Tag: Polly Scattergood (Page 2 of 4)

A Short Conversation with POLLY SCATTERGOOD

5 June 2017 /

While best known as a solo artist signed to Mute, Essex songstress POLLY SCATTERGOOD recently won acclaim for her hauntingly spacey vocal in a new epic arrangement of ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’.

Subtitled ‘Dark Star’, it was recorded with one of the song’s co-writers Bruce Woolley. Never one for convention, for Record Store Day 2017, she not only released a physical edition ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ exclusively in CD format, but it was also only available online.

Scattergood’s self-titled debut came out on Mute in 2009 on which revealed herself to be a promising talent unafraid to express emotion and vulnerability. One of the album’s highlights ‘Other Too Endless’ was remixed by Vince Clarke and showed how her music could work within a synthesized environment.

And it was on second album ‘Arrows’ in 2013 featuring the electro-COCTEAU TWINS twist of ‘Wanderlust’ that she was able to indulge in some of her more technological aspirations, while ‘Cocoon’ exposed her enticing vulnerability over an eerie soundscape.

But in 2015, Scattergood headed in the opposite direction in collaboration with Mute label mate James Chapman of MAPS; their ON DEAD WAVES project featured a more guitar oriented and retro-based aesthetic than any of their individual works. But in acknowledgement of their Mute roots, the pair recorded an Americana flavoured cover of YAZOO’s ‘Only You’.

With ‘Video Killed The Radio Star (Dark Star)’ riding high on the airwaves, POLLY SCATTERGOOD had a quick chat about her future plans…

How did your ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ collaboration with Bruce Woolley come about?

Bruce contacted Mute a while ago asking if I would be interested in working with him on ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. I am a fan of his work so we got together in his studio and played with some ideas.

You got to dress up like Barbarella in the video and handle a VCS3, where did that come from and have you had a go on a working one?

Bruce and I met for drinks in London and he pulled out all of these sketches of space scenes and other worldly beings that he had in his head and it just kind of flowed from there… we then discussed wires and electronics as we both love synths and couldn’t resist having the beautiful VCS3 in the video.

Bruce has some amazing instruments in his studio. My synth obsession began very early as my mum’s sister (Elizabeth Parker) worked at the Radiophonic Workshop for years. I watched her on some wild videos playing these incredible machines growing up, I always wanted to play them myself, but they aren’t the kind of thing you get your hands on easily!

When I signed to Mute, Daniel Miller showed me the Mute studio which had a pretty amazing collection of equipment which I was lucky enough to have access to. I think that’s partly why my first album took so many years to make, I had too many toys to play with!

You’re no stranger to cover versions with standards like ‘The Look Of Love’, ‘New York New York’, ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Only You’ among the songs you have performed. Are there any others you’d like to try out?

Lots, but it’s a case of feeling inspired to add something new or different to a track, rather than regurgitating something for the sake of it.

The Vince Clarke remix of ‘Other Too Endless’ from your debut album will be appearing on a compilation out soon. What was the inspiration behind the song, both lyrically and musically?

Musically it was all about keeping the vibe quite linear and numb, but with these big swells and lot and lots of layers that build. The siren you hear was picked up on a mic as we recorded the vocal in the Mute studio on the Harrow Road. It was just all capturing a kind of bitter sweet bleakness and then processing it through the music. Lyrically, it’s a very long story… involving black zambuca…

The resultant remix from Vince Clarke was very different from your original. What were your thoughts when you first heard it? What did you particularly like about it?

Vince Clarke really went straight to the heart of this song with his remix. He kind of stripped away all the layers I had buried myself in and left my vocal naked in parts. When I write and work on producing these songs, I often leave these little secrets in them, especially in the production. Like clues to where they came from. Sometimes people hear them and sometimes they don’t, but what Vince did was brave. He took away the safety net of layers and added a starkness and a strength to the song which I would never have been able to achieve on my own.

It didn’t stop there because you did ‘Ghostgirl Lovesick’ with Vince Clarke too, what was the collaboration process for that?

