October 20, 2023
Saturn Return (Apple Music Edition)
Rêve’s 2021 breakout single “CTRL + ALT + DEL” was Canada’s crowning achievement in the fleeting pandemic-era subgenre of dance-pop jams made for a time when we weren’t allowed to go out dancing. Two years later, the Montreal-bred singer is intent on keeping the party going for real. “CTRL + ALT + DEL” reappears as the centerpiece of Saturn Return, a full-length debut that takes listeners on a hedonistic journey through a wild night out. But the album is more than just a sordid account of strip-club visits, failed Tinder hookups, and ill-advised quickies with an ex. Like her heroes Madonna and Robyn, Rêve (aka the Toronto-based Briannah Donolo) approaches dance music as a medium for personal reflection and spiritual rebirth, and in her case, it’s a process spurred by the astrological phenomenon referenced in the album’s title.
“Your ‘Saturn return’ happens anywhere between 27 to 30 years old, and that’s a period of time marked by change and lessons,” Rêve tells Apple Music. “And sometimes those lessons feel really good, and sometimes they don’t. But they’re ultimately so formative, and they transform you into the person that you’re always meant to be. I feel like this album highlights that journey for me. My ultimate goal is to move the heart as much as your feet.” Here, Rêve maps out her track-by-track path to self-actualization.
“Breaking Up With Jesus”
“I grew up in a home that was Catholic, but not traditional Catholic. Still, something I had in common with my peers who were raised in more traditional homes was that we were taught to never question religion. And I think there comes a time when you're raised a certain way that you just suddenly ask, ‘Why?’ And this song is a snapshot of that.”
“Disco at the Strip Club”
“This song speaks to a time in my life where my girlfriends and I were hanging out with the wrong group of guys and found ourselves in a strip club, which is a fun environment, but the men that we were with weren’t so fun. So, if I could go back in time and give myself a piece of advice, it would be the lyrics to this song. It’s kind of a cautionary tale, as told through disco-pop.”
“Contemporary Love”
“I broke up with my partner earlier this year, and I got onto the apps for the first time, and I found it so weird that you can basically Uber Eats your feelings in this day and age. So, this is the story of myself—a hopeless romantic—trying to navigate the modern dating world. But I can attest to the fact that you can still find love outside of the app—I’m in a very happy and loving relationship now.”
“Big Boom”
“This was co-written with Banx & Ranx—some of my favorite collaborators. They also did a bunch of other songs on the album. But anytime we get together for a night out, it’s always a fun and epic night. And so, we got together in the studio, and we just wrote about one of our epic nights out—you know, one of those hot summer spontaneous evenings with the people that you love.”
“CTRL + ALT + DEL”
“This was written with Banx & Ranx during peak pandemic. We were just reminiscing about the nights that we would go out to hear music on a really good sound system. We couldn’t be bothered with the girls or the guys or the drinks—that’s not what we missed the most. We just missed going out for the music and dancing the night away. So, this song is just a tribute to that, and it was especially meaningful at the time."
“Hypersexual”
“One of my ultimate goals on this record was to celebrate the full range of human emotions and, especially as a woman, I think that sexuality should be celebrated. Sexuality is a massive part of our everyday lives, and it might make some people uncomfortable, but it’s important to talk about. Growing up, there were parts of my sexual self that were shamed, and I think that it’s ultimately so liberating to be able to just honor that side of womanhood.”
“EX EX EX (Whoops)”
“In this song, I highlight an experience most people know all too well: going back to your ex when you really probably shouldn’t. You leave a bar thinking, ‘Oh, maybe I’m going home because I’m feeling ill’ and then you just show up at your ex’s house for what you swear is going to be the last time—but it never is!”
“Tongue”
“This was a very empowering track for me to write because it was the first time that I’d ever released a record singing about a woman. Before this record, I hadn’t come out as bisexual to some people in my life. I’ve always said that my music is my superpower, and it’s given me the strength to have difficult conversations and to really come into myself, and ‘Tongue’ was one of those records that really set me free. We released it during Pride Month, and that was a really beautiful moment for me. It’s one of the most rewarding tracks that I’ve worked on personally. As a member of the LGBTQIA+ community, it’s important to spread love and light and be louder than ever.”
“My My (What a Life)”
“This was actually the last track that I added to the album, because this album is really a love letter to dance music and all the subgenres that influenced me, and I told myself that I could not have an ode-to-dance album without having a drum ’n’ bass track on it. So, this is my D’n’B track, and it’s so full of gratitude. I’m just so grateful that I get to live my dream and connect with so many people.”
“Past Life”
“Everybody debated whether or not a piano ballad would fit on a dance album, and I said it was really important to me—especially on a debut album—that I showcased my roots, because I grew up playing piano. Singing and writing this way and spilling my guts on piano is a form of therapy to me. This is definitely one of the most vulnerable tracks on the album. It describes this feeling of waking up next to your partner in the middle of the night and just being so grateful that you’re alive at the same time. Maybe you don’t always feel like the best person, but when you look at them, you think, ‘Goddamn, I must have been good in a past life!’”
“Whitney”
“Whitney Houston popularized the interpolation of ‘I’m Every Woman’ that I use here. Sometimes, when I get stuck on a chorus, I’ll just splice in something that’s been in my head lately with a similar chord progression. And so, I stuck the interpolation in there as a placeholder. But obviously, ‘I’m Every Woman’ is an Ashford & Simpson masterpiece—I couldn’t beat it! My manager said, ‘This is wonderful, but we are never going to be able to [legally] clear this song.’ It took over a year, but their estate said, ‘OK, we’ll take a lot of publishing, but you can use it.’ This record is so special to me because it was the song that got me signed to my label deal. It was my first dance radio No. 1. It was written eight years ago, when I was still working 9 to 5 and playing in a wedding band, so I’m glad that the waiting game paid off.”
“Release Me”
“This was written during a time when I was in a relationship that was making me feel stifled and very not like myself, and the only time that I could find freedom and feel authentic was when I was between the speakers, or writing music, or I was out listening to music. So, the first part of the song is this electro ballad, and then it transitions into this kind of sonic journey that embodies that feeling.”
“Saturn Return”
“I moved to Toronto in 2020, right before the world went to hell in a handbasket. I was in a 100-square-foot apartment, very far away from home and family, and ‘Saturn Return’ describes the moment of me coming home to Montreal after being away for a while and appreciating the little things and hugging them just a little bit tighter.”
21 Tracks
