention she has gotten, I believe there are many more underground artists we are deprived from lending an ear to just because they are not getting enough of the limelight. Saint Saviour was an artist I’m glad I discovered thanks to my habit of digging out all kinds of music that isn’t served out to me on a platter. But, it also makes me realize that sitting half way across the world I could have easily missed her. Most of my articles are an effort to share and spread all the music I discover and get excited about and I hope this post too shall be a nudge in the right direction.
