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| THE OVERTURE AND UNDERSCORE ACCORDING TO SARAH BLASKO |
Sarah Blasko is one of those people you’d love to hate. At 28, her
debut album 'The Overture and the Underscore' has received
rave reviews. She has played at all the major Australian festivals,
including the Big Day Out and Splendour in the Grass, and is
already gearing up for the upcoming summer season; two hugely
successful national tours, an appearance at the annual South by
Southwest festival in Texas, and a US tour supporting Ray
Lamontagne. She is incredibly photogenic and talented. On top of
all this, she is an absolute delight to interview and, I’m sorry to
say, impossible to dislike. I caught up with Sarah Blasko in a brief
phone chat recently, to discuss her debut album and her recent
emergence into the Australian public eye.
For the uninitiated, the music of Sarah Blasko is difficult to
describe – a blend of piano, percussion and one truly amazing
voice, weaving captivating melodies. After creating an impressive
EP, 'Prelusive' at home in 2003, Sarah was signed to the Dew
Process label. Deciding to head into the unknown to create her
debut album, she headed to Los Angeles to work with producer
Wally Gagel, best known for his work with The Eels and The Folk
Implosion. Sarah arrived armed with material for the album,and a
clear idea of the sound she wanted to achieve.
“I wanted it to be a pop record in the good sense: something
that has a classic quality to it, that would stand the test of time,"
she comments. By her own account, she had to fight a little to
preserve her vision for the album, but the end result was just as
she had envisaged - cleverly and stylishly constructed without
being overblown. Each track was pared back to basics, and
deliberately kept as simple as possible. Slight imperfections in
Sarah’s voice were left in the mix in order to preserve the
integrity and honesty in the tracks.
debut album 'The Overture and the Underscore' has received
rave reviews. She has played at all the major Australian festivals,
including the Big Day Out and Splendour in the Grass, and is
already gearing up for the upcoming summer season; two hugely
successful national tours, an appearance at the annual South by
Southwest festival in Texas, and a US tour supporting Ray
Lamontagne. She is incredibly photogenic and talented. On top of
all this, she is an absolute delight to interview and, I’m sorry to
say, impossible to dislike. I caught up with Sarah Blasko in a brief
phone chat recently, to discuss her debut album and her recent
emergence into the Australian public eye.
For the uninitiated, the music of Sarah Blasko is difficult to
describe – a blend of piano, percussion and one truly amazing
voice, weaving captivating melodies. After creating an impressive
EP, 'Prelusive' at home in 2003, Sarah was signed to the Dew
Process label. Deciding to head into the unknown to create her
debut album, she headed to Los Angeles to work with producer
Wally Gagel, best known for his work with The Eels and The Folk
Implosion. Sarah arrived armed with material for the album,and a
clear idea of the sound she wanted to achieve.
“I wanted it to be a pop record in the good sense: something
that has a classic quality to it, that would stand the test of time,"
she comments. By her own account, she had to fight a little to
preserve her vision for the album, but the end result was just as
she had envisaged - cleverly and stylishly constructed without
being overblown. Each track was pared back to basics, and
deliberately kept as simple as possible. Slight imperfections in
Sarah’s voice were left in the mix in order to preserve the
integrity and honesty in the tracks.
The resulting album is a beautiful sequence of stories, simply told. The subject matter is deliberately impersonal, yet
manages to tap into universal themes of people, their loves and their losses. “The songs aren’t necessarily personal, not like
storytelling, they’re not specific. There aren’t any places, details or names – and I’m somewhat protected by that," she says.
Sarah’s star has exploded recently in Australia, with countless cover stories and features in national publications. By her own
admission, she is somewhat wary of doing interviews that aren’t entirely related to making music. A recent article in a
national magazine focused primarily on Sarah’s upbringing as the child of missionaries. This focus on religion and childhood
came as a surprise to Sarah, who admits to “fooling herself” that people don’t see or hear things about her.
“You don’t have a lot of perspective on how people perceive you," she says. “Things you’re comfortable with, it’s very
strange to think that other people know those things about you." And this is the charm of Sarah Blasko, the seeming
incredulity that people even know her name.
