“Who Am I” is the second single and the title song of Sarah P.’s upcoming solo debut album. Style wise, the song is a mix of jungle, house and pop. Carried by its whimsical vocals, “Who Am I” is a complex song with a complex meaning. According to Sarah, it’s an ode to “humanity, the world we live in and our importance (or unimportance) as individuals and/or as a whole”.
For the music video, Sarah turned to Italian director Oirot Buntot. The visuals were shot at the Teatro Rossi Aperto in Pisa. The beautiful location, the actors and the dancers, Oirot’s beautiful storytelling and Sarah’s music – all pieces of a puzzle that, when put together, the paint a picture of a philosophical question people have been asking themselves for thousands of years; “Who am I and where I come from?”
Music & Lyrics: Sarah P. Produced by Sarah P. & George Priniotakis Mixed & mastered by George Priniotakis at Artracks Studios Athens Label: EraseRestart Directed by Oirot Buntot Filmed at Teatro Rossi Aperto (Pisa, Italy) Elisabetta Biondi, Valentina Dardano, Manueala Marongiu, Iolanda Mirante, Vera Papp, Serghei Pascari, Natalie Perrotta, Giogio Puleo, Giovanni Rabuffo, David Rocchi
I’m back with a new song called “Teach Me How To Love” and it marks the end of the FREE EP era, although it wasn’t part of my (quite) extended play. As the song title suggests, through this tune I wanted to spotlight the good things about life. And god, there many of those!
For “Teach Me How To Love” I worked with a very talented young man that you’ll hear a lot about in the near future. His name is Wisani & you should make sure to check out his music!
I don’t want to keep you from your summer activities, so this time I’m keeping it short. Whether you’re holidaying somewhere nice or staycationing in your city, I hope you’ll enjoy listening to this new song!
Greetings from Berlin,
Sarah
PS: In case you want to sing along, the lyrics are below.
You can find “Teach Me How To Love” on iTunes, Spotify, Soundcloud, YouTube, and all other digital stores and streaming services.
Teach Me How To Love
Will you take me there –
where the beauty never ends?
How could I ever know there’s so much love out there,
when all I have been told is that I should be scared?
How could I ever know it’s beautiful to share,
when everyone wanders around in despair?
Will you teach me how to love again?
Take me by the hand and teach me how to love again
The world can be our wonderland
We don’t settle for less than much
Our dreams come first, we make them last
Last night, I saw –
it was true love’s color washing us all and keeping us strong
How could I ever know there’s so much love out there,
when all I have been told is that I should be scared?
How could I ever know it’s beautiful to share,
when everyone wanders around in despair?
I hope you’re doing good. I mean, it’s been pretty crazy lately. Our world may be a little mean and crappy at the moment, but there’s always time to fix things, dream big, and do good! In that spirit of seeing the glass half full and being hopeful, I’m happy to share with you the videos for Golden Deer. It’s not one, it’s not two, it’s three videos under the umbrella of one simple thought… how is it when you close your eyes to sleep and you dive deeper and deeper in that dream of yours, till you lose the absolute control? That’s the idea behind our video series. Other than that, there’s colors, awkward dancing, and flowers, as always.
Golden Deer was the beginning of a wonderful collaboration with the Berlin-based videographers Schall & Schnabel. We are all part of the Blogfabrik family, an office that’s no typical compared to others and fuels creativity among its members. In their own words Schall & Schnabel (Pierre Horn & Eileen Huhn), with the video they “visualize a dream. The colors, the pictures, the visual elements layer and in their multiplication a crazy interaction, and new associations. Some sequences remind of coral reefs, others of a kaleidoscope. A very own, powerful, poppy, and experimental image language and dynamic was created, bringing an atmosphere that is charming and playful at the same time”.
The song itself is about a golden deer I dreamt of once. It led me to its home, a colorful forest where everything was shiny and beautiful. The deeper I was getting in the forest, the more I felt confident and free in my own skin as if this unique creature shared a bit of its magic with me. As if I was becoming it – another golden deer, running free into the carefree paths of my subconscious. This song is meant to encourage each of you to take a break and go where you wish to go, do what you really want to do. For yourselves. We all need and deserve this own time where we pamper ourselves. I would say, just go for it & I’ll try to do the same!
