As a devoted listener who has followed SAPPHIRE's since her 2021 single "Repeat", each release feels like an unfolding chapter of a captivating novel. That novel now has a name - test drive. Leading this latest EP is "wasting my time", a musical revelation, a symphony of emotional depth and vocal prowess that has me utterly enamored. The rest of the EP is joined by the explosive pop anthem "corvette" to the dance-worthy "crisis," every track resonates with an infectious joy born from the artist's experimentation with sounds and vibes. "wasting my time" stands out as the singer-songwriter's ability to turn pain into poignant art, and with each listen, I find myself drawn deeper into the honesty of her songwriting. With its themes of empowerment and self-love, the test drive EP signifies not just a musical evolution but a personal one for SAPPHIRE. With every release, my admiration for SAPPHIRE grows, and this newest release reaffirms why her music remains a constant source of inspiration and connection for me.
“I started writing this EP last year after experiencing one of the hardest moments of my life. I was getting an insane amount of hate online and it killed me inside. I felt lost, hurt, and completely out of control. I had no ability to remove people’s posts about me and nowhere to hide from it. I knew that the only way I could heal was by creating more music and testing out all sorts of different sounds… Damn, it made me so happy. I’m very grateful that I got to work with people that were happy to play around with vibes and sounds, I felt so much joy every time I went into the studio as I got to test out something totally different every. single. time.”
“The more I did this, the more I found that certain sounds were sticking and starting to feel right to me. I started to feel more confident in myself again after feeling so lost for so long. And by the time Spring 2023 rolled around, I had an EP.”