Rina Sawayama continues her exploration of the relationship between technology and humanity with a new Holly Herndon-meets-TLC single ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’. It’s a glitchy R&B commentary produced by Clarence Clarity and Hoost that took this London-based artist two years to complete as she revisited and rethought the disparity between her own online and actual existence. In a detailed explanation of this far from simple subject matter, Sawayama explains that “Before, I saw the internet as a captor of our time and free will. But now, I see embracing a positive relationship with our online selves as an act of self-preservation and defiance. In this age, the digital world can offer vital support networks, voices of solidarity, refuge, escape. Marginalized people, or socially anxious people like myself can, in fact, be freed. That’s what ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ is about: pessimism, optimism, anxiety, and freedom.” With this breakdown in hand we can find deeper meaning in this new track, one that moves away from the noise of the crowd to the sanctuary of the bedroom and a removal of social isolation through the internet where “fiction, fact, boundaries collide.” With heavy doses of ‘00s R&B, quirky electronics and a seriously empowering progression, ‘Cyber Stockholm Syndrome’ is utterly satisfying to listeners with an affiliation for Destiny’s Child and early Justin Timberlake and an aversion to social obligations. - HT