Sarah Blasko

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Sarah Blasko
Image:Image sarah blasko.jpg years_active = 2002 - present
Country	Australia
Genres	Indie rock, indie pop, indietronica, singer-songwriter
Labels	Dew Process (Aus) Low Altitude Records (US)
Members	Robert F. Cranny Jeff De Araujo
Past members	Ben Fletcher Jessica Chapnik Gillian Cranny Dave Keys Nicholai Danko Patrick Haid AW Gregorace

Sarah Blasko (born 23 September 1976) is an Australian musician. She was born in Sydney soon after her family returned from French-speaking Réunion Island where her parents had been missionaries.

An original and largely self-reliant musical artist, Blasko is known for her writing and production skills, as well as her unique voice and stage presence.

[edit] Early History

Blasko was first heard in the mid-1990s fronting Sydney band, Acquiesce, after an initial tour of France with founding members Dave Hemmings, Paul Camilleri, and her sister Kate Halcrow. With material written by Blasko and Camilleri, they recorded a single and an EP with producer Hugh Wilson, receiving some local attention.

[edit] Solo Career

In 2002, Sarah decided to go solo. Material for the "Prelusive" EP - a result of initial explorative collaborations with Wilson but fully realised with Nick Schneider and Steve Francis - was originally recorded as demos. However, after becoming disillusioned with the indecisiveness and lack of solid commitment from the labels she met with, Blasko decided to release and promote the material independently. With the financial assistance of then-manager Craig New, she also produced a music video for the leading track, “Your Way”.

The track was picked up by local community stations such as 2SER, as well as the national youth broadcaster, JJJ – who also gave light rotation to two other EP tracks, “Will You Ever Know” & “ Be Tonight”. “Your Way” was also featured on the test loop of fledgling Sydney community radio station 2FBi, when the station began to broadcast full-time.

After this initial success, Sarah was approached by and eventually signed to Brisbane-based label, Dew Process, who repackaged and re-released the EP. There are minor variations to the packaging of the major label release, which make the independent release slightly more valuable to collectors.

[edit] Debut album

In late 2004, Blasko released her debut album, The Overture & The Underscore, recorded in Hollywood at the studio of engineer Wally Gagel. She co-produced the album with Gagel and fellow songwriter, Robert F Cranny.

Gagel engineered and mixed the album, with some assistance from Bruce MacFarlane. Drummer Joey Waronker - a world-class studio drummer and one-time live performer with Beck & REM – played all of the drums and percussion on the album, being the only genuine musical contributor to the album outside of the two writers.

The album was met with critical acclaim and received gold accreditation in Australia, despite limited commercial radio play. In 2005 Blasko was rewarded for her work with four ARIA nominations. Of particular note was her nomination for Album of the Year.

Three music videos were produced for album tracks “Don’t U Eva”, “Always Worth It” & “Perfect Now”. The track, “Always Worth It” featured in the final episode of US television series, Six Feet Under.

[edit] Press

With her debut EP & album focussed around acoustic guitar and utilising both live and programmed drums, Sarah’s early recordings possessed much appeal for fans of indietronica, and in particular the more ‘singer-songwriter’ type artists who aspire to this kind of production. However, in contrast, Blasko’s compositions venture toward grand rather than diminutive melodies and to soaring pop arrangements rather than lo-fi underplaying.

This distinction was observed by Bernard Zuel in The Sydney Morning Herald: “Blasko works in the territory where Ed Harcourt and Fiona Apple shine, taking some of the new acoustic framework (think Turin Brakes) and some of the folk-meets-electronica stuff that came out in the post-Portishead years and applies them to straightforward pop songs.”[1]

Further to this, her live interpretations of the same material display a harder edge, and a greater dynamic range than the recordings. Drummer Jeff De Araujo often applies an additional layer of broken beats and percussion to the sampled drum loops; the presence of electric guitars is more pronounced; and Sarah is known to deliver her vocals with increased rawness and energy.

Bret Gladstone, for the Associated Press, wrote of the album: “‘The Overture and the Underscore’ finds the 28-year-old Aussie delivering a carefully crafted collection of compositions - torn between reverence of love and weariness of a reality that obliterates it - that will satisfy anyone who has felt that Norah Jones, Radiohead and Coldplay would serve well as composite musical DNA. Steering away from swanky vocal effects like double-tracking, and, for the most part, harmonies, producer Wally Gagel hones in on the breathy, weathered velvet of Blasko's voice, valuing the authenticity of its imperfections as well as its soul-weary grace, while framing it within wide-screen sonic atmospheres at once funereal and emboldened.”[2]

[edit] Covers

In the period following the release of her debut album, Blasko demonstrated her enthusiasm and flair for interpreting the songs of others.

With Robert F. Cranny, she produced a version of signature Crowded House number, “Don’t Dream It’s Over”, which featured on the tribute album, She Will Have Her Way: The Songs Of Neil & Tim Finn. The track was engineered by David Trump at Big Jesus Burger studios in Sydney, and mixed by David Hemmings.