I was living in a tiny studio flat in an attic opposite the Forum in Kentish Town at the time and recording all my ideas onto mini disk. These ridiculously beautiful books, created by Tonya Hurley, arrived on my door step and they really inspired the song. I worked on the track closely with both Tonya and Vince, then I recorded some ideas onto mini disk… wow that makes me feel so old but it wasn’t that long ago, right?!

I sent them over to Vince who then worked his magic. You can hear bits of the room of the recording but I kind of love that, it all just made it much more intimate.

Has a full collaborative with Vince Clarke ever been discussed? What do you think it would sound like?

It’s never been discussed, and I never know what anything will sound like until it’s finished so I couldn’t hazard a guess at how a collaboration would sound…but Vince is awesome, I’m a big fan of his work, and always open to interesting collaborations, so never say never!

You’ve always been quite open to the remix process with THE GOLDEN FILTER, ANALOG SUICIDE, FORT ROMEAU and MAPS being among those who have given reinterpretations of your work. Do you have any favourites?

I only release remixes I really love so they are all quite special to me in different ways and for different reasons. The Vince remixes will always be very close to my heart. I also love the ANALOG SUICIDE (Tara Busch) remix of ‘Bunny Club’. I released it on limited edition cassette tape I loved it so much. Also MAPS (my label mate and ON DEAD WAVES collaborator) has a way of making everything sound epic and dreamy!

So how do you look back on your most recent album project ON DEAD WAVES with James Chapman of MAPS?

ON DEAD WAVES is a real joy to be part of. It’s a project I feel incredibly proud of. James is an incredible musician and has a very calm studio vibe. Our creative process was pure and there was no outside pressure or interference.

We both share the same manager, he was very supportive of the whole process and keen that we stay focused and don’t worry about anything other than the music, so that’s what we did.

It was just me and James in the studio where we would work late and get up strangely early. We were doing what we love so the studio bubble is a good place to be in.

When Mute heard the album, they really took it in the spirit it was intended and spent a long time working with us on the artwork and creative side of things, making it really reflect the empty expansiveness of the sound. We had a lot of fun, played some amazing gigs, from the beautiful Roundhouse in Camden to supporting M83. So yeah, ON DEAD WAVES is a project which I have a lot of love for and continue to do so!

‘Blackbird’ allowed you and James to pursue your Nancy and Lee fantasies?

We didn’t talk about musical references when writing, we shared a lot of art and film references though.

It’s almost time for solo album number three. What direction are you heading in for that following the first two, quite varied offerings and ON DEAD WAVES?

Yeah the first two had many different influences and styles. I was experimenting and learning as I went along… I don’t make albums fast…

I have hundreds of songs on my hard drive, but none of them are ready to be put into an album yet. I’m working on a little EP idea with Jim Sclavunos at the moment. Don’t want to give too much away though as it’s very early days but it’s all exciting.

People are still discovering your work. For anyone reading here about you for the first time, which five tracks would you suggest they check out to understand you as an artist in your various guises and collaborations?

Hmmm that’s hard I guess in order to go on the same journey I have, maybe listen in chronological order…

‘Nitrogen Pink’
‘Falling’
‘Miss You’
‘Blackbird’
‘Winter’s Child’

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to POLLY SCATTERGOOD

Special thanks to Roland Brown at RKB Management

‘Video Killed The Radio Star (Dark Star)’ is released as a download single by Gramophone Records

http://www.pollyscattergood.com/

https://www.facebook.com/polly.scattergood/

https://twitter.com/pollyworld

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
6th June 2017

SARAH P. Who Am I

5 May 2017 /

KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS was the first project Sarah Anna Psalti was involved with, accompanied by the mysteriously named producer and musician RΠЯ.

After the release of their debut long player ‘At Home’ featuring the magnificent ‘Oostende’, SARAH P. decided to relocate to Berlin, where she desperately needed a new start.

Indeed, her first EP ‘Free’ “a couple of years that have been rough and weird”, seeing Sarah “shyly and slowly moving from the ultimate darkness towards the light”.

As the songstress admits, “when I’m writing and recording my own music or working on a feature, I do it all my way. I’ll put together the sounds I like, I’ll play the melodies that I think they fit”.

