First Listen: Castella delivers another winner with "I Saw You"

(January 10, 2023) Castella’s “I Saw You” is a musical testament to the transforming power that true friendship and love can have in all its manifestations. This breezy, feel-good tune is a song for all seasons. And while Castella is likely expressing her feelings about a significant romantic other, she could be using her sweet, rangy vocals to express gratitude to someone who befriended her without pretense and expectation, and loves her unconditionally (and platonically).

It works either way in part because Castella sings about someone who brought empathy, sincerity, kindness, and respect into her life at a time when those things were not present. The song is an expression of gratitude for someone who had everything she needed at the exact time that she needed it and had given up hope of ever finding it.

How the lyric and music came together mirrors the story told in “I Saw You.” Castella wrote the lyrics and David P. Stevens wrote the music. Stevens came to Castella with the musical arrangement, and she loved what he had done from the moment she heard it. “It was just one of those tracks… you hear it, and the melody comes instantly, a story develops and before you know it, we have a song!” she said.

The cut has that swinging sound that recalls musicians and singers working it out in a studio. Technology allows musicians to create that old-school studio sound and feel even the players record their parts in different locations. Regardless of how the sausage was made, Castella was supported by a quartet of talented musicians that included Stevens on guitar and keys, Joel Tate on drums, Jethaniel Nixon on bass and Marqueal Jordan on saxophone. Check out Castella’s “I Saw You” here.

By Howard Dukes

Castella feat. Marqueal Jordan
“I Saw You”