In collaboration with
- Words Notion Staff
- Creative Director Daisy Deane @ DELA.STUDIO
- Director Ayshe Zaifoglu
- Photographer Rashidi Noah
- DOP Toby Leary
- Stylist Carlotta Constant assisted by Mollie French & Annie Gale
- Hair Stylist Shamara Roper assisted by Donica Campbell
- Makeup Artist Maya Man assisted by Tom Easton & Babi Compos
- Set Dresser Piper Samuel
- Producer Elly Craig
- Production Assistants Amy Yates & Olivia Wright
From writing in his bedroom to putting on immersive shows and now being included in the Amazon Music Breakthrough UK: Artists To Watch 2024 list, in collaboration with Notion, Saint Harison reflects on the importance of music that makes us feel seen.
Still writing in his bedroom, Saint Harison is making music with the same intimacy that saw him blow up on TikTok during the pandemic. Now reaching hundreds of thousands of listeners every month, the singer-songwriter is resonating for a reason.
Where does your artist name come from?
Saint because the football team in Southampton is Saints, and as a kid my dad really wanted me to get into football. So I was like ‘little Saint’. And Harison is my real name, but it’s kind of boring by itself... Yes, I am still a Saint.
Where were you born?
I was born in Southampton.
What’s your star sign?
I am a Sagittarius, but I’m a Pisces moon, so I’m not that much of a nasty person. I love star signs. I always judge people I date based on their star signs. No Virgos.
How do you want your music to make people feel?
When people listen to my music, I just want them to feel heard and seen. I write a lot from really personal experiences, so the goal is to reach people that can relate to those feelings.
Where do you make music?
I always write in my bedroom, in a little safe space. I’m normally quite sad when I write – that’s why I don’t have any happy songs... Yet, life is getting better. Slowly!
What’s your main source of inspiration?
A lot of my musical inspirations come from my granddad. He loved Motown music and soul music, really huge voices and divas like Barbra Streisand, Aretha Franklin. He loved Stevie Wonder. Then I found R&B when I was like 13 or 14, and it became Jazmine Sullivan. I love Amy Winehouse and Adele’s a big one for me. I think anyone that has feeling. Anyone where, when they sing, I just feel so much emotion. That’s kind of all I really care about in music. It’s just stories. I don’t really listen to one type of genre, I listen to anybody that can tell a story and that makes you really feel it and be in it with them.
What inspires you in life?
I love my dogs. My mum, my family. They always inspire me. Just not living a boring life is, in a weird way, quite inspiring.
Do you have a pre-show ritual?
Honestly, I just want to leave like five minutes before I do a show, because the anxiety gets to me. But I have a candle now. I love Le Labo. So now on my rider – now I get to have a rider – I’ve added a Le Labo candle, which makes me feel very chill.
What else is on your rider?
Ginger tea… Really boring things that I need to sing. Honey, lemon – apparently lemon’s not even meant to be a thing anymore, but whatever. And gin. Especially when I don’t have anything to do the next day, I put gin on the rider. We had chicken on the rider on in Atlanta, hot chicken wings. I might start making that a thing.
What’s a Saint Harrison show like?*
I like to make it super immersive. I don’t like to feel like it’s me and people watching; I like to feel like it’s a whole room. I love everybody singing along. I like to talk to people. I often bring people up to sing with me. When you’re online, especially being an artist that came about in Covid, I look at my phone and it’s a lot of numbers and words. I don’t think I can really process it in my head. So, when I’m actually in the room with people, I like to make the most of that situation. That I’m really with everybody.
Do you have a message for your fans?
It’s so funny, because I never thought I’d have any fans in my life. So just thanks. Thanks for listening to my music and being sad with me.
Which artist past or present would you choose for a collaboration?
I feel like my dream collaborator, if she was still here, would be Amy Winehouse. And then now I have this childhood dream of collaborating with Hayley Williams and doing a song. I used to love Hayley Williams, so I don’t know, maybe one day. And Dolly Parton. I’d love to write a country song with Dolly Parton. I love her. I literally love her so much.
How would you describe your sound?
I would describe Saint Harison’s sound as very honest. I definitely have a lot of influences from artists that my grandad listened to and I try and mix that with who I love now. But overall just very honest, and I try to be as raw as possible when I’m writing songs.
