Sarah Slean's Rising Star
Interview by Kris Riendeau

Sarah Slean will be headlining the RiverEdge Festival in Almonte, playing a concert at the Old Town Hall on Saturday, June 14th. Her sultry vocals, dramatic piano playing and theatrical performance style recently netted her a Juno nomination for New Artist of the Year, and her latest CD Night Bugs was released by Warner Music Canada. TheHumm caught up with Sarah shortly after her performance at the Tulip Festival in Ottawa.

Humm: You seem to have a very strong vision for your own work which you have managed to stay true to it. Your music is impossible to pigeonhole - with influences as diverse as Marlene Dietrich and T.S. Eliot, Radiohead and J.D. Salinger. Not exactly mainstream, and yet your music has a real popular appeal, it's very accessible.
Sarah Slean: I tend not to think about how people will receive my music because I'm naive and romantic enough that I think that if you mean what you're doing, if you truly love music and think that it's powerful and that it's an amazing force, then that comes through when you sing. On the other side, when people sing and they don't mean it, it's something that I can certainly feel. And I can't understand why they spend all that time doing something if they don't love it. It has to be bloody and muscular, and it has to be in you to do. And if it wasn't then I would deliver mail or something. It does take courage, because I realised that the music that I love and that moves me and lights me on fire with joy is not music that is easy to sell on a grand scale. Unfortunately the reality is that it's a business, and that's what you have to face when you step into this ring of commerce and are meeting in this strange dance. That's why you have people to protect you like your manager.

Humm: How important is it to find someone in the industry that you're very compatible with?
Sarah: It's about stating from the outset that the music is my domain, and they don't get to step into that. If they are interested in stepping into it then I'm not interested in doing any business dealings with them.

Humm: You were first drawn to music through your family's piano, you had years of classical training, yet you ended up leaving the U of T music program after a year. You seemed to be getting some strong signals (like barfing before performing for a jury) that you weren't destined to play other people's music. Was leaving classical music a difficult decision for you to make in terms of things like financial security and the expectations of your family and peers?
Sarah: I went to York first thinking I was going to be a classical pianist, but it was quickly apparent to me that it was not a feasible future. When I play classical music by myself I think I'm pretty hot shit, but when I play it in front of people it's a different animal. Whereas when I play my own music I still get that feeling freedom like when I play by yourself and don't feel watched. But I would never "leave" classical music, because it is what made me understand music... it's this weird thing - there's no text, there's no singular source, especially when you're listening to an orchestra - there are just tones together, and sound waves, and they make this thing... if you sit down and think about what music is, it defies reason. When I go see a symphony orchestra I just can't believe how it makes me feel, that this invisible phenomenon can have such an effect.
But the friends and family expectation thing is so powerful. Going to school seems to be the prescription for success, and it did take a lot of soul searching to decide to stop. I've always loved school, I've always been a big nerd, and I had to muster some courage to actually leave school. But it kind of overlapped in that I continued to play live when I was in University for those two years, and then it just got busier and busier and I was falling more in love with it.

Humm: From what I read, I got the impression that you're more comfortable creating and performing music than you are in other arenas of life. In your interview in NOW Magazine, you were quoted as saying that "when I'm onstage I feel like I actually engage in the world, whereas in everyday life I feel like more of an observer." In a time of cut-backs to music and arts programs in the public school system, can you speak to the importance of the creative and performing arts in our society?
Sarah: It is so sad to me to thing that people won't get the chance to experience learning music. I know it's been documented that students who are exposed to music and learn about music do better in many other areas. But speaking personally, music saved me. It truly did. I've always been optimistic and I'm pretty much in love with the world, but it saved me, and I can't even describe how. I know that if that opportunity wasn't afforded to other people that it would just be a tragedy. People need to devote time to beauty... stopping and looking at the world and experiencing wonder... and music facilitates all of those things. The greatness of being alive is experiencing it, looking at it, and feeling the beauty of now. That's what music is to me.

Humm: I'm sure there are musicians out there who just want to get rich and famous, but there are also many artists who wouldn't want to be moulded into the "next big thing" if it meant compromising their musical integrity and vision. Do you have any words of advice for them?
Sarah: It chooses you - if you are an artist you either answer the call or you don't. I found for me that not answering it continues into a downward spiral. I've had times before when I became too conscious of what people expected of me musically... you feel like people are waiting for the next material you write... interviews are always asking what direction you're going in. You make it and you only make what you believe in and what you feel is true to you. That's the call that I answered, and to anyone who wants to be an artist and wants to make what they feel is their art, you have to just do it. And whatever you need to do to get by you just do. Because there is no option really.

Humm: But is it possible to experience success or even make a living in music without going through the industry's cookie cutter?
Sarah: This whole industry is undergoing upheaval - it's being re-invented because the business side of it is starting to crumble. One day CDs and products may all be free because of the way they're available on the internet. But people will still go see a live show. People will always need art. As far as existing in the industry, if you want to be an artist and not a J.Lo, you just have to stick to your guns. It requires endurance, that's for sure, and it really helps to have people who believe in you.

Humm: Besides touring with your new CD, do have any other musical plans on the horizon?
Sarah: I'm very excited about playing with the Toronto Symphony Orchestra on May 31st. It's part of a fundraiser for them. I'm also working on some film music. I took a class on orchestration this year, because I want to make symphonies one day. And all summer my band and I are rehearsing new material, and we'll probably start recording in September.

Humm: We're really looking forward to hearing you at RiverEdge in June in our town hall.
Sarah: I can't wait to play the Steinway!

Humm: Well, it's been inspiring to watch this community of a few thousand people raise $100,000 for a concert grand piano.
Sarah: See - that's what I love! I love stories like that. That's how much people need music.

Catch Sarah Slean at the Almonte Old Town Hall on June 14th, as part of the RiverEdge festival. Tickets are $15, available at The Miller's Tale, 256-9090. For more information about Sarah or her music, visit www.sarahslean.com.