Saya Gray's QWERTY III: Who Produced It, Track by Track

By Dani Reyes,

QWERTY III EP art: a large eye with a red iris above a praying mantis inside a clear sphere, on a white background
Artwork: QWERTY III / Dirty Hit

The EP

Saya Gray released QWERTY III, the third entry in her QWERTY EP series, on November 3, 2026. Apple Music lists seven tracks running just under 20 minutes. Her announcement calls the series "an unfiltered look into her creative process" and bills her as a "singer-songwriter, producer, and instrumentalist."

Her own statement, in her own all caps, sets the terms: "Q EPS ARE EXPERIMENTS BETWEEN PROJECTS. THE THROWAWAYS. THE CATHARTIC MOMENTS THAT DON'T FIT BETWEEN ERAS OF CHANGE." Later: "I'D RATHER MAKE HONEST SHIT THAN SOMETHING THAT FITS IN SO THESE ARE LITTLE OFFERINGS FROM THE IN-BETWEEN SPACE.." Stereogum printed the full statement.

Saya Gray: QWERTY III

Behind the boards

Apple Music's song credits tell a clear story. Saya Gray holds a producer credit on six of the seven tracks. She is the only producer on "YOU??? HUH???", "FERAL CHILD ;-0" and ".. I LUV YOU P A U L !!". She shares the producer credit with Lucian Gray on "GUANYIN 06/10/25" and "SPOOO0OOOOF", and on the closer, "2 2 BABOON..", Lucian Gray is listed as additional producer.

The one track she did not produce is "4LL MY LOVE ( WASN'T ENOUGH )". Ace G is its only listed producer, and he plays harp on it while she handles vocals and piano.

The writing splits the same way. Saya Gray and Lucian Gray share composer and lyricist credits on four songs, and she wrote the other three alone. Apple's credits name no mixing or mastering engineer on any track.

Who plays what

This is a small circle. Per Apple Music's credits:

So the most solitary track sits right before the most crowded one. ".. I LUV YOU P A U L !!" is written, played and produced by Gray alone, and "2 2 BABOON.." brings in five performers. At 5:05, the closer is also the longest track here; the opener runs 1:30.

What critics heard

I'll let the people who wrote it up describe the sound. Tom Breihan at Stereogum called it "a bugged-out new record with a sound that I guess I'd call glitch-grunge," adding that the songs "combine singer-songwriter melodies and fuzzed-out guitars with disorienting stop-start production."

At Exclaim!, Megan LaPierre heard "sneering, metal-tinged guitar" and "stop-start staccato blasts of percussion" on "YOU??? HUH???", and on "2 2 BABOON.." an "alt-country-toned riff that worms its way into your bloodstream." She also noted the question Gray asks on "GUANYIN 06/10/25" and again on "SPOOO0OOOOF": "How can I be a dainty lady in these conditions?"

Pitchfork framed it as the latest in "her series of work-in-progress Qwerty EPs." Back in 2024, the outlet's Rising feature described her as "the Japanese Canadian songwriter and producer" behind an EP "collaging R&B and alt-rock into interdimensional pop."

How she got here

The announcement traces her story back to 2022's 19 MASTERS, "dissonant electro-rock sketches recorded largely through her iPhone's Voice Notes app." QWERTY and QWERTY II followed, and her 2025 album SAYA was, per the announcement, "shaped by personal transformation during a retreat to Japan." It also points to her "background as a bassist" and parents "who are both classically trained musicians."

She first played "SPOOO0OOOOF" live opening for Turnstile at Toronto's Woodbine Park on September 12, according to the announcement. She also has a song on the Wildwood soundtrack, "Some Days Are Made for Rain," which KAZI noted in our piece on New Constellations' "Evergreen" video. For another artist producing her own record, see Sampa the Great's Nu Zamrock.

New York dates

The announcement lists three shows:

Dani Reyes, Behind the Boards. Credits check: Saya Gray and Lucian Gray on "SPOOO0OOOOF".