Now with ‘Who Am I’, Sarah finally unveils the long awaited gem she’d been talking about, “There is a whole concept behind it and I am very much looking forward to sharing it, although I’ve got to hold back and wait!”

Produced together with George Priniotakis, ‘Who Am I’ is “a pop record that is different, an ode to the humanly deep need of security and love”.

Sarah certainly doesn’t shy from the experimentation, sounding exquisitely like Kate Bush on the title track, asking the existential questions over a sparse beat, which flourishes into a house inspired climax.

It’s a perfect description of “humanity, the world we live in and our importance (or unimportance) as individuals and / or as a whole”.

The minimalistic approach permeates throughout the production and is mirrored in the magnificent ‘A Letter From Urban Street’, with its ringing sounds and ethereal vocals, reminiscing a hybrid of Bush / Goldfrapp / Fraser / Scattergood.

‘Away From Me’ borrows ideas from GAZELLE TWIN, paired with the feel of a grown-up nursery rhyme, while ‘Berlin During Winter’ is certainly far colder than sunny Athens, with its Nordic aura. The metallic, scattered sounds vibrate over the urgent build-up of the vocal, culminating in a plethora of voices, at times quite animal sounding in a leaf taken from Alison Goldfrapp’s book.

‘ForgetRegret’ ushers in some dramatic sound play, with fascinating synth textures and captivating voices paving the way for a new style of mature electronica.

The shouting male voices on ‘Instead Of You’ could be the ones from DEPECHE MODE’s vintage B-side ‘Flexible’, but the melody and that gentle, yet powerful female vocal, creates a hedonistic vision of dreamlike state realities, which SARAH P. seems to excel in.

‘LoveStory’ could have featured on the ‘Twin Peaks’ soundtrack, contrary to a faster paced’Millennial Girl’ which capture a sci-fi vision of synthpopia.

‘Summer Prince’ fabulously is a reminder of the Canadian synth queen GRIMES’ style and ‘To You’ toys with the gentility of Sarah’s voice and timid sound manipulation which is rather pleasant on the ear.

What she sets out, she achieves. ‘Who Am I’ is sophisticated, cultured and synthtastic. SARAH P. certainly stands for high quality recordings, originally produced and sophistically executed.

“There’s no right and there’s no wrong, but there’s hope” says Sarah, “And while we’re feeling defeated, even during those dark hours, there’s hope we can do better. And we will.”

She did…

‘Who Am I’ is released as a download album by EraseRestart, available direct from https://sarahpofficial.bandcamp.com/

http://sarahpofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sarahpofficial/

https://twitter.com/sarahpofficial

Text by Monika Izabela Trigwell
Photos by Christoph Neumann
5th May 2017

BRUCE WOOLLEY & POLLY SCATTERGOOD Video Killed The Radio Star

6 March 2017 /

Featuring the haunting afflicted vocals of Essex songstress Polly Scattergood, Bruce Woolley reimagines his classic ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ in a new epic arrangement with the fitting subtitle of ‘Dark Star’…

Recorded with THE RADIO SCIENCE ORCHESTRA, Woolley introduces them with the proclamation: “Listen to The Sound of Tomorrow – Today!”

A number co-written with Trevor Horn and Geoff Downes, Bruce Woolley recorded ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’ first with his band THE CAMERA CLUB in 1979 and originally released as the B-side to the single ‘English Garden’. But it was THE BUGGLES featuring Horn and Downes who scored the UK No1 in a version with slightly different lyrics later that Autumn.

The song was to become prophetic and when MTV launched in August of 1981, the very first music video broadcast on the new channel was ‘Video Killed The Radio Star’. Fast forward to 2017 and while radio maintains a presence via the internet, video continues to rule via platforms such as YouTube and Vimeo.

The spacey monochromatic visual accompaniment for ‘Video Killed The Radio Star (Dark Star)’ sees Scattergood clad like Barbarella in thigh length boots, while enticingly twiddling with an EMS VCS3 in the ultimate homage to retro-futurism and vintage Sci-Fi. She said in an interview with ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK in 2014: “I have always been fascinated by electronics. When I made my first album, although I enjoyed experimenting, it was all fairly new to me. But by the time I made ‘Arrows’, I guess I felt more confident in the sound I wanted to make”. 

