by cheryl santa maria (pic by eric wong)
In a former life, Sarah Macdougall must have been a bird.
“I can really identify with them,” she says, and “they also influence me a lot.”
I’d have to say I agree: Sarah must have been a bird in a previous life. It’s the only way you can explain her smooth voice and her rich, folksy sound. She’s been performing for awhile, no doubt - Sarah wrote her first song at the age of 12 and went solo in 2003 - but there’s a maturity in her voice that speaks well beyond her years. Her song “I’ve Got Sorrow” is heart-wrenching yet sublime; Across the Atlantic is a soothing reflection on the “cold Nordic town” she now calls home.
 |
|
…
Her musical influences are vast - everything from Bruce Springsteen’s Born in the USA to Stevie Nicks’ Wild Heart to Swedish artist Lars Winnerbäck - and her songs are a drawn from her life experiences. “Everything influences me,” Sarah explains, “[and I filter things] through my own subjective lens.”
“There’s [also] a ‘northern’ sort of melancholy sound to my music, I think. Perhaps because I have lived my life in Sweden and Canada.”
Sarah tours in Canada, UK, and Scandinavia, and she will be playing live at the Rhizome in Vancouver, Canada, on July 9. Her album, Across the Atlantic, can be purchased from her MySpace or on CD Baby. Buy this one - you will enjoy it. It’s almost as if Sarah has plucked the thoughts out of our heads and turned them into songs.
