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1) What is the first song that sticks out in your memory?
‘Bright Eyes’ from Watership Down. I remember seeing the video clip for it on ABC. I think I was only about 3 or 4, so it’s one of my first memories. The song’s so beautiful and sad.
2) How do you aim to effect and touch people with your music?
I guess I just try to be myself, and I try to get better at communicating things through songs. I figure that if I’m doing things that are meaningful to me and that make sense to me instinctively then they will be meaningful to other people. It’s just so hard to know what people will like and what will move people, that’s why you’ve got to trust your own instinct.
3) What song or musician has touched you most in your life?
So many… ‘Cloudbusting’ by Kate Bush, ‘Eleanor Rigby’ by the Beatles, ‘All Is Full Of Love’ by Bjork. I guess songs that give you some perspective on life, the bigger picture, that kind of thing!
4) Which one of your own songs is your favourite to play at full volume after a long day?
Maybe I’m weird, but I don’t like to play my own songs after a long day! The most relaxing thing would be to play someone else’s! Like ‘Billie Jean’ by Michael Jackson... that song always makes me want to dance. I love to shake out all the stress out with a good dance around my house.
5) What is the key to good a live performance?
I think it really depends... some music can be exhilarating because it’s really upbeat, the costumes are flamboyant, it’s really loud, the lights are amazing and there’s pyrotechnics, but it can be extremely moving and unforgettable when the performance is so quiet you could hear a pin drop and the mood is humble and it’s just about the songs and the voice.
6) Music is an inspiration for many fashion designers and artists what elements of these creative areas inspire you?
Colour, originality, boldness are the elements that inspire me. I like things that leave things to the imagination too, that don’t spell it all out for you...
7) Was there a defining moment in your life which made you realise music was your path and if so what was it?
I was in France for a church trip when I was a teenager and I was singing on the street and I realised that music was what I loved doing. I loved the way it can transcend language and the way it moves people.
8) What gets your inspiration ticking?
Reading, watching films, walking. I walk everywhere ‘cos I don’t drive and I always think of things while I’m out and about, watching people and probably just the rhythm of it. A long distance train or bus trip is also a good way to get the inspiration moving.
9) What else do you do/where do you go when you’re trying to put together an album to keep the mood alive?
Well, I’m about to go overseas to get a bit of a fresh perspective because I’ve been moving between my house and my little music room for the past few months and I feel like I need to see something different to finish the process.
10) What is your favourite memory of your live performances?
At Splendour In The Grass a couple of years ago.. this giant beach ball was being hit around by the crowd and then it came hurtling towards my head, but before it could hit me I managed to hit it really hard into the crowd. That was a relief for me, because I am really unco-ordinated, and it just felt like such a rock’n’roll moment... and I don’t have many of those because I’m not really that kind of girl.
Find out more about Sarah- http://www.yenmag.net/ywya/finalists_profile.php?name_id=24
Interview by Rhiannon Bulley
