S. Raekwon, the moniker of New York City-based songwriter/producer Steven Reynolds, is releasing his debut single on Saddle Creek’s Document Series, whose alumni include Hovvdy, Hand Habits, Palehound, Disq and more, today. “Parts Towards Whole” is the A-side of his Parts Towards Whole b/w A Crows Smile 7”, which will be out on February 7th. The song is the first from the promising musician, who records and produces all of his songs at home, meticulously going over these songs with a fine-tooth-comb, writing and rewriting, until finally settling on the soundscapes that run through his debut offering. Having submitted his demos to their submission inbox, a gaping maw where many demos go to languish, Saddle Creek’s Amber Carew found the S. Raekwon songs and was immediately intrigued by the young songwriter’s talent, thoughtfulness, and striking songs. The end result is this, an exciting artist’s debut songs on the venerable indie label. Speaking to the genesis of “Parts Towards Whole” Reynolds says that;

“Writing and recording this song felt like a moment of clarity after passing through a terrible storm. I had just weeks prior finished a collection of songs, which I had been working on for roughly a year, that were defined by their shared sense of purpose – they were all written during, and reflected, a period in my life that felt colorless. After finishing those works, and in the process healing my relationships with myself and those around me, I felt a renewed desire to work on music for the simple pleasure of making music, without the added weight of it needing to fit or reflect a predetermined narrative or to help serve as a diaristic and therapeutic way of managing my emotions.

The resulting song, Parts Towards Whole, felt much looser, though no less meaningful, than anything I had written before. At its core, it is a song about the complicated path of sustaining a meaningful relationship. A song about how we are all children when it comes to loving someone else, and about how there is both beauty and doubt at the heart of that feeling and the inevitable conclusion of following it to its most fully realized endpoint: the process of becoming whole with another person.”