Saya Gray
Saya Gray | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1995 (age 29–30) Toronto, Ontario, Canada |
| Genres | Alternative pop |
| Labels | Dirty Hit |
| Formerly of | Quincy Bullen Band |
| Website | sayagray |
Saya Gray (born 1995) is a Canadian musician.
Early life
[edit]Gray was born in 1995[1] and raised in Toronto, Ontario, Canada[2][3], growing up in the Beaches neighbourhood of Toronto.[4] Her mother is the founder of the Discovery Through the Arts music school in Toronto.[2][5] Her mother's family moved from Shizuoka Prefecture in Japan to Canada when her mother was ten years old.[4] Her father is a Scottish-Canadian[6] jazz trumpet player who studied at the Berklee College of Music.[2][5] She is of Japanese-Canadian descent.[3][5][4] Her brother, who plays the guitar, appears on her album 19 Masters.[5] She began playing the piano at a young age,[5][4][6] eventually deciding around the age of ten to play bass.[5]
Musical career
[edit]Gray began playing music in a house band for a Jamaican Pentecostal church.[7] At the age of eighteen, Gray was a music teacher and a member of the Quincy Bullen Band.[8] After dropping out of high school in order to take night classes instead, she moved to London in the United Kingdom at the age of nineteen.[4] She worked as a touring bassist for over ten years prior to releasing music.[5] She previously played as a bassist in Canadian singer and songwriter Daniel Caesar's touring band.[2][3] She has also been a musical director for American singer Willow Smith[2] and a bassist for English singer and songwriter Liam Payne.[5]
In 2019, Gray began releasing original music.[3] Her debut album, 19 Masters, was released on 2 June 2022.[3][5] In 2023 and 2024, she released the dual extended plays QWERTY and QWERTY II.[4][9][10] Her second album, SAYA, was released on 21 February 2025.[2]
Personal life
[edit]Gray has lived in Toronto and the countries of Japan and the United Kingdom.[3][4] She was living in Tokyo as of March 2024.[4]
Discography
[edit]Albums
[edit]EPs
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "Album Of The Week: Saya Gray 'SAYA'". Stereogum. 18 February 2025. Retrieved 25 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i Lapierre, Megan (19 February 2025). "Saya Gray Is Remaking Pop in Her Own Image". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g Wickes, Jade (18 March 2022). "Saya Gray on finally releasing her own music". The Face. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h Monroe, Jazz (21 March 2024). "Venture Into Saya Gray's Alt-Pop Wonderland". Pitchfork. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j Haver Currin, Grayson (19 April 2022). "Saya Gray Pulls Music From Her Bones". UPROXX. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b Kasambala, Natty (17 March 2022). "Saya Gray's music is for people asking 'what the fuck is going on?'". Dazed. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ Freid, Ben (16 January 2025). "Meet 'hyper-intuitive' artist Saya Gray". The Colorado Sound. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ Beker, Jeanne (2 August 2013). "Saya Gray: tomboy teen turned style sophisticate". Toronto Star. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b c Mitchell, Matt (24 February 2025). "Saya Gray Makes Heartbreak Bizarre and Bold on 'SAYA'". Paste Magazine. Retrieved 24 February 2025.
- ^ a b Lapierre, Megan (15 February 2024). "Saya Gray Announces New 'QWERTY II' EP, Shares Single". Exclaim!. Retrieved 24 February 2025.