Annabel Gutherz is back this week with her first single of the year. We’ve been tracking Annabel’s progress through space and time (the themes of her current project) from song to song, and “Saturn’s Rings” is yet another look at her ability to turn intergalactic imagery into powerful music.
“‘Saturn’s Rings’ is about being enveloped by your thoughts and feelings for an ex, despite the amount of time that has passed between you two,” Annabel said of the song. “I wanted the production to reflect the push-and-pull dynamic of the lyrics and the discordant emotional undercurrents contrasting each song section.”
We caught up with Annabel for a deeper look at the feelings and emotions she’s turning over in “Saturn’s Rings” and how she’s continuing to lead us deeper into space with every new release.
Showstopper Magazine Online: When you released “Interstellar” late last year, we talked about what drew you to space themes and how you use them to embody relationships. How does that apply to “Saturn’s Rings”?
Annabel Gutherz: Emotions, like those after a breakup, can feel really overwhelming. They can pull you down with the force of gravity, color you blue like the night, and make you spin like the stars. As such, the spatial concept was the perfect fit for the story conveyed in this song!
SMO: What inspired “Saturn’s Rings”? What draws you to that planet specifically?
Annabel: Much like my previous single “Interstellar,” “Saturn’s Rings” was inspired by the conflicting emotions and ruminations we parse through in the wake of a breakup, specifically being consumed by the thought of one’s ex and all that comes along with that. I was drawn to Saturn because I felt the analogy of being wrapped around someone like the rings of Saturn well communicated this experience.
SMO: Like “Interstellar,” “Saturn’s Rings’ is about a relationship that is over. How do you think the two compare?
Annabel: Both “Interstellar” and “Saturn’s Rings” are similar in that they are each very theatrical and explore the emotional aftermath of a breakup. I think after a breakup, we experience a cacophony of feelings, and “Interstellar” and “Saturn’s Rings” are the distillation of a few of those emotions. “Interstellar” is angry and pointed in tone and instrumentation, whereas “Saturn’s Rings” is more melancholy and hurt in tone and instrumentation.
SMO: Do you have a favorite line from the song?
Annabel: My favorite line from the song is “I’m still spinning like stars from your cure and your sting, I’m still wrapped around you like Saturn’s rings.” I feel as though this line is a great summation of the sentiments explored throughout the song! I’d also love to give an honorable mention to my second favorite line, “Though you left me in the dark, I still see you in the best of light.” I think this phrase captures the song’s essence and story.
SMO: Visuals have been a big part of your recent work. Does that apply to this single?
Annabel: Absolutely! Beyond the cover art, which was brilliantly conceptualized and executed by my artistic hero Jirka Vinse Jonatan Väätäinen, I am so excited to share a live, acoustic performance of “Saturn’s Rings” imminently! Filmed by Sean Dubé of Nomad Media and Tom McNamara in an ambiguous setting evocative of an alien planet’s surface, this visual helps support the song’s content and textures it in a whole new, intimate way.
SMO: You have said there’s a “push-and-pull dynamic” in the production and the lyrics. Can you talk a bit more about what that means to you?
Annabel: This song expresses and explores many different emotional dualities that are usually in direct opposition of one another: love and hate, resistance and surrender, and clarity and confusion, amongst many others. I wanted the production to reflect the disparity between these conflicting emotions. This is reflected in the quiet anticipation of the music in the verses and the more dramatic music in the choruses, produced by musical mastermind Bleu McAuley.
SMO: Is there anything else you’d like people to know about “Saturn’s Rings”?
Annabel: “Saturn’s Rings” is our final musical jaunt into the Milky Way! I’m filled with gratitude to be creating new music, and I am looking forward to sharing more music with you!
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“Saturns Rings” is streaming now!
