For those of you who live in Australia, chances are you have already heard of ARIA award winning artist Sarah Blasko– but if you're like me, the name might sound a little unfamiliar to you at first. And really that's ok as Sarah is on a quest to turn new audiences onto her eclectic and slightly quirky sound-scape in way of new album "As Day Follows Night". I have been enjoying the album immensely since I was turned onto it and I really do encourage anyone who is into smart, soulful and highly intricate music to seek her album out as it's one of those gems that really stands out from the crowd.
After seeing Sarah perform a small intimate set in Soho last month, I was completely blown away at her talent. She has something quite powerful in her incredible vocals which can send shivers throughout your body just by watching her perform. I couldn't wait to chat to her after the performance and was lucky enough to get an hour of her time to talk about her album and video shoots, performing covers and why she doesn't like being compared to Lykke Li – enjoy.
EQ: Hello Sarah – how are you today…
Sarah Blasko: I am really good thank you – this is an odd place to do an interview isn't it? (Referring to the bedroom/office we got stuck in which was had about a hundred pairs of shoes adorning it…)
Yes it is but hey it works! Now to be honest, I didn't know that much about you until recently and I guess that I'm probably the type of listener you are trying to find – someone new to the music of Sarah Blasko…what made you decide to bring your music to the UK market…
Well it just seemed the right time to be honest. The new album came out in July in Australia and then initially I tried to get it released at the same time over here, but we didn't have a lot of luck with labels when I was pitching the album in the UK before – and then literally two weeks after I left back for home, we heard from the label whose putting the record out now. So it was a real blessing for me because I'd been struggling for awhile to find a label in the UK who wanted to put the record out. For my last record, it was released through Universal, but it didn't really get a chance and it was quite frustrating. So this time to know that there was an enthusiastic independent label who wanted to start working the record right away was pretty great. It's taken awhile for it to be the right time here.
I went to your showcase in Soho and one thing that I found quite amazing was the complete synergy of your band – from the movements of the violinists to the swaying of the hair from your keyboard player – it just flowed so well live, did you bring everyone over here from your band?
No surprisingly! My guitar and keyboard player have been playing with me live for about five years now so those guys I brought with me, but all the rest of the band I got together within the first week of getting here!
Really? I've never seen anyone but together a band so quickly that had so much synergy!
Well I hope it was ok! It was a bit nerve-racking because I just had a week to get audition people. I'm not really a person who auditions people – I'm not really into that kinda of thing – I like it to be an extension of a group of friends, but it was rather odd to go that way, but it turned out great and they are a really nice group of people to play with.
It certainly looked great on stage – I was impressed!
Oh good – well even if we impressed just one person then I'm pleased! It's good!
So "We Won't Run" is the first single – tell me why…
I don't really know…it's a little different to how I've done things in Australia I guess but it makes sense as a song because it's the most "poppy" on the album – it's very catchy too so I suppose that's why it's the first single. The next single will be "All I Want" is probably one of my favorite songs on the album – the one that I'm most proud of.
I really like the video to "We Won't Run" as it's all shot in one-take. How long did it actually take to produce that?
I love doing doing one-take video clips!
You can't really get it wrong when you're actually filming then…
Yeah – well we did it quite a few times…I just remember that I was on my knees for most of the shoot and it just started to hurt after awhile. I was wearing these boots too and they just started to cut into my leg and after awhile and I was feeling the pain! So yeah, I was feeling the pain of the song along with the physical pain of the boots. [laughs] But I like one-shot video clips because it has more of a feeling like your performing and with editing, it sort of breaks the flow of how you would normally perform the song.
I also really like the animated video for "No Turning Back".
Yeah, a friend of mine did that one. She's someone that I really admire. She mostly does illustrations for friends' bands and artwork. I really love her illustrative style and I thought she would make a nice animation for the video. She's really talented. I like doing those kinds of things – where you love their creative style and you can literally just let them go ahead and do their magic. I was happy with it and how it came out.
I did some YouTube searches on you and you've played some really amazing places, some really small places and some really large places, so I'm curious as a performer, what places have really been most memorable for you…
There was a run of shows that I did that were in theatres that were small, like maybe 400 people. It was really intimate and we did different versions of the songs – more like a chamber ensemble. It had french horns, flutes, violins and a piano and some percussion. That was was one of the most memorable performances because there is something that happens to people when they are in a theatre and seated. People are like almost overly polite and you feel like everything is noticed and you feel bare on stage, but at the same time as being scary, it's enjoyable to share that intimacy so closely.
Yeah, I much prefer going to smaller gigs then really big and crowded ones…
Me too! Particularly as I get older, I really like to have a seat and be able to see and be comfortable. Recently I got tickets to see Thom York play in Cambridge and there wasn't that many people – like 2000 people but we decided we were gonna get right up in the front and get squashed in – but really I prefer a show where I can sit down and no one is gonna push me! [laughs] Oh god – I'm getting old! [laughs]
You performed a cover of Crowded House's "Don't Dream It's Over" and I really loved it – I've been waiting for someone to take on that classic for awhile…
I just got asked to do it – I was really nervous about covering it because it's one of those songs you really don't want to ruin for people. I hate it when I hear people singing covers of songs I really love and if they change the melody too much or do something that is is opposite of what the original is about, then that is wrong for me. It's such a lovely song and I enjoy doing covers because you can learn a lot from just having to study the song - you get such a new appreciation for the song because you realize some of the lyrics or instrumentation that you hadn't noticed before. It was nice to get an email from Neil Finn saying that he liked my version – I was like "phew!" [laughs].
Really – amazing! Now I always ask everyone this, but I'm curious about your views on music piracy and how it's effecting you as an artist…
To be honest, I haven't really noticed ways that it's effected me. In terms of record sales in Australia, I haven't noticed it in that sense. But personally for me, I have an issue with it. When you spend so much time in trying to make something sound good and people are able to download inferior quality versions of your work – I feel like there is something sad about people not caring about the quality of the item they are getting. I think that's more the issue for me. Which maybe sounds superficial, but I think quality is where people miss out. Maybe I'm sounding really old, but quality is an important thing in life – like in workmanship whether it be music or in anything else, it's like…
It's like buying a knockoff bag…
Yeah, you aren't buying the real thing. To me it's obvious, but to other people it may not be – they can't hear the differences and I can appreciate that. I mean when I was kid I used to tape stuff off the radio and didn't think twice about it. I didn't buy records until I was twelve because I had no money, so I can understand wanting to hear all your favorite songs on your iPod too. I don't know – I'm not a really big ranter about it, but it does kinda irk me.
People have been describing you as being the Australian version of Lykke Li – how do you feel about that? Or is she the Swedish Sarah Blasko?…
Oh right! I think the reason why I probably don't like that comparison is because we made our record with the same producer…
Oh you did – I didn't know that…
Yeah we did, so it's a little bit like "hmmmm" but I feel like it would be a bit unimaginative – not that I'm judging your pal because I'm sure, like you he might not have known that it was the same producer either. But it's always hard to be compared to anyone I think. On the one hand I think it's flattering because I think she is a really talented musician, but personally I think our music is very different!
There is a different quality to it…
There is. I'm very close to my music so I don't know how someone else might perceive my music from a far. I can see similarities though – it's pop music, but we have a different emphasis and different sounds.
If you are interested in learning more about Sarah Blasko, please make sure to visit her official website. The new single "We Wont Run" is out now and the album "As Day Follows Night"will be released on April 5th.