Mayo singer songwriter Sarah Keane has released her new single, Letters. We asked her the BIG questions . . .
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Letters is the title track of her upcoming debut EP, which will be released this autumn, and it tells the story of Sarah composing and sending a letter to a close friend after a period of silence.
"We would often go for long periods without chatting, except this time when I went to contact him his social media presence had disappeared and his phone wasn't working," she says.
"I feared for the worst, and just wished I’d got in touch much sooner. The song captures a time when I was hoping I would get a chance to remind him there’s always friends who care. Hopefully it will encourage some listeners to reach out to old friends and connect again".
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
I'm Sarah Keane and I'm a folk-pop artist and songwriter from Co. Mayo. I once got to the second round of a dating show where the prize was to go to the moon with a Japanese billionaire, but it got cancelled. I have no other upcoming expected opportunities for space travel unfortunately, but I'm excited for my fellow Mayo woman Norah Patten to represent us in a couple years! Last year I studied the Vipassana meditation technique that requires you to interact with no one for ten days, including speaking, smiling, reading, writing etc. As someone who tends to overshare constantly, it was quite the challenge.
How would you describe your music?
I would describe it as storytelling with a guitar! I think of every song I perform as a story set to music and I'm always looking for ways to put an interesting twist on the everyday. I'm lyric obsessed, so my songs are always built on lyrics first and foremost. I love organic, real instruments and keep my voice natural and real sounding. If I was to pick a genre, I'd say folk or folk-pop.
Who are your musical inspirations?
I think women are seriously underrepresented in the music industry, and so I'm always particularly inspired to see females smashing it! And even more so when they sing about strong feminist themes and are unapologetically themselves. CMAT, Orla Gartland and Chappell Roan are fantastic for this, and I find myself looking to them for inspiration recently.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
Would you believe it was 21 Demands! I think I was about 13, it was a youth gig and there were about forty of us there and we had the time of our lives. Of course, they went on to be a little-known band called Kodaline.
What was the first record you ever bought?
I can't remember if I technically owned it or it belonged to one of my sisters, but I listened almost exclusively to Avril Lavigne's Let Go for some of my earliest years. It was her first album and had all the classics like Complicated, I’m With You and Anything But Ordinary.
What’s your favourite song right now?
Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan is living in my head rent free right now. It's the perfect mix of a positive theme of being true to yourself, upbeat and it's just so damn catchy!
Favourite lyric of all time?
This changes all the time, but right now I'm going to go with Nothing Arrived by Villagers. It's beautifully written, in particular the line "I waited for something, but something died/So I waited for nothing and nothing arrived". I think you can take a lot of meanings from it, but what I appreciate most in it is that it reminds me of the impermanence of life and how we truly don't have that much control over it.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
Oh, wow what a question! I adore the song Home by Edward Sharpe & The Magnetic Zeros. It's got the story-telling aspect that I really appreciate, excellent lyrics, a fun cheeky side while still being upbeat. It's really a movie in a song. But most importantly, it's soundtracked some of my favourite memories with my best friends, so it always puts a massive smile on my face whenever I hear it.
Where can people find your music/more information?
I'm in all the usual places! Sarah Keane on any streaming platforms or Sarah Keane Music on socials and my website. See you there!
Alan Corr
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