Four singles from the album have been released to date, with stunning success. The haunting opener ‘All Coming Back’ is a
highlight of the album, as is the beautiful ‘Always Worth It’. For anyone who has experienced the first, breathless fear of
love, ‘Perfect Now’ is all too familiar. The album is as Sarah intended, a graceful and timeless body of work.
For all her album’s poise, however, Sarah Blasko herself is refreshingly unpretentious and natural. The liner notes to her
album state, “Just because you’re in a band, it doesn’t mean we have to be friends." She chuckles when this is mentioned,
telling me that she “put it in because some people’s liner notes thank everyone they have ever played with or met in their
life." The conventional platitudes of many musicians are not for Sarah Blasko. She interviews honestly and thoughtfully. She
drinks, she swears on occasion, and apparently she dances like Bjork. She is an intriguing mix of the ordinary girl, the
delicate artist, and the accomplished performer.
Why am I telling you this? Because you lucky people will shortly have the opportunity to discover this wonderful performer for
yourselves. Sarah’s debut album will shortly be released in Europe and the UK, followed by a brief tour at the end of
September. The tour dates are as follows:
Sat 25th Sep The Village, Dublin
Sun 26th Sep Spring & Airbrake, Belfast
Wed 28th Sep Glasgow Garage, Glasgow
Thu 29th Sep Manchester University, Manchester
Fri 30th Sep Carling Academy 2, Birmingham
Sat 1st Oct Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
I urge you to catch Sarah Blasko as she moves through the UK, and on any future tours. You’ll be hooked. If you would like a
preview of her music, visit the excellent website www.sarahblasko.com.
Interview by Tara Kennedy.
Thanks to Sarah Blasko and Ciaran Davison.
manages to tap into universal themes of people, their loves and their losses. “The songs aren’t necessarily personal, not like
storytelling, they’re not specific. There aren’t any places, details or names – and I’m somewhat protected by that," she says.
Sarah’s star has exploded recently in Australia, with countless cover stories and features in national publications. By her own
admission, she is somewhat wary of doing interviews that aren’t entirely related to making music. A recent article in a
national magazine focused primarily on Sarah’s upbringing as the child of missionaries. This focus on religion and childhood
came as a surprise to Sarah, who admits to “fooling herself” that people don’t see or hear things about her.
“You don’t have a lot of perspective on how people perceive you," she says. “Things you’re comfortable with, it’s very
strange to think that other people know those things about you." And this is the charm of Sarah Blasko, the seeming
incredulity that people even know her name.
Four singles from the album have been released to date, with stunning success. The haunting opener ‘All Coming Back’ is a
highlight of the album, as is the beautiful ‘Always Worth It’. For anyone who has experienced the first, breathless fear of
love, ‘Perfect Now’ is all too familiar. The album is as Sarah intended, a graceful and timeless body of work.
For all her album’s poise, however, Sarah Blasko herself is refreshingly unpretentious and natural. The liner notes to her
album state, “Just because you’re in a band, it doesn’t mean we have to be friends." She chuckles when this is mentioned,
telling me that she “put it in because some people’s liner notes thank everyone they have ever played with or met in their
life." The conventional platitudes of many musicians are not for Sarah Blasko. She interviews honestly and thoughtfully. She
drinks, she swears on occasion, and apparently she dances like Bjork. She is an intriguing mix of the ordinary girl, the
delicate artist, and the accomplished performer.
Why am I telling you this? Because you lucky people will shortly have the opportunity to discover this wonderful performer for
yourselves. Sarah’s debut album will shortly be released in Europe and the UK, followed by a brief tour at the end of
September. The tour dates are as follows:
Sat 25th Sep The Village, Dublin
Sun 26th Sep Spring & Airbrake, Belfast
Wed 28th Sep Glasgow Garage, Glasgow
Thu 29th Sep Manchester University, Manchester
Fri 30th Sep Carling Academy 2, Birmingham
Sat 1st Oct Shepherds Bush Empire, London.
I urge you to catch Sarah Blasko as she moves through the UK, and on any future tours. You’ll be hooked. If you would like a
preview of her music, visit the excellent website www.sarahblasko.com.
Interview by Tara Kennedy.
Thanks to Sarah Blasko and Ciaran Davison.