Today’s post is about my most honest moment in the six years I’ve been in the music world. It’s about “Little Soul” – a personal favorite out of my first solo EP “FREE”. But it hasn’t been just my personal favorite, as it seems. “Little Soul” is my most streamed song on Spotify, after it got featured on Weekly Discover playlists, but also been placed among other really, really sad songs. I’ve been receiving messages from some of you, asking me about the exact lyrics and their meaning. So here it is, here are the lyrics! Feel free to sing along and proudly march towards glory and new beginnings – because that’s what the song is about. What will follow is some personal history that’s tied to “Little Soul”.
We’ve all done mistakes
Words that are supposed to free you, me, us from guilt. Is it guilt towards someone else? Did we harm anyone? Is it guilt towards ourselves? Did we wrong… us? Whichever the case is, however, the great or small guilt we feel, in those moments we all suffer from a little soul. No matter how big the mistake we did might be, we’re at a point to emotionally, acknowledge where we’ve been wrong and practically, take on our responsibilities. That’s the moment when our souls are growing again, that’s the moment when we’re becoming better people. Surviving the rough waves, being able to sail again in the calm seas. But what’s with the people who are not able to do this little bit- to work on themselves? What’s with the people who harm and hurt other people, without even apologizing, without even a tiny bit of guilt?
My little soul is bigger than theirs
Three years before the actual release of “Free”, in 2012, I got trapped in a loop of bad decisions. I wanted to take risks, I said I wanted to live. For whatever stupid, childish, immature reasons, I found myself in a situation that still gives me nightmares and keeps me awake thinking about “what ifs”. And despite the physical pain and the emotional hurting and all the shit that comes with one being violated as a person, despite the unanswered questions and my inability to understand how did I find myself involved in such things, I decided to move on, but I took the wrong direction.
Drowned in stupid guilt, thinking I provoked what happened to me and therefore I deserved, I hit my lowest low. Trying to avoid the flashbacks of his pillow against my face, or the smothering, or the fake friends who betrayed my loyalty to the altar of the gods of fun, I started drinking, smoking, partying. I pretended I was doing ok, I didn’t talk to anybody – I just smiled. The moments I would really be happy would be the moments I rehearsed with the band or when we played shows. I didn’t need to push things away in those moments. I didn’t need to act out of character – I was out of character. The Keep Shelly in Athens Sarah P. was a construct – she was sweet, she was kind and subtle. I’ve found myself divided into two worlds. The one Sarah was being professional & tried to convince the people around her that she’s fine (although, she’s deeply hurting underneath). The other Sarah was dark and self-destructive – but even in her there was a light.
“You wanted me gone, I’m still here, though”
I didn’t want to be like that. I was never a weakling, how did I fall so low? By spending my time in short term destructions, I wasn’t facing the actual problem. My mother with her tough love lifted me up, good people I’ve surrounded myself with showed me the way out of my cave. With them by my side, I wasn’t afraid to be myself. I would show them my true colors and they wouldn’t be scared. I would freak out, I would cry – they would comfort me and wisely push me to man up. They didn’t treat me like a girl – I wasn’t a girl anymore. They kicked my ass and I became more assertive and brave, which was something that some people didn’t like. I cleaned my house, I cleaned my heart. I wasn’t cured, but my feet were pulled down to the ground. I wasn’t cured but on my way to salvation. And though my angels saved me from myself and from the others, what’s followed was all my doing and I’ve never been as proud of myself.
Out of Athens, out for me
Some of you already know this story. Athens, my hometown, pretty much kicked me out. In three months time, many things happen that some would see as signs. A tree fell on me and honestly, it could have killed me. I got beaten twice. Somebody broke into my apartment and I had to send him away. Throughout these three months, I couldn’t but see that I was getting stronger and stronger. I was back at my feet and it was about time to spread my wings and fly. Fly away from whatever it was holding me back. Whatever was holding me back on purpose.
There will always be people who are bad news – and sometimes these bad news people might be us. At the time, that was me. I don’t know if you believe in karma, but I do. I have been mean to myself and I was receiving notices for it. I had to stand up for Sarah. A little soul that grows bigger day by day.
Little Soul is the song for the real life champions
I’m not saying that everything is perfect, but this “someday that I would say it’s all ok” has come. And I do not need to hang on anymore. Because I’ve found myself. If you had such experiences like mine, you know what I mean. We can endure, we are strong. Nobody can beat us anymore. They might try, they will try – stand up for yourselves against all kinds of abusers, offenders and bullies. You’ve made it with A+ and even if you might be still having thoughts keeping you up, it’s part of the warrior you. And if you haven’t reached that empowering point yet, it will come, I promise. Believe in yourselves and give credits to you. We define us, they cannot even touch us.
