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Hrvoje Bubić: SARAH PERROTTA INTERVIEW
Hrvoje Bubić
Sarah Perrota je američka glazbenica iz Hudson Valley, New York. Za Solin Live govori o svom novom albumu, suradnjama, turneji po Italiji, kao i mogućnosti u Hrvatskoj
1.To begin with, can you introduce yourself to our readers and say something about yourself?
Hi there! I am a singer, pianist and songwriter from the Hudson Valley, NY. I released my fourth album of dream/prog-pop last year, had an amazing tour with my band throughout Europe this year and I’m now in the preproduction and writing stage for my fifth album.
2. Coud you tell us about your musical beginnings as well as influences? As far as I can see, you come from a musical family.
I’ve been playing music my whole life. I grew up in a musical family where everyone played at least one instrument and sang. I studied classical piano from the age of 7 to 19 and was always making up songs on the piano and singing. I had several bands as a teenager, went on to study Jazz in college and released my first album of electro pop music when I was nineteen. Last year I released my fourth album of my original songs entitled Blue to Gold. I spent years working on this album with producer/drummer Jerry Marotta (of Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Paul McCartney). I listen to and love a wide range of musical styles. I am drawn to music that has it’s own authentic voice and that is what I aim for when writing, recording and performing.
3. You have collaborated with various names, of which I would like to mention Tony Levin, Trey Gunn, Jerry Marrota and Sara Lee. Please tell us more about these collaborations.
I live and grew up near Woodstock, NY, a nexus for well known musicians and I have had the opportunity to get to know and play with a lot of them over the years. Each of the players on Blue to Gold I met in different ways. I met Sara Lee (bass player for The B52s, Gang of Four) while opening for her at a festival. We realized we were neighbors and became very good friends. Bowie’s guitarist Gerry Leonard and his wife Pamela Sue Mann hired me to teach music to their daughter. I became close friends with them too and played in a band with Pamela for awhile. This is the third album of mine that Tony Levin plays bass on. I’ve always been a fan of his masterful work and am so fortunate to have his incredible tone and melodic sense grace another album of mine. It’s kind of wild that I nabbed the other half of the acclaimed rhythm section when drummer Jerry Marotta signed on as producer for Blue to Gold. Jerry brought in his crew to add key elements to the record including guitarists Marc Shulman (of Suzanne Vega) Bill Dillon (of Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson), organists Daniel Weiss (of Joan Osborne) and Rupert Greenall (of The Fixx), Italian string arranger Enzo DeRosa and mixing engineer Michael Cozzi. I haven’t played any music with Trey Gunn yet although he did sign me to his record label, Third Star Records/7D media.
4.You have released two albums so far; The Well and Blue To Gold, which I presented earlier. Tell us more about those albums.
Actually, I’ve released four albums of my original songs. The first under the band name Outloud Dreamer which was a collaboration with bassist/producer Carl Adami of electro-pop that was recorded on “all the wrong equipment all the wrong way” as Carl would always lovingly say. My second album The Well features Garth Hudson of The Band on accordion and that was the first album of mine that Tony Levin played on. It was mixed by Grammy winning producer Malcolm Burn (of EmmyLou Harris, Daniel Lanois). My third album Tonight was recorded with a trio that I had with guitarist Johnnie Wang and drummer Will Olsen. We recorded that album like a jazz trio mostly live in the same room at Applehead Recording Studio in Woodstock, NY. I played most of the bass lines on my Moog Rogue synth. We realized we were missing the clarity of a bass guitar so we called Tony Levin back in for this album to give us that precise tone that Tony is the ultimate master of. The making of my fourth album Blue to Gold was an epic life changing and once in a lifetime experience. I am so grateful to have met Jerry Marotta and for him to take me under his wing and help me to cultivate my songs at Dreamland Recording Studio in Hurley, NY. We spent years on this album similar to how Peter Gabriel would make an album. We experimented and took our time. There was absolutely no rushing in our process. Jerry is a mountain of knowledge and a visionary genius of rhythm and orchestration. I soaked up as much of that as I possibly could.
5. With music, do you do anything else? If so, could you tell us a word about that?
I have studied yoga for almost as long as I’ve been studying music. I practice yoga and meditation just about every day. I think of my body as my instrument and it’s imperative to keep it in tune. I also really enjoy cooking. I love to cook for my family, my friends and my band. Before most rehearsals I cook a meal for my band that we share together. I believe all these things feed into the music and fuel the fire.
6. For the end, what are your future projects? Will we see you in Croatia, Split?
I hope so! We are planning another tour to Europe next Spring. We will most likely return to Italy which we LOVED touring last May. Maybe we can make our way to Croatia too! Help us get there!
HRVATSKI PRIJEVOD
1.Možete li nam se za početak predstaviti i reći nešto o sebi?
Bok tamo! Ja sam pjevačica, pijanist i tekstopisac iz Hudson Walley, NY. Izdala sam svoj četvrti album dream/prog-popa prošle godine, imala sam nevjerojatnu turneju sa svojim bendom diljem Europe ove godine i sada sam u fazi predprodukcije i pisanja za svoj peti album.