Polly Scattergood is no stranger to cover versions, having previously offered reinterpretations of ‘Hurt’, ‘New York, New York’, ‘The Look Of Love’, ‘Comfortably Numb’ and ‘Only You’ in her various guises. Meanwhile, THE RADIO SCIENCE ORCHESTRA sees Woolley reunited with Thomas Dolby who played keyboards with THE CAMERA CLUB.

‘Video Killed The Radio Star (Dark Star)’ is released as a download single by Gramophone Records

http://www.radioscience.com/

http://www.pollyscattergood.com/

https://www.facebook.com/brucewoolleyhq/

https://www.facebook.com/polly.scattergood/

Text by Chi Ming Lai
6th March 2017

ON DEAD WAVES On Dead Waves

25 May 2016 /

Both Polly Scattergood and James Chapman aka MAPS, have established themselves as two of the brighter stars on the current Mute Records roster.

MAPS’ last album ‘Viscissitude’ was a superb work which presented a far subtler and more atmospheric take on synthpop, showing that a wall of sound approach can function in the context of melodic synthesized music. Meanwhile, Polly Scattergood has released two albums of quirky indie / alt-rock and getting a Vince Clarke remix along the way for her track ‘Other Too Endless’.

Having previously worked together at the Mute Short Circuit Festival, the two have joined musical forces and this has resulted in the eponymous ‘On Dead Waves’ album, a collection of songs which have a far more retro-based aesthetic than their individual works.

Chapman’s guitar work has always been present in MAPS’ music, but normally buried in the background underneath a wall of synths and reverberant electronic drums. But here it takes centre stage in an album that vocally is directly influenced by the songs of Lee Hazelwood & Nancy Sinatra. Chapman’s voice throughout is pitched at a low baritone level (usually an octave below Scattergood’s) and provides textural support to her atmospheric musings.

There have already been three singles from ‘On Dead Waves’ and these are undoubtedly the main highlights here – ‘Blue Inside’ is a thing of beauty, full of melancholy and hinging around a chiming guitar / synth figure which lifts the track to another level in its chorus.

The confessional ‘Blackbird’ takes some of MAPS’ Shoegaze elements and combines it with nods to both country and the films of David Lynch. ‘California’ is short and sweet, incorporating a BYRDS-style twelve string electric guitar, and is the most upbeat and bass-driven track here with its percussive handclap / tambourine / shaker combo making the track fly by in an instant.

Also present is a cover of the classic ‘Autumn Leaves’ which has previously been recorded by artists such as BOB DYLAN, ERIC CLAPTON and EDITH PIAF. Here the song is held together by wide cinematic tremolo guitars and subtle underpinning electronics, with both Scattergood’s and Chapman’s vocals harmonising throughout until the songs ambient conclusion.

The closing ‘Winter’s Child’ initially recalls GOLDFRAPP’s ‘Lovely Head’ with its ethereal introduction and features some welcome electronic pad and synth bass textures. The tolling bells in the track and whistling take their cue from the soundtrack work of Ennio Morricone and the concluding hypnotic ‘On Dead Waves’ mantra appears to accompany the end credits to an unseen movie.

The fact that Lana Del Rey has already previously mined this kind of sound does steal a bit thunder from ON DEAD WAVES, but this doesn’t stop it from being judged on its own merits. ‘On Dead Waves’ is the kind of album to zone out to on a Sunday morning and perfect for re-imagining yourself on a desolate and dusty American highway somewhere.

Considering Chapman’s previous back catalogue, there is a noticeable lack of synths here, but in recreating a sound which is more retrograde sounding, the use of organ, guitar and lighter percussion are obviously the correct musical layers to use to evoke this period.

In a world where everything appears to be moving too fast, an album like ‘On Dead Waves’ is most welcome, it makes you pause… take a step back and appreciate that not all music needs to batter you incessantly for attention. Probably the biggest compliment to give this would be that if a third series of the critically acclaimed ‘True Detective’ were to ever hit our screens, the songs here would be an absolute perfect fit to soundtrack it.