I’m very happy to finally share my music video for Dirty Sunday. I’ve been waiting for this moment to come for a long while. The video was filmed in December, one day after my birthday and the release of “Free”. The director of this video is Chris Phillips, the man behind Pornceptual. The video was filmed at the Blogfabrik in Berlin, a community of Content Creators – a community that I am part of.
Being a woman in this crazy industry of music is just as hard as swimming with sharks. Being a woman in this crazy industry of music and wanting to succeed because you think you’ve got it is just as hard as admitting that you don’t have equal chances as the man you’re might be competing with. Women in this crazy industry of music are often being reduced to their looks, their boobs or to “that time of the month”. No matter if we’re talking about women managers, A&Rs, producers, engineers, artists, publishers, booking agents, promoters…
Through a video, I speak my truth, I tell a story.
The past year, there has been this movement of ladies speaking up against abuse and harassment which has been utterly brave and courageous, a true sign of freedom. I’m literally looking up to those women for doing what I’m not capable of. We all have our experiences in life, both good and bad. I don’t know how many times in the past years people told me to “let it go” and “move on”. What to me feels unfair, to others is a big, fat “whatever”. When something bad happens to you, you usually have to options. You either suck it up or you talk about it. I sucked it up every time, I lost my point. Next time, I hope I’ll stand up like those girls, pointing my finger to the person who’s putting me in a position or reduces me to a superficial extent.
On the music video for Dirty Sunday, I spoke my truth about how I see and perceive this super troubled industry. Together with Chris Phillips, we created the perfect dream/nightmare background. The colors represent THE dream. That one that each and every girl who ever wanted to get on stage ever had. Nobody tells you about the hardships and even if they do, (at least for a long time) you won’t hear. You’ll block that talk. For a long time, you’ll smile at your abusers, you’re so determined that you think that’s the only chance you’re given and you shouldn’t fuck it up. You’d do anything they say, you’d wear your makeup anyhow they tell you. You have to lose weight if they tell you you’re fat. You have to jump if they say so. You can only talk if you’re given allowance. Some people might read that and say “oh poor them, missing a strong personality”. That’s bullshit, because obeying to all these is the only way to get us to the top we wish to be and sacrificing a “couple of things” is nothing compared to the prize waiting for us at the finishing line. And here comes the war between passion and logic.
The demons start deluging your body – there are never too many. You start losing yourself more and more, burning out. You’re kept in a cell with imaginary bars, you’re kept in a box. They would do anything to make you feel smaller and smaller. From a certain point and on, they don’t even have to try – you do that to yourself.
The only way to get out of this vicious circle, the only way to compete with the other “products” that this industry has lined you with is to “bury” your old self. It sounds macabre and saddening, but it’s the only way to grow a thicker skin and grow out of any situation that you/they put you in. It’s the only way to find your voice again and start over.
I know that there are plenty of women out there feeling boxed. The society norms and unspoken rules have still to be changed. All we need to do is to “bury” this little girl that says “yes” to everything and go get what we deserve. We should fight for our own seat – being offered one means that they can take it back from you and that’s not how it should be! Don’t let anyone feel sorry for you, for me, for us! Together we can change it all, but only if we stand together and we have each other’s backs.
Much love to all of you out there. Much love to every person who’s felt like that, no matter the gender, no matter the race, no matter if blue or purple or yellow eyed. If you notice that one person around you is abused or harassed, do something – as you’d like someone to do something for you. It’s really that simple, I don’t understand why we make things so complicated!
Take care, you guys! And take care of each other!
Yours,
Sarah
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There are still some vinyl copies left of my debut EP “FREE”. Grab them now from our EraseRestart shop!
It’s been a while I haven’t written you. I feel sorry for this, but I hope I can make it up to you! I’ve been working on so many fronts. I’m also writing new music, because my album will come out later this year. Everything is so exciting. All I need is to structure my thoughts!
The “I’d Go” video
Today, my video for “I’d Go” is available for you to watch. You can read more about it on Brooklyn Vegan. It’s a very personal, indoors-y diary of moods and fools. The (let’s call it) archive footage covers a period from late 2013 to mid 2014 before I moved to my new homeland, Berlin. The Berlin parts have been filmed by my friend Kemara Pol who’s a photographer, stylist, fashion icon, pop culture connoisseur and blogger (yokemara.com, seriously check his work). Kemara also took care of my hair and makeup for the video. He rocks!
