Sarah Blasko is now awake
When I first heard that Sarah would be coming out with a new album earlier this year I was excited, when I found out that she was going to be renting a storefront on Oxford St in Sydney to realise her new album I was ecstatic. Now I am not about to pretend I know enough about music to review the album for that you should look to beat, The Age, Faster Louder, and the fans on the Tripple J site. All I will say is that I love it, and have it on right now as I write this, the YouTube clip of the title track appears at the end of the post.
Sarah Blasko, October 2012
Three Portraits of Sarah, October 2012
What I will do however is share some words on the actual installation and launch. To succeed as a musical artist, not a pop superstar, in this era you have to continually push boundaries. Not just in terms of talent or sound but some more encompassing ideas around the album, which is very evident with this album and its launch. What struck me was the way she launched the album by renting out a shop on Oxford Street, Sydney as a venue for people to come and listen to the music on iPods or to come and see Sarah perform live at one of her 4 previews shows (I got to attend 3 of them). But what I also found interesting was the number of other art projects that surrounded the album, photographs, paintings (album art) and a short film (which you can find here). I find it interesting when several different artistic mediums inspire each other.
There are three fantastic photographs of Sarah taken by a friend Wilk on an old Hasselblad and a pocket full of 120 film with no light meter, guessing the exposure. If she was selling prints of them I would have been tempted. I got a real feeling that Sarah and Wilk were in sync with each other and that Sarah was giving up a bit more of herself than she would for just anyone. She is actually on my bucket list of people I would like to photograph but right now I doubt I could come up with something as graceful and stunning as these photographs. I just hope I get the chance someday.