2. Možete li nam reći nešto o svojim glazbenim počecima kao i utjecajima? Koliko vidim, dolazite iz glazbene obitelji.
Cijeli život se bavim glazbom. Odrastala sam u glazbenoj obitelji u kojoj su svi svirali barem jedan instrument i pjevali. Učila sam klasični klavir od 7. do 19. godine i uvijek sam smišljala pjesme na klaviru i pjevala. Imala sam nekoliko bendova kao tinejdžer, nastavila sam studirati jazz na koledžu i izdala svoj prvi album elektro pop glazbe kada sam imala devetnaest godina. Prošle godine izdala sam četvrti album svojih autorskih pjesama pod nazivom Blue to Gold. Provela sam godine radeći na ovom albumu s producentom/bubnjarom Jerryjem Marottom (Peter Gabriel, Hall and Oates, Paul McCartney). Slušam i volim širok raspon glazbenih stilova. Privlači me glazba koja ima svoj vlastiti autentični glas i to je ono čemu težim kada pišem, snimam i izvodim.
3. Surađivali ste s raznim imenima, od kojih bih izdvojio Tonyja Levina, Treya Gunna, Jerryja Marrotu i Saru Lee. Recite nam nešto više o tim suradnjama.
Živim i odrastala sam u blizini Woodstocka, NY, središta poznatih glazbenika i imala sam priliku upoznati mnoge od njih i svirati s njima tijekom godina. Svaki od svirača na Blue to Gold sam upoznala na različite načine. Upoznala sam Saru Lee (basisticu za The B52s, Gang of Four) dok sam joj bila predgrupa na jednom festivalu. Shvatili smo da smo susjedi i postali jako dobri prijatelji. Bowiejev gitarist Gerry Leonard i njegova supruga Pamela Sue Mann angažirali su me da podučavam glazbu njihovoj kćeri. I s njima sam postala blizak prijatelj te sam neko vrijeme svirala u bendu s Pamelom. Ovo je moj treći album na kojem Tony Levin svira bas. Uvijek sam bila obožavatelj njegovog majstorskog rada i tako sam sretna što njegov nevjerojatan ton i osjećaj za melodiju krase još jedan moj album. Nekako je divlje što sam uhvatio drugu polovicu hvaljene ritam sekcije kada je bubnjar Jerry Marotta potpisao kao producent za Blue to Gold. Jerry je doveo svoju ekipu da doda ključne elemente albumu uključujući gitariste Marca Shulmana (iz Suzanne Vega), Billa Dillona (iz Joni Mitchell, Robbie Robertson), orguljaše Daniela Weissa (iz Joan Osborne) i Ruperta Greenalla (iz The Fixxa), Talijana gudački aranžer Enzo DeRosa i miks inženjer Michael Cozzi. Još nisam puštala nikakvu glazbu s Treyem Gunnom, iako me on potpisao za svoju izdavačku kuću, Third Star Records/7D media.
4.Do sada ste izdali dva albuma; The Well i Blue To Gold, koji sam ranije predstavio. Recite nam nešto više o tim albumima.
Zapravo, izdala sam četiri albuma svojih autorskih pjesama. Prvi pod imenom benda Outloud Dreamer koji je bio suradnja s basistom/producentom Carlom Adamijem elektro-popa koji je snimljen na “svu krivu opremu na pogrešan način” kako bi Carl uvijek s ljubavlju govorio. Na mom drugom albumu The Well svira Garth Hudson iz The Banda na harmonici i to je bio moj prvi album na kojem je svirao Tony Levin. Miksao ju je Grammyjem dobitnik producent Malcolm Burn (od Emmy Lou Harris, Daniel Lanois). Moj treći album Tonight snimljen je s triom koji sam imao s gitaristom Johnniejem Wangom i bubnjarom Willom Olsenom. Snimili smo taj album kao jazz trio uglavnom uživo u istoj prostoriji u studiju Applehead Recording u Woodstocku, NY. Odsvirao sam većinu bas linija na mom Moog Rogue synthu. Shvatili smo da nam nedostaje jasnoća bas gitare pa smo ponovno pozvali Tonyja Levina za ovaj album da nam da taj precizan ton kojeg je Tony ultimativni majstor. Stvaranje mog četvrtog albuma Blue to Gold bila je epska promjena života i iskustvo koje se događa jednom u životu. Jako sam zahvalan što sam upoznao Jerryja Marottu i što me je uzeo pod svoje i pomogao mi da kultiviram svoje pjesme u studiju Dreamland Recording Studio u Hurleyju, NY. Proveli smo godine na ovom albumu slično kao što bi Peter Gabriel napravio album. Eksperimentirali smo i uzeli si vremena. U našem procesu nije bilo apsolutno nikakve žurbe. Jerry je planina znanja i vizionarski genij ritma i orkestracije. Upila sam koliko god sam mogao od toga.
5. Uz glazbu, bavite li se još nečim? Ako je tako, možete li nam reći koju riječ o tome?
Učim jogu gotovo jednako dugo kao i glazbu. Bavim se jogom i meditacijom skoro svaki dan. Smatram svoje tijelo svojim instrumentom i neophodno ga je održavati u skladu. Također jako uživam kuhati. Volim kuhati za svoju obitelj, prijatelje i svoj bend. Prije većine proba skuham obrok za svoj bend koji dijelimo zajedno. Vjerujem da sve te stvari doprinose glazbi i potpiruju vatru.
6. Za kraj, koji su Vaši budući projekti? Hoćemo li imati prilike vidjeti Vas u Splitu?
Nadam se! Planiramo još jednu turneju po Europi sljedećeg proljeća. Najvjerojatnije ćemo se vratiti u Italiju koju smo OBOŽAVALI obilaziti prošlog svibnja. Možda se i mi probijemo do Hrvatske! Pomozite nam da stignemo tamo!
