Track By Track: Sarah Blasko

SARAH BLASKO calls ‘I Awake’ ‘an album of contrasts’, sharing her impression of each song and an exclusive video of its recording in Sweden.

‘I Awake’

This song had its humble beginnings in a bathroom in a restaurant. I sang the words "I'm awake/No I'm not scared" into my phone. I suppose I was trying to conjure a strength within myself and that statement eventually became the focus of the album. I probably couldn't have imagined at that point that it would end up being recorded with a jungle drum beat and an entire orchestra.

‘An Arrow’

This song's about the mystery and the wonder that is all around and that lies beneath the surface of things. There are no foregone conclusions and I want to embrace that with everything I have.

‘Bury This’

This was probably the first song I wrote for the album. It was also the first song I'd written on ukulele. I felt it signalled a new direction and gave me the idea of an album of contrasts. I thought about how wonderful it would be to have the simplicity of something like this little fragile ukulele in contrast to a mammoth orchestra.

‘God-Fearing’

It's an angry tune about people who like to use other people only to build themselves up, about those who don't like to listen, who don't admire the subtleties. I wrote this immediately after a very unsatisfying evening surrounded by a bunch of those kind of people. I felt as though I had been dining with wolves and purged it all with this song.

‘All Of Me’

Love can be drastic and can make you want to hand yourself over, to somehow fulfil yourself in another, and it makes you want to be vulnerable. This song revels in this wonderful madness. When Nicholas Wales, the string arranger, wrote for the strings to go up an octave in the second half of the last chorus, it seemed to me to perfectly express the height and the drama of love.

‘New Country’

A new physical country, a love that feels like an exotic new place. Both alter you and offer things you never thought possible. You feel as though you have entered a dream. I feel pretty proud of the time-signature change in this one and I admire the way the drums wind in and out of the chorus. Featured at the end are some Bulgarian singers: The Slavey Folklore Quartet.

‘Here’

Fredrik Kinbom and I wrote this song together on a holiday in France. We hoped it would have something of the grandeur of an Edith Piaf song, but with something of the slur of a Beth Gibbons song. Again this is about love. This time the love that lies hidden, always there within. I'm very pleased with the Hollywood ending.

‘Illusory Light’

Some people come and go in our lives like a force of nature. I wanted the orchestral arrangements on this song to overwhelm and overpower and then disappear in a similar way.

‘Fool’

This was inspired by a conversation. That kind of discouraging conversation where someone makes you feel that they know you better than you know yourself. They convince you of this for a moment but then you turn and think "Wait a minute, you almost had me fooled!"

‘Cast The Net’

Being truly honest with yourself is impossible sometimes. The truth is staring you in the face and you just cannot bear to accept it and it's easier to believe that you're confused. ‘Cast the Net’ is about taking a leap of faith, realising the truth about yourself, embracing it and then letting go.

‘An Oyster, A Pearl’

I wrote this with my niece in mind and to remind myself that life is hard but it is ours to be enjoyed. If I could advise my younger self, this is what I would plead.

‘Not Yet’

Here ends my fourth album with a claim that I'm not ready for death. Not yet. There's still unfinished business ... I'm not done with the struggle.

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‘I Awake’ is out now on Dew Process. Launch tour dates below, with Joe McKee supporting.

Fri, Feb 1 - Adelaide Festival Centre, Adelaide, SA [w/Adelaide Symphony Orchestra]
Mon, Feb 4 - Wrest Point Casino, Hobart, TAS [w/Tasmanian Symphony Orchestra]
Sat, Feb 9 - Queensland Performing Arts Centre, Brisbane, QLD [w/Queensland Symphony Orchestra]
Thurs, Feb 14 - Hamer Hall, Melbourne, VIC [w/Orchestra Victoria]
Sun, Feb 17 - Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW [w/Orchestra]
Mon, Feb 18 - Sydney Opera House, Sydney, NSW [w/Orchestra]
Sat , Feb 23 - Kings Park & Botanic Garden, Perth, WA [w/West Australian Symphony Orchestra]