Saro

Saro, the Los Angeles artist whose moody alt-R&B-pop style merges a soulful falsetto with layered electronic textures, produces tracks that balance poise with emotional release. Recognition arrived with his first recording, the 2016 EP In Loving Memory, which showcased a fusion of danceable rhythms and sweeping, film-like atmospheres. By the arrival of the Boy Afraid EP in 2017, he had begun drawing parallels to Morrissey while serving as an opening act for Miguel. The 2019 EP Die Alone deepened his catalog as he addressed love and loss from the perspective of a gay man, and the single “Daddy I Love Him” from 2021 wove together pleasure and pain through candid, healing reflection.

During his upbringing, Evan Windom, who performs as Saro, harmonized with his parents’ preferred recordings by Annie Lennox, Michael Jackson, Gloria Estefan, and Luther Vandross, yet he waited until after high school to begin creating music. Classical voice instruction followed in college, and at age 19 he started singing and composing alongside his close friend Simone Battle. In 2014, just as he prepared to issue an EP under the name Evan Mellows, Battle’s suicide prompted a complete reevaluation of his artistic path. Channeling that grief, he adopted the name Saro in tribute to the Smiths’ “Pretty Girls Make Graves” (“And sorrow’s native son/He will not smile for anyone”), grew more forthcoming about his sexuality, and placed his viewpoint as a gay man at the center of his songwriting.

Windom later linked up with producers Robin Hannibal and David Burris to establish the Mateo Sounds recording studio and label, where they captured his debut EP, the brooding In Loving Memory, released in February 2016. The following year brought an opening slot for Miguel, a featured appearance on the Flight Facilities track “Stranded,” and the October 2017 release of Boy Afraid, an EP that moved from dance-oriented cuts to cinematic soundscapes. Additional collaborations arrived with Slaters on the 2018 track “One” and with DVBBS on the 2019 single “Somebody Like You.” In June 2019, Die Alone appeared, a Burris-produced EP that retained its cathartic core while leaning slightly more toward hope. While developing his first full-length album, Windom joined Tinlicker on “Paradise,” ZES on “Floodgates,” and Neek on the pair of singles “Limitations” and “It Hurts Again” in 2020. The May 2021 release of “Daddy I Love Him” offered the initial preview of that forthcoming debut album, slated for later in the year.