‘On Dead Waves’ is released by Mute Artists in CD, vinyl and download formats

https://www.facebook.com/ondeadwaves/

http://www.pollyscattergood.com/

https://thisismaps.com/

http://mute.com/artists/on-dead-waves

Text by Paul Boddy
25th May 2016

SARAH P. Interview

9 January 2016 /
Photo by Christoph Neumann

Photo by Christoph Neumann

The voice of SARAH P. is both spooky and captivating, like a cross between Polly Scattergood, Alison Goldfrapp and Elizabeth Fraser while shaped by the spectre of Nancy Sinatra and Tracey Thorn.

Formally the frontwoman of Greek duo KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS, a project with the mysterious producer / musician RΠЯ, the Athenian pairing recorded a number of acclaimed EPs that explored chillwave and dubstep.

Following the release of their first full length album ‘At Home’ in 2013 which featured their crowning moment ‘Oostende’, SARAH P. parted company with KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS. After a period of soul searching amid the turmoil of the social-economic crisis in Greece, she made a home for herself in Berlin to begin a new phase of creativity.

Sarah P - Press Picture by Bertrand Bosrédon

Photo by Bertrand Bosrédon

She launched her solo career with the release of ‘Free’ at the end of 2015. An eight song mini-album chronicling “a couple of years that have been rough and weird”, ‘Free’ is an ambitious debut release that combines a variety of emotions and textures for an enticing listening experience.

SARAH P. kindly gave her time for a fascinating chat about her hopes, fears and ideals as a solo artist…

Congratulations on ‘Free’, it is a very worthy opening statement. It also appears somewhat more direct than your previous work, sad yet hopeful?

Thank you! It is more direct, isn’t it? I’ve been through a couple of rough years and ‘Free’ serves as diary of mine, both to not forget, but also to document and share my experiences. The whole record is about moving forward and leaving the past behind. That thought itself is sad yet hopeful, somehow bittersweet. Although it’s all cited from my perspective, I can imagine that many people can relate to what the concept of ‘Free’ is. I think that no matter where we come from and no matter which our background is, there is always something in our lives that’s bugging us, leaving us with no choice but to break free from it.

FINDING SIGI-stills+export160You were at a crossroads when you left KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS. What inspired you to keep going with music, as there were other artistic avenues you could have pursued, like acting?

Haha, I get asked this question quite often. I think that the statement of the band and of my then label was a bit ambiguous, but there was never ever a single point I said I am done with music. In fact, shortly after leaving KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS, I hid in the studio to work on various collaborations and features like THE BILINDA BUTCHERS, SUNDAYMAN, and a collaboration EP with SUN GLITTERS. I even started a short-lived side project with ambient producer Hior Chronik – techno pop, back in those days I didn’t want to sing that much.

In the same year, I released my first solo output ‘I Misbehave’. I was never gone – I just started making different music. As for the acting, if anything, while being in KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS, I wasn’t allowed to chase roles. In 2015, I got the opportunity to be part of a couple of casts and relive the magic of cinematography. I’m super happy to be in ‘Finding Sigi’, the winning short film of the Berlin 48h Festival, as Suzanne Smidt, casted by the super talented director Aviv Kosloff and among amazing actors and an amazing crew. The film will be premiered at Filmapallooza early 2016 🙂

What motivated your move to Berlin?

I needed a fresh start and I needed it desperately. At that point, nothing was really going my way. I was advised to move to Berlin by people who abandoned me right after I said I’d go for it. I decided to give Berlin a chance. I packed my stuff and moved here – I had nothing to lose! I didn’t move away because of the crisis, I didn’t move to Germany to make it big, because I would never make it in Greece. I love Greece, I love Athens, but I am of a restless spirit and I cannot sit still. I lived for 24 years in Athens and back in the summer of 2014, I felt ready to open my wings and seek new adventures. And so I did. I’ve been so lucky, you have no idea! Moving to Berlin has been one of the best decisions I’ve ever made.

keep-shelly-in-athens-02Was Athens not the right environment for you to progress with your music?

No matter how hard things are, Greeks will always have music! My hometown happens to have an amazing underground, indie scene.

If your question is about whether I would fit in that scene then my answer is no, since the sound of Athens is more guitar based.

