"Sanctuary" is a song by Japanese singer-songwriter Joji. It was released on 14 June 2019 through 88rising Records and 12 Tone Music. The track was written by Joji, Daniel Wilson,

Justin Raisen Justin Louis Raisen is an American record producer, songwriter, audio engineer, mixing engineer, and multi-instrumentalist. His production, songwriting, and mixing credits include: Yves Tumor, David Bowie, Kim Gordon, Ariel Pink, Angel Olsen, Sky ...

and Luke Niccoli, with Raisen handling production. Eoin Glaister directed the song's accompanying music video.

Composition

"Sanctuary" was composed by Joji, Daniel Wilson,

and Luke Niccoli, arranged by Joji and produced by Raisen. It is a

lo-fi Lo-fi (also typeset as lofi or low-fi; short for low fidelity) is a music or production quality in which elements usually regarded as imperfections in the context of a recording or performance are present, sometimes as a deliberate choice. The ...

and

electropop Electropop is a hybrid music genre combining elements of electronic and pop genres. Writer Hollin Jones has described it as a variant of synth-pop with heavy emphasis on its electronic sound. The genre was developed in the 1980s and saw a re ...

ballad A ballad is a form of verse, often a narrative set to music. Ballads derive from the medieval French ''chanson balladée'' or ''ballade'', which were originally "dance songs". Ballads were particularly characteristic of the popular poetry and ...

that incorporates elements of

trap A trap is a mechanical device used to capture or restrain an animal for purposes such as hunting, pest control, or ecological research. Trap or TRAP may also refer to: Art and entertainment Films and television * ''Trap'' (2015 film), Fil ...

electronica Electronica is both a broad group of electronic-based music styles intended for listening rather than strictly for dancing and a music scene that started in the early 1990s in the United Kingdom. In the United States, the term is mostly used to r ...

, R&B and

soul In many religious and philosophical traditions, there is a belief that a soul is "the immaterial aspect or essence of a human being". Etymology The Modern English noun ''soul'' is derived from Old English ''sāwol, sāwel''. The earliest attes ...

music, and its production features

ambient Ambient or Ambiance or Ambience may refer to: Music and sound * Ambience (sound recording), also known as atmospheres or backgrounds * Ambient music, a genre of music that puts an emphasis on tone and atmosphere * ''Ambient'' (album), by Moby * ...

synthesizer A synthesizer (also spelled synthesiser) is an electronic musical instrument that generates audio signals. Synthesizers typically create sounds by generating waveforms through methods including subtractive synthesis, additive synthesis and ...

s and a minimalist beat. Like most of Joji's tracks, "Sanctuary" is a love song, though its lyrics feature "more poetically abstract verses", rather than the artist's usual "frank and uncomplicated confessions." Throughout the song, Joji sings to a potential lover that he can offer devotion and honesty, though asks them to express their love for him rather than waiting for reciprocation.

Reception

Salvatore Maiki of ''

The Fader ''The Fader'' (stylized as ''FADER'') is a magazine based in New York City that was launched in 1999 by Rob Stone and Jon Cohen. The magazine covers music, style and culture. It was the first print publication to be released on iTunes. It is o ...

'' described the track as "catchy", while Mike Wass of ''

Idolator An idolator is a practitioner of idolatry. Idolater or Idolator may also refer to: Books *''Os Idólatras'', 1968 Portuguese novel by Maria Judite de Carvalho Music * Idolator (website), an American music blog * ''Idolator'' (album), third album ...

'' wrote that its blend of genres was a "heady mix". Gabriel Aikins of ''Substream Magazine'' named it one of the best songs of the week, claiming that "when it comes to introspective, atmospheric tracks, there are few doing it better right now than Joji," and commended the artist's vocal performance and Raisen's production.

Music video

A music video for "Sanctuary" was shared upon the track's release on 14 June 2019 and was directed by Eoin Glaister in

Lancaster, California Lancaster is a charter city in northern Los Angeles County, California, Los Angeles County, in the Antelope Valley of the western Mojave Desert in Southern California. As of the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census, the population was 173,51 ...

. Joji visualized the video's concept as he was writing the song, stating in an interview with ''

Harper's Bazaar ''Harper's Bazaar'' is an American monthly women's fashion magazine. It was first published in New York City on November 2, 1867, as the weekly ''Harper's Bazar''. ''Harper's Bazaar'' is published by Hearst and considers itself to be the st ...

'' that "as soon as eheard the instrumental for

he song He or HE may refer to: Language * He (pronoun), an English pronoun * He (kana), the romanization of the Japanese kana へ * He (letter), the fifth letter of many Semitic alphabets * He (Cyrillic), a letter of the Cyrillic script called ''He'' ...

eknew it had to be something like cheesy space shit." It features Joji as the captain of a spaceship who struggles to find purpose after he has defeated his main enemy. A close friend, noticing this and resolving to bring his purpose back, gouges out one of his eyes with a spoon in order to resemble this villain, steals a

MacGuffin In fiction, a MacGuffin (sometimes McGuffin) is an object, device, or event that is necessary to the plot and the motivation of the characters, but insignificant, unimportant, or irrelevant in itself. The term was originated by Angus MacPhail for ...

that they had retrieved from the villain some time prior to his death, then kills a crewmate, leaves using an escape pod, and attacks the ship, forcing Joji to assume his position as captain and defend the spacecraft, thus bringing excitement back into his life.

Charts

Certifications

References

{{Joji (musician) 2019 songs 2019 singles 2010s ballads Electropop ballads Joji (musician) songs Songs written by Daniel Wilson (musician) Songs written by Justin Raisen Songs written by Luke Niccoli 88rising singles