Irlanda ·
Light the Bonfire, Then Sing the Chorus: Mike Sain't Louis on Turning Betrayal Into Songs You Can't Get Out of Your Head
In a Q&A, the Madrid indie alternative artist who calls himself 'the first AI singer-songwriter' explains why 'La empatía de la arpía' repeats like a spell and why 'Al fuego' ends with everything burning
MADRID, 25 October 2026 — Some heartbreak songs ask for sympathy. The ones Mike Sain't Louis writes tend to ask for a crowd. The Madrid-based indie alternative artist, who presents himself as "the first AI singer-songwriter", has released 273 singles and more than 280 music videos in about two years on his own label, MIKE SAIN'T LOUIS, and many of them take the worst moment of a relationship and repeat it until it becomes a chant. He writes all of his lyrics; the music and vocal performances are generated with artificial intelligence, which he directs as a production tool. He does not sing. We spoke to him about two of his most cathartic tracks.
The spell
"La empatía de la arpía" translates roughly as "The Harpy's Empathy". It's an odd phrase for a love song.
Because it isn't one. It's the story of someone who looked like empathy and was the opposite. The song says it straight away: twenty, thirty or forty years, it doesn't matter. All that changes is whether it's two lies or ten thousand.
There's a detail about birthdays.
Yes. He still celebrates your birthday with you. And if you get ill because of him, it doesn't matter, he blames you. That's the part people recognise. Not the shouting. The smile that was fake while inside he was spitting on you.
Which line do people quote back to you?
"Se aprendió tu herida entera para apretar donde dolía." He learned your whole wound so he could press exactly where it hurt. People write to me about that line more than any other.
The song keeps repeating "esta es la historia", this is the story. Why so much repetition?
Because that's how it lives in your head afterwards. On a loop. The song also says he promised to be a refuge and was a room with no way out. Then, at the end, one sentence over and over: he didn't care when you cried. I didn't want to resolve it nicely. I wanted it to sound like the thought you can't stop having, so that when you sing along you're finally saying it out loud instead of only thinking it.
The bonfire
"Al fuego" ("Into the Fire") is a completely different temperature.
It's the furious, funny one. It starts with all the "if only I'd known" stuff. If I'd known you didn't give a damn about me, I'd have sent you packing. If I'd heard you wishing me harm, I'd have written it down in my diary.
And then the narrator turns on himself.
The chorus calls himself a fool, in much ruder words. That's important to me. A lot of breakup songs pretend the narrator saw everything coming. I didn't. I was naïve. You can laugh at that and still be angry. Then the last line flips it: "Que ya me conozco el juego, he tirado todo al fuego." I know the game now. I've thrown everything into the fire.
It's quite explicit in places.
Some of my lyrics are, and that's part of the work. I'm not going to clean up how people actually talk when they've been lied to.
Why anthems, not ballads
You could have written both as slow songs. Why didn't you?
A ballad keeps you in the room with the person who hurt you. A chant gets you out of the door. With professional help, I've been turning years of relationships with narcissistic partners into songs, to make psychological abuse and what it does to your mental health visible, and so that people who've been through it feel seen and believed. Being believed is the first step. Being able to shout about it with other people is the second.
Where does the AI fit into something this personal?
It's an instrument. The tool can generate a hundred versions, but it has no idea which one sounds like a spell or which sounds like a bonfire. I listen, I discard, I choose. The words and the decisions are mine. That's what I mean by "the first AI singer-songwriter".
What would you say to someone listening to these on their own, late at night?
Turn it up. You're not exaggerating. And you're not the only one.
Why Irish listeners may hear themselves
Ireland has a long tradition of songs that turn grief and grievance into something sung together, in a pub or at a kitchen table, rather than suffered alone. Mike Sain't Louis works in a very different idiom, queer alternative pop from Madrid, mostly in Spanish but also in English, French and Portuguese, ranging from electropop and copla to alternative pop and ballads. The instinct is the same: say the hard thing in a chorus so others can say it with you. The photo with this interview, a rain-soaked street at night with red neon in the puddles, could be the moment just before the bonfire.
Many listeners discovered him in 2024 when "Tan Cateto" went viral on TikTok. His GAYFOLK trilogy, "Descubierto un nuevo planeta llamado GAYFOLK", "Ojalá se pudiera viajar a GAYFOLK" and "El día de la liberación", tells the longer story of a journey to a planet where everyone can live as they are.
Listen and download
"La empatía de la arpía", "Al fuego" and the whole catalogue are free to stream and download at https://mikesaintlouis.com, with the lyrics of each song. They're also on Spotify, Deezer and the major platforms.
About Mike Sain't Louis
Mike Sain't Louis, an indie alternative artist based in Madrid, describes himself as "the first AI singer-songwriter". Writer of every lyric, he composes and produces with AI-generated music and vocals and steers his own label, MIKE SAIN'T LOUIS, as artistic director and CEO, free of record companies and intermediaries. PLANETA GAYFOLK is his uncensored, camp and deeply personal catalogue, all of it free.
Press Contact
Mike Sain't Louis Email: info@mikesaintlouis.com Website: https://mikesaintlouis.com Instagram: @planetagayfolk