Saiah - icarus

Saiah's studio album icarus, released on February 18, 2025, under the label SAIAH, features a dense and complex soundscape where clear vocals are juxtaposed with experimental breaks. With only 33 minutes and 39 seconds for twelve tracks, the project demands focused listening, avoiding unnecessary pauses between songs. This deliberate brevity suggests a clean mix where each track occupies its own distinct space, without excessive transitions or artificial inflation of the duration.

The double opening: 999 Saturn and the narrative tension

The album immediately establishes its tone with "999 Saturn," the opening track, which defines the dark and conceptual nature of the entire disc. By placing this track in position 1 on the tracklist, it creates a narrative tension that will continue until the end of the project. This entry into the concrete night does not aim to impress with special sound effects or sudden variations, but rather with its ability to create an atmosphere of immediacy that engages the listener from the very first seconds. The immediate narrative impact of this opening creates a potentially mythological dark arc, sealing an artistic direction where shadow seems to prevail over light. The following track, "questions," confirms this introspective direction before the dynamics take on different forms.

The melodic alliance of Saiah and Dreamer Isioma on babyboy

At the heart of this solo project, two tracks break the artistic's singular vocal style through strategic collaborations. Dreamer Isioma's appearance on this track is not just an additional presence, but a genuine emotional counterpoint that expands the expressive range of the album. It allows Saiah to explore a softer, more textured side, far from the typical beats of the genre, while maintaining stylistic consistency with the rest of the album.

Therapist's textured turn with Johan Lenox

Moving away from the standard sounds of French rap, track 9, "therapist," marks a significant shift thanks to the presence of Johan Lenox. His appearance on this track suggests an openness to more atmospheric and less linear sounds, confirming the artist's ambition to explore unconventional styles. This collaboration does not aim to dominate the track, but rather to serve as a catalyst for transforming the overall atmosphere of the song into something more organic and less constrained by typical commercial codes.

The mythological closing of the album: Icarus

The album concludes with "icarus," the twelfth and final track, marking the end of a potentially very dark or conceptual narrative arc. As the closing track, this piece delivers its mythological conclusion, answering the open question posed in the first side with "999 Saturn." This structure, with the beginning and end of the album mirroring each other, creates a strong narrative coherence, where the start and finish of the disc respond to each other like two sides of the same dark coin. The conceptual culmination of this track gives the project a sense of circularity, suggesting that the artistic journey undertaken from the very first seconds of the album inevitably leads to this final point of resolution or revelation.

The upward trajectory towards Knights Of Babylon

Saiah's discography demonstrates a steady and rapid progression, marked by the release of The 210, San Antonio B Side in 2023, followed immediately by this new, compact project before the announcement of his third studio album, Knights Of Babylon, also slated for release in 2025. This leap year, punctuated by the official release on February 18th, marks a particularly fruitful year for the artist, who multiplies the facets of a single project: the narrative intensity of icarus coexists with evocative titles such as "famous" or "crimsonrednirvana," suggesting a lyrical style with poetic and psychedelic dimensions. The brevity of the album, which ends abruptly after track 12 without allowing for chronological expansion, contrasts with the thematic richness explored in titles such as "pinewood" or "lauren," where the writing seems to prioritize conceptual density over sonic display. This carefully crafted structure, far from being weighed down by length, allows each collaboration to resonate with surgical precision. The absence of unnecessary tracks strengthens the impact of the collaborations with Dreamer Isioma and Johan Lenox, transforming these vocal exchanges into necessary stylistic breaks rather than simple decorative interludes. By positioning the project within an annual trilogy, icarus not only marks a milestone, but also facilitates a smooth transition from a past where density was already dominant to a future where Knights Of Babylon promises to continue this upward trajectory. The album thus establishes itself as an essential link in a career that refuses to stand still, prioritizing constant evolution, where every second of the 33 minutes counts towards the construction of a coherent and ambitious sonic universe. The fact that the studio album is followed by another in 2025 demonstrates an immediate upward trajectory, where each project nourishes the next. The controlled density of this short album, with its twelve tracks for only 33 minutes, suggests an artist capable of composing compact and impactful works, ready to be consumed quickly but leaving a lasting impression.

Technical specifications

- Release date : February 18, 2025 - Label : SAIAH - Tracks : 12 (33 minutes 39 seconds) - Opening / closing : 999 Saturn / icarus - Guests : Dreamer Isioma, Johan Lenox - Previous album : The 210, San Antonio B Side (2023)