The pair have also laid claim to a fragile, stripped-back version of Underground Lovers classic “Losin’ It”. Performed with voice and acoustic guitar, the song has become a favourite in their live set, and has led to a collaboration between Blasko and the song’s co-writer, Glenn Bennie, for his second album with project, GB3.

Sarah also appears on a cover of the classic Australian song, “Flame Trees”, which was especially recorded for the soundtrack to the Rowan Woods film, “Little Fish”. This track was produced by two highly respected Australian musicians, Wayne Connolly, who has worked with iconic Australian bands such as Underground Lovers, You Am I, The Vines and more recently Youth Group, and Jim Moginie, a key member of legendary band, Midnight Oil.

Sarah has also performed a cover of "Goodbye Yellow Brick Road" by Elton John, which appears on the ABC Records release, "Triple J: Like A Version - Vol 2". She also performed the New Buffalo track, "Come Back", when that artist was forced to cancel a number of support slots in February 2005. In 2006, Sarah performed “Don’t Dream It’s Over” at the closing ceremony of the Commonwealth Games in Melbourne.

[edit] Touring

Sarah Blasko has toured extensively in Australia, as well as the US, Canada, the UK and Ireland. Although the exact configuration varies, Sarah performs with a five or six piece band usually consisting of drums, electric and synth bass, acoustic and electric guitar plus keyboards and various samplers / effects units. Due to the breadth of arrangement most of the touring musicians are multi-instrumentalists.

Sarah also performs in a duo with only Cranny accompanying on guitar and keyboards. In both formats, Sarah plays acoustic guitar and occasional keyboards.

This versatility allowed her to tour with folk / roots artists such as Ray LaMontagne, as well as play outdoor rock festivals such as Australia’s famous Big Day Out.

Sarah has toured the UK and Ireland with Tom McRae, and the US and Canada with Ray LaMontagne, James Blunt and Martha Wainwright. Sarah has played at The Falls Festival, Homebake, Splendour In The Grass and in 2006 joined the national Big Day Out tour.

[edit] What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have

Sarah spent most of April 2006 recording her second album in Auckland, New Zealand at Roundhead Studio, the studio of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn [3].

Sarah produced the album with Robert F Cranny, and “Flame Trees” collaborator and Midnight Oil bass player, Jim Moginie. The recording session was engineered by Paul McKercher, who has worked with numerous Australian bands including Glide, The Cruel Sea, You Am I and more recently Augie March.

The final addition to this all-Australian team was New York-based producer/engineer, Victor Van Vugt, who mixed the record. Van Vugt has worked on a number of Beth Orton records and has a long association with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds, mixing a number of their albums as well as some Mick Harvey solo work and production efforts such as PJ Harvey’s “Stories From The City, Stories From The Sea”.

The album features Dave Symes on bass guitar and Jeff De Araujo on drums & percussion. Jim Moginie makes cameos on a number of tracks, playing wurlitzer, piano, guitar, omnichord and other gadgets. Sarah appears throughout the record on guitar, organ, vibraphone, wurlitzer and drum programming. Robert F Cranny plays acoustic & electric guitars, piano, organ, harmonium, synthesiser, bass guitar, and wurlitzer. The choir and strings were arranged by Cranny & Blasko and conducted by Cranny.

The first radio-only single release from the album is entitled Explain. It was released to Australian radio on the 11th of September 2006. An accompanying video clip appears on Sarah's official web site. The next single is "Always On This Line". A video has been released, receiving play on Vh1 and Max.

The album was released in Australia on the 21st of October 2006, and debuted at number 7 in the ARIA album chart.

[edit] Trivia

Once sang a duet with Chris Taylor of the Chaser Team during a live radio broadcast from the Australian National University, in Canberra. The song was "Time Of My Life", best known from the film, "Dirty Dancing".

[edit] Discography

[edit] Albums

The Overture & The Underscore
(October 11, 2004)
Dew Process
#35 AUS

What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have
(October 21, 2006)
Dew Process
#7 AUS

[edit] EPs

Prelusive EP
(September, 2002)
Independent Release

Don't U Eva
(September 27, 2004)
Dew Process

Flame Trees
(March 18, 2006)
Dew Process

[edit] Radio Singles

From The Overture & The Underscore: Counting Sheep, Perfect Now, Always Worth It

From What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have: [explain], Always On This Line

[edit] Other Contributions

"Little Fish" soundtrack - "Flame Trees"
"She Will Have Her Way: Songs of Neil and Tim Finn" - "Don't Dream It's Over"
The Devoted Few "Schematic Tracks" Remix EP - "Nothing Ever Changes"
Peabody "The New Violence" LP - "Got You On My Radar", "The Weight Just Right", "Song For Val", & "Got Your Hooks In"
Nations By The River "Holes In The Valley" LP - "Heart Attack Romance", "Cracking Up", "Would It Be Nice" & "The Prettiest Girl"
Bluebottle Kiss "Doubt Seeds" 2LP - "Speak Up Memory" & "Dream Audit"