My name is Sunny Reyne and my new single “Safe” was written in 2021, when we were deep into the endless lockdowns. It came from a period of uncertainty, where the future was unclear and my sense of direction was thrown off its course.
“Safe” speaks of those moments where you take a step back and can’t quite figure out what you should be doing, where you should be going and how to define what the future might hold. It speaks of the times when your mind overpowers your thoughts and chips away at your sense of being. It is also about the need to lean on others for a sense of safety and to find the strength to push through hardship.
Although the original idea for the song came from this specific period, it also feels as though it’s been through many different phases of meaning and purpose since then. I think because the songs definition has an overall sense of ambiguity to it, it has since taken on different passing phases of my own life, whilst still keeping a faint ode to the original concept.
I think that for me, when a song stays locked in a vault for a long time, it takes on a new lease of life to remain relevant and topical to my own songwriting and what it is that I want to get across. As much as it is about that period of my life during lockdowns, it is also about the overall theme of finding the right people and the strength to bring you back to your own purpose in life.
More often than not, I’ll start composing a song with a simple chord progression and begin to improvise a melody over the top of that. The bass line is an important feature in this song to me, as it signifies a repetitive motif that brings a sense of continuity to the piece that highlights the safety and comfort that the lyricism speaks of.
UK-based producer and keys player Lewis Moody was the brains behind the production of this song, so we worked together to bring life to it. The outro, with the repetitive words of “stay safe, be free, move” came to me as a kind of mantra to round out the song.
It completes the lyricism throughout the rest of the song, as it signifies a sense of closure on the themes of hopelessness and unfamiliarity that are prominent throughout the piece, as I made a conscious effort to end the song with a sense of hope and enlightenment to give it an overall directional arc.
The outro also includes a feature from Melbourne saxophonist Josh Kelly, of 30/70, who crafts a gradual build throughout the 2.5 minute outro that creates a beautiful swell in dynamics. I was cautious of the length of the outro and aware of trying to keep it engaging due to its repetitive nature, so the addition of saxophone came fairly late to the song as a way to introduce a new, different sonic texture to the piece to open it up.
I think the way Josh phrases and implements his ideas is really incredible and he brought a whole new lease of life to Safe. Having never heard the song, he came in to record it and it took him approximately 2 takes to get exactly what we felt the song needed.
“Safe” comes from my upcoming debut album I’ve Been Sleeping Too Long, out on the 9th of November. This album was recorded at Rolling Stock Recording Rooms in Melbourne, where Lewis Moody and I spent a whole week there crafting these songs into fruition.
I was lucky enough to play with some incredible friends and musicians on each of these songs and I’m really proud of how they each take on a life of their own, whilst covering themes of growth, love, comfort and loneliness. You can have a listen to “Safe” now and make sure to check out the album in full in November!
Listen to “Safe” below and stream it everywhere else here.