But if your question is about Athens (and Greece) being in the middle of all this Financial Drama and therefore doomed with a dark cloud / heavy atmosphere, then I have to admit that sweet old Athens was and will always be my muse, no matter where I am.

Athens is a beautiful, vibrant city. It’s super multiculti and open which makes it the perfect environment for any artist of any field. Especially during those times when everything is boiling, Greeks are giving it all for a better life which, to my eyes, seems truly inspiring. So, to answer your question, I never left Athens, I am just looking at it from a different perspective. My family is there, the people who are responsible for who I am and where I stand as a person. I left my hometown only physically – other than that I carry it in my heart.

Sarah P. - I'd Go - Cover 2015

Photo by Christoph Neumann

‘I’d Go’ is perfect melancholic pop and has an important personal message too. Has recording ‘Free’ been a cathartic process for you?

Sincerely, thank you for saying so. Most of the people do not get that this song is not as happy as it sounds at a first listen. ‘Free’ helped me understand many things about myself. The songwriting, the recordings and the release of this EP have all been part of a crazy journey. What was living in my head became tangible! It wasn’t easy but who said it would be? My personal catharsis came with the release of the record, when I realized that everything is where I wanted them to be.

The idea behind ‘Free’ is to take the listener by the hand, help him / her get out of the dark tunnel and walk together towards the bright light of redemption. On ‘I’d Go’, one sees the light already and actively marches towards it. I wanted the EP to end with a song like ‘Golden Deer’ (a collaboration with Greek producer Hiras) which creates a magical landscape. During the whole record, I perpetually pat the shoulder of the listener and whisper in their ears that it’s ok.

All the songs on ‘Free’ are songs one should sing in front of the mirror, you know? If people are lacking something these days that’s confidence – not in a superficial way, that’s abundant. Confidence in a sense that whatever we do makes us happy and helps us get going, because we know we are on the right path of life. ‘I’d Go’ is about this exact thing, ‘Free’ is about this exact thing.

SARAH P by Christoph Neumann Photography.

Photo by Christoph Neumann

Which artists musically have influenced this more accessible pop direction? For example, I think I hear GOLDFRAPP in ‘Dirty Sunday’…

I would say that SANTIGOLD has been a major influence, especially her first EP when she was called SATOGOLD. BLOC PARTY too… I wonder how people do not hear that on ‘Dishes’, to me it is very obvious *giggles*

MADONNA because she is the most badass chameleon of pop. KATE BUSH is always an inspiration because she is a magical creature.

And dark wave / post punk as a scene that taught me how to not sound angry when I’m boiling. I guess that’s it.

But you are still exploring leftfield avenues, as on ‘Let It Go’ and ‘You Wouldn’t Understand’. How are you finding trying to keep the balance?

I just follow my instinct! I promised to myself that I will never be prisoner of a music genre. I experiment a lot and try around – that’s the only way to make music, in my opinion. If you’re too busy being bound with an atmosphere or a genre, you’re losing the whole point. Unless you play math rock or something.

You described ‘Free’ as “a vivid commentary on all kinds of relationships, vices, social and political scenery of our times”. What do you say to those people who feel that music and politics should not mix?

Oh well, don’t get me started! Unless those people were born in the 00s, there is no excuse. From the 00s and on, what’s been popular is all about kissing a boy, kissing a girl, gimme dat booty and so on. Convenient enough and during years when epic wars have been taking place all around the world, pop music kept away from politics with very few exceptions (MJ, MADONNA, MORRISSEY and a few more) who’ve been treated as the wacky kids, and were often excommunicated from the star system.

I’ll tell you what… I come from Greece, I live in those days when horrible things are happening in the world, I read the news and try to stay informed and on top of that, I am a woman active in a very conservative industry of men (mostly). I have things to say and I will, whether that’s through my music or through my texts. For some this might be too much, but for me it’s staying true to my ideals.

You have collaborated a lot with other artists in the run up to ‘Free’; was there a particular moment when it was clear that you could now do this on your own and be ‘Moving On’?

‘Free’ covers the period from early 2014 (when I left KEEP SHELLY IN ATHENS) to now.

