Saga Faye

Saga Faye’s music feels like a snapshot of modern girlhood. Her sound blends early-internet nostalgia with raw acoustic vulnerability and underground dance textures. At just 22, the Sweden-raised, Norway-born artist is crafting songs that feel both intimate and cinematic journal entries with melodies that cut straight to the heart. Now Stockholm-based, and newly label signed, Saga Faye began her song writing at just 13. Her early lyrics were poetic and dramatic, inspired by the Norwegian artist Susanne Sundfør. Part of her songwriting was escapism, a way for her to process feelings during a turbulent time throughout her school years, but it also comes from a deep obsession with language.

Since the age of 10, she filled huge notebooks with her diary entries, constantly scribbling down her thoughts. Whether romanticising her life or capturing fleeting moments in vivid sensory detail, she’s always tried to distill her experience into something tangible: the smells, sights and feelings of each day. Looking back, she realises she was writing to understand or ”prove” her existence, a process she now continues through the music she makes, which has poised for a standout year. With the release of her debut EP, East of The Sun…, and her already viral breakout track ‘Who are you?’ – a TikTok phenomenon turned global streaming single Saga has undeniably cultivated her craft.

Musically, hip-hop has always been Saga Faye’s greatest love. She grew up hearing her parents play A Tribe Called Quest and De La Soul around the house. Fascinated by the history of the genre, she studied its roots, drawing inspiration from legends such as Nas and MF DOOM, as well as contemporary trailblazers including Little Simz, and her ride-or-die: Kendrick Lamar.

Her father’s side of the family – who are jazz musicians – introduced her to the smooth rhythms of the genre, as well as the classical music she’d daydream to on long car journeys. And Saga Faye’s tastes remain eclectic, with her playlists shifting between the ethereal melodies of Studio Ghibli composer Cécile Corbel to the raw energy of Kodak Black, the dreamlike soundscapes of Beach House and avant-garde brilliance of Björk.

Her debut track ‘Who are you?’ catapulted her voice across the globe in a way most artists only dream of. Centred around themes of lost love and the pain of becoming a newfound stranger after the end of a relationship, the track’s emotional hook resonated strongly on TikTok. It sparked its own trend, with users pairing the acoustic pop track with grainy childhood photos alongside recent images, reflecting on how far they’d come – whether through emo phases or simply older and wiser. Saga Faye was especially moved by videos from those who had transitioned to embrace their true gender identity.

At its peak, the song became the platform’s number one trending sound, with over 340,000 user-generated videos bringing her lyrics to life, while on Spotify it has surpassed 25 million streams. BBC Radio 1 named her one of their Next Wave artists, solidifying her status as a breakout name, and in October she will embark on a European tour with viral US star d4vd. The greatest compliment for her, though, was finding out how many people had Shazam-ed the track or added it to their playlists, as those are a real marker of how much people connect with a song.

Before all of this, Saga Faye had dabbled in music, singing in a band with friends and releasing a few tracks independently. But everything clicked when meeting the producers she now works closely with, the Swedish production duo Teddy Failure. Their honest creative partnership and shared vision brought Saga Faye into focus, allowing her to shape the delicate sound replete with tensions that defines her work.

In line with the intimacy of her music, Saga’s connection to her fans is deeply personal. She mailed handwritten letters with pre-release links to 100 avid supporters across the world, from Thailand to Belgium, turning her growing audience into a close-knit community. With fan pages popping up on Instagram and X, listeners are now following her career in real time, witnessing the early rise of an artist often compared to Clairo or beabadoobee.

Her debut EP, East of The Sun…, expands on her recurring themes of escapism – yearning for somewhere else, longing for the future, or dreaming of a return to childhood. ‘Swedish Girl’ serves as a personal introduction to Saga Faye, contrasting with the anonymity of ‘Who are you?’ It’s about feeling stuck in life’s routines and craving freedom, with its gentle guitars, flutes and hummed ad-libs lending a dreamlike quality.

Elsewhere, ‘Dance King’ – a drum ‘n’ bass-inspired track influenced by Sugababes and PinkPantheress – maintains her trademark wistful girlhood aesthetic. “Was it tonight or years ago?” she ponders with breathy, up-close intimacy. Despite its upbeat sound, she dissects the idea of being impulsive and drastic as a coping mechanism. ‘Either Way’ examines a doomed relationship, balancing fleeting tenderness with a fear of both abandonment and commitment. Saga Faye’s music often explores a tension between the feel of the music and lyrics, and ‘I Wonder’ does just that: balancing between the feeling of staying, or going. It ends on a cliffhanger, inspired by the eleventh-hour airport goodbyes of old rom-coms.

With a full-length album planned as a spiritual sequel to East of The Sun…, Saga Faye’s journey is just beginning – and the world is leaning in to hear what comes next.