SAADI releases new album Birds of Paradise today
SAADI releases new album Birds of Paradise today on
Switch Hit Records
Shares new single & video "Gotcha!"
Los Angeles Record Release Show September 12 at Zebulon
Stream: Birds Of Paradise on All Digital Platforms
Today, SAADI, the solo project of Syrian-American multidisciplinary artist Boshra AlSaadi, is excited to release her anticipated sophomore album Birds of Paradise on Switch Hit Records (order). The album arrives after the release of acclaimed singles "Bottom To The Top" and "Homo sapiens."
On the track, AlSaadi shares:
"'Gotcha!' explores the seduction of organized religion and its perks, as well as our complicity in the daily horrors that come out of this cult of faith. The song is musically inspired by the Sierra Leonean Bubu music of Ahmed Janka Nabay, who was a very influential musical collaborator until he passed in 2017. I had access to a variety of analogue synths at Chris Coady's studio in Glendale, CA and was lucky enough to use them to create the tapestry of sound underpinning the beat."
A fixture of New York’s experimental and indie scenes, AlSaadi has performed internationally with acclaimed acts like TEEN and Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang, and brings a background in visual art, anti-folk, and diasporic storytelling to her musical work.
SAADI will celebrate the release of Birds of Paradise with a record release show in Los Angeles on September 12 at Zebulon. The performance will feature Robin Hatch in the live band, with a set from Alice TM opening the night. Tickets are on sale now.
Born in Damascus, Syria, and raised in Pennsylvania, Boshra AlSaadi is an artist whose journey has been marked by creativity and resilience. Shaped by NYC’s East Village anti-folk scene during her tenure at the Cooper Union School of Art, she co-founded Looker (Serious Business Records) and later joined NYC luminaries TEEN (Carpark) and Janka Nabay and the Bubu Gang (Luaka Bop), touring internationally and playing stages like Bonnaroo and the Kennedy Center. After being diagnosed with muscular dystrophy in her 30s, AlSaadi channeled her experiences into songwriting and production, collaborating with fellow NYC musicians like Jennifer Vanilla and Jason McMahon, and producing records by AJ Lambert.
Now based in Los Angeles, the multi-instrumentalist, vocalist, songwriter, producer, photographer, videographer and painter brings all her talents to bear as SAADI. Her forthcoming album, Birds of Paradise, was written and performed by AlSaadi, with additional production by Chris Coady (Beach House, DIIV) and mastering by Randy Merrill (Taylor Swift, Adele, Addison Rae). The record blends analog synths and programmed beats with guitars and layered vocals, exploring themes of domination, populism, feminism, and humanity’s uneasy relationship with biology and technology.
“Birds of Paradise is a post-apocalyptic record for me. It was culled from the ashes of so much destruction. I had lost some mobility and the ability to tour. My collaborator and friend had passed away unexpectedly. America was pivoting to the right. I was disillusioned about everything: art, music, politics, religion, relationships, justice, family. After dramatically disavowing art and music, I enrolled as a biology student at CUNY. The hard sciences rocked me! I was underweight, underslept, and miserable. I met Chris Coady, who saw my accomplishments and said, “You’re an artist. You’re a producer.” Magic encouragement! I knew he was right. I came running back to music, song by song, moved to LA, writing and recording wherever I could. It has been over 4 years. Post-truth, post-pandemic, post-mobility, but also post-person, Birds of Paradise describes and is born of a quest for meaning in our disintegrating world.”
photo credit: Laura Moreau