Since I had to leave the band for various reasons, it was more than clear to me that I would be on my own. I had to find a way to do so. But I love working with other people. There are things coming up I cannot announce yet, involving collaborations with extremely talented people. I’ve been ‘Moving On’ – the entire of ‘Free’ is ‘Moving On’.

But I am not a lone wolf; I prefer to have a pack around me, if you know what I mean. I have been blessed with a great team of people who understand my vision and add up to it. Technically there has been no moment, I’ve been entirely alone. I always have my people backing me up.

Photo by Christoph Neumann

Photo by Christoph Neumann

When writing and recording solo now, what has been the most fundamentally different aspect for you, compared with the past?

I had to learn how to orchestrate the whole thing. Till that point, I’ve been following orders. For a person who was raised to always be humble and accepting, embracing a more bossy side of mine was a big challenge.

In 2015, I learned how to make decisions and how to not compromise. Before this year, I tended to agree on things just to not make a fuss, even if I had to go through a personal conflict.

When I’m writing and recording my own music or working on a feature, I do it all my way. I’ll put together the sounds I like, I’ll play the melodies that I think they fit. I think that finding the balance between the Sarah before and after has also helped me in my everyday life. I’ve become more assertive and all because of a computer program and the zillions of decisions I had to make to be able to hold my record in my hands.

An extended EP is a good way to start your solo career so will you do another EP or go the full album route? Is there a place for the album format in modern music consumption?

My LP is already in the making. There is a whole concept behind it and I am very much looking forward to sharing it, although I’ve got to hold back and wait! As for the second part of your question, if I am brutally honest, I will have to say no, there is no place for an album, there’s barely place for an EP or even for a single. The attention span of the people is so short that if you are an independent artist, your music will probably get lost in a pile of unread emails.

Photo by Christoph Neumann

Photo by Christoph Neumann

The Internet has made it all faster and since we’re humans and not robots, we can simply not keep up with that pace.

The music industry has changed a lot, the media (press, blogs, radio) have changed a lot and lately everybody seems to spend time and money on social media campaigns that seem so pointless, I could laugh and cry at the same time.

You put out your song and you hope it will be featured on a ‘strong’ playlist on Spotify and that this will bring new followers to your music.

It’s a constant fight for a glimpse of attention.

Unless you are TAYLOR SWIFT (or ADELE who is signed to an independent label, but currently has big advertisements EVERYWHERE and all for a poorly produced, old-fashioned album), you’re granted one second of fame.

It’s such a big bubble, all that happens is that more and more artists (even the indie ones) work on writing the so called ‘hits’, in order to get a place in the music industry and get under the radar of the important people who usually are so ridiculous, it’s painful… that being said, you must think I am crazy for making an LP.

One needs to drink gallons of idealism in order to keep their heads up. And so I do, so does my team. I believe that nobody wants it to be that way – that meaningless struggle of trying to keep up with the fast pace of life. If we see it as an analogy (I love analogies), we’re on a fast train that’s driving to somewhere – nobody knows to where. It’s up to each and every of us to get off, say “I am sorry, that’s my stop”. I won’t play with other people’s rules, I set mine, according to my ideals and ethics.

What is next for you? How are you feeling about playing live as a solo artist?

Live shows, songwriting, producing and recording my album. As for the gigs, I am very much looking forward to playing shows. I share the stage with two super talented gentlemen, Owen Howells and Marv Rudnick who also happen to be good friends of mine, so touring with them will be great fun.

ELECTRICITYCLUB.CO.UK gives its warmest thanks to SARAH P.

Additional thanks to Robert Helbig at Hellbig Music.

‘Free’ is released by EraseRestart as a download via the usual digital outlets, while the 12 inch vinyl edition is available from http://eraserestart.bigcartel.com/product/sarah-p-free-vinyl

SARAH P plays Eurosonic Noorderslag in Groningen on THURSDAY 14TH JANUARY and Privatclub in Berlin on MONDAY 25TH JANUARY 2016

http://sarahpofficial.com/

https://www.facebook.com/sarahpofficial/

Text and Interview by Chi Ming Lai
9th January 2016

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