Santino Le Saint’s highly anticipated album, Golden Hour, Vol. 1, marks a bold, new artistic chapter for his artistry. Showcasing his versatility, Santino solidifies his reputation as one of the most daring artists in the UK’s alternative R&B scene. He shifts through various sonic gears on the project to offer various moods with both downtempo and upbeat sounds. Catching up with Wonderland, the singer-songwriter shares the process and intention behind the LP, track-by-track.

Listen to the new album…

Read the track-by-track…

“Dancing While The House Burns Down”
I wanted to make a song that would introduce the songs and themes of the album, a true intro song. One of the early titles for the project was ‘dancing while the house burns down’ and I think it sums up the story and deeper themes inside the album very well.

“Dr Knockout”
“Dr Knockout” was one of the first songs made when me and Connor started working on this project. We had a sample from Anthoine Walters that we flipped, and the choice to make drum and bass-themed drums is what kickstarted my thought process into making ‘sad songs to dance to’. This song tells a story of being addicted to somebody. This is where we first started experimenting with different drums over our more familiar RnB / Guitar / sample instrumentation.

“Just Drive”
Heavily influenced by industrial production an 80s feeling groove, “Just Drive” was one of the first songs where we started to experiment with the production sounds that went on to shape the album. This song tells a story of late night driving to a girls house when you don’t think you should and the internal monologue on the way. There was a heavy Linkin Park / Nu-Metal influence in the production that stems from my childhood.

“Clockwork”
I made “Clockwork” one Saturday night in my house, not expecting much, but fell in love with the song as I was making it. I think it’s the most directly 80s influenced song. The repetitiveness of the synth and drums in the song gave me the idea to call the song clockwork and I started to write from there. “Clockwork” is a dark synth song to dance to with electric guitars. This song tells a story of being stuck in a cycle or loop with your romantic partner where you might be bad for each other but kinda love it and never change.

“Moviestar”
I had the idea for “Moviestar” already. I made it after a night out with some friends and we all went back to my boy’s house to make music. When it came to the album process I brought the hook over to the beat that Connor made and it fit perfectly. For a song that feels like a 90s RnB banger I thought features would perfectly help complete the song and I thought Nippa and Col3trane would be perfect for it. All R&B but we have 3 distinct styles.

“A Million Ways”
It felt right to dive further into UK influences when thinking about mixing RnB with dance music and Garage was something I’d never really done. We played with pitching vocals and adding guitars to make it more experimental. This song tells a story of knowing how amazing somebody is and wanting to love them anyway you can but they won’t let you.

“Diamonds Aren’t Forever”
When listening to a lot of what we created, we felt as if the album deserved a change in tempo and feeling at points and making this song was for that purpose. James Blake and other alternative R&B artists/producers inspired what became this drum pattern, paired alongside the soft sample from Anthoine Walters again created the perfect balance. This song tells a story of trying to buy someones love but knowing it wouldn’t ever be enough.

“Flawed by Design”
When making this song both Connor and Sol (guitarist who played across a lot of the album with me) we’re pushed to their creative limits by me trying to fit 3 genres into one song. I had the whole structure and idea for the song in my head and spent the first hour trying to articulate it and get it to make sense. Making this song was one of if not the most rewarding on the project. This song is about living a life you’ve always dreamed of whilst still feeling as if you have something or someone missing as well as coming to terms with the fact that you might never get it back and will always have love for her.

“Lonely Star”
“Lonely Star” is a song about someone lost in a lifestyle of fame and rock & roll and how lonely being successful can be. It tells the story from the perspective of a girl who is jaded by ‘hollywood’.

“Semi-Automatic”
“Semi Automatic” is a song about a relationship turning from an innocent crush into something serious and the complications of falling in love. I feel that sometimes, as people fall for each other, they overcomplicate their feelings, which ultimately damages the relationship. This is what the song is about.

“Heart Attack”
“Heart Attack” originally started as ‘Just Drive’ part 2 as we’re using the same drums but put them through some plug-ins and flipped them into a different pattern. When starting to make “Heart Attack” I wanted to make an epic 80s feeling song with heavy soaring guitars influenced by some of my earlier work on “Rage of Angels”. I wanted to give dark Michael Jackson vibes and also have a song that showed off my musicality, hence the long guitar solo and the key change. The song tells a story of a girl who wants to love but has never known how to and so has many failed relationships.

“I Already Know”
I went into making this song with an outdo in mind. I wanted to make a slow dance song that would be a breath of fresh air at the end of the album. I had a period where I listened to country music every day for a few months, and that heavily inspired the feeling and storytelling for this one. I wrote this song basically as a wedding song, with no twists or turns as I like to juxtapose a lot in my songs. This straightforward song says I love you and would do anything to be with you for the rest of my life. Me and Lola were just chilling at my house one day and I played it for her and she loved it so much she wanted to finish writing it with me. We always do that as we’ve made music together for fun for years.