To be very honest with you, filming a video for “I’d Go” wasn’t in the plannings. It was a very spontaneous shoot. That’s what happens when your friends are super creative and talented. We met with Kemara and we basically filmed everything in three hours at his house. My favorite scenes were the ones with the huge bunny. I named her Emma. She’s very cool. She’s the coolest bear bunny in the world.
Shows, shows, shows
The past months have been busy with rehearsals and shows. We played our first show as a band in Groningen, at Eurosonic Noorderslag on January 14th – just a month after the release of my debut EP “Free”. Then we performed at Hellas Filmbox, here in Berlin, at the closing ceremony of the greek film festival. Playing at a beautiful, atmospheric cinema is now ticked off my bucket list!
On stage to perform “I’d Go”, at Babylon, Berlin
Next stop was the show at Privatclub (Berlin), which was by far the best Monday evening I can recall in my 26 years on planet earth! So much fun, such great vibes and so many cutiepies gathered together, feeling with us together – need I have to say more? I couldn’t stop smiling for days.
More shows and appearances are scheduled. More videos and photos will be unveiled very, very soon. To keep up with my adventures, you can follow me on the socials (there are buttons all over the website)! That’s all for now. I guess I’m leaving you with the “I’d Go” video which is basically 4 minutes of me goofing around. I hope it puts a smile on your face. I have been craving for the sunlight – the Berlin winter is charming but moody. In all cases, spring is around the corner!
Show some love to your girl and her new video (lol, yup, talking about me), stay tuned for more updates, listen to the music and smile!
Hi! That’s me holding the physical copy of FREE. You can hold it too! Read more details about it all below!
Hi there!
I am writing to let you know that FREE is officially out today. My EP is available on all digital stores, there are some vinyls available for you (you can find them on our SHOP and stream it via all streaming platforms.
My sound has changed – all songs on FREE are more energetic and different than my previous work, but that’s the whole point of evolving. There more to come, new music is on the making – expect an LP coming a bit later next year.
In all cases, today marks the start of a new journey. I am really excited to share my music with you guys. Please, know that I am very grateful to all of you for taking the time, listening to my music and reading my words to it. I want to thank you for your support and mind that I’ll always try to deliver better and better music, stronger messages and sing my lungs out for you. I am sending you much love from the bottom of my heart.
The FREE guide
If you wonder what’s the whole story behind FREE, I gave a couple of detailed interviews on various magazines and I wrote a track to track for my buddies on NBHAP. Here are the links for you, in case you want to sneak peek what’s in my brain and what’s my music about:
IMPOSE MAGAZINE: Some profound questions I’ve been asked and an insightful run through of the EP bit.ly/21VuTFL and my week in pop choices, if you wonder what’s my jam http://bit.ly/1UdKDie
COLORISING: An in-depth interview with some sweet words about myself that make me blush tons colorising.com/?p=29724
ZACGK: A catch up with Zachary, whom’s birthday is the same day as mine (a.k.a today), as well as his wife’s! Happy birthday, guys! wp.me/p3Ygm5-27A #TeamDec14
NBHAP: Last but not least, that’s my track-to-track guide that I shared with my beloved Nothing But Hope And Passion fellows! bit.ly/1Qo0uvZ
That’s all for now. Gosh, these are quite some links! I hope you enjoy listening to FREE and I wish to meet you all at some show somewhere in the world!
Almost two years ago, somewhere in Nothern Europe, I had a truly dirty Sunday. What’s important after falling is to get up again and that’s what I did. Now, I find myself in Central Europe and although I can still relate to the icy, moody atmosphere of “Dirty Sunday”, I can guarantee to you that there is plenty of time to erase and restart. For all of us.
“Dirty Sunday” is the opener of “Free”. As I told you before, “Free” has this wide range of moods and that’s because it follows a journey of two years. The whole point of “Free” is to prove that it’s possible to start over. It’s not easy, but it’s possible – all you need is to believe and to see yourself where you want to be. “Dirty Sunday” is the moment that you realize that, in order to be happy, you need to change it all. Sometimes we lose track with our lives. It happens to each and every of us. We live fast and apparently, we don’t have the luxury to reflect on each decision we make. We don’t take the time to filter and think thoroughly. Instead of blaming ourselves or the people around us, we can choose to move forward and make it better. It sounds like a brave move, but I believe that all of us have this strength inside us to pull that through.
On Friday 27/11/15 “Dirty Sunday” will be available on all digital platforms, but from today you can listen to it via Soundcloud. On Friday, I will share with you a link where you can pre-order you digital and/or physical copy of “Free”. It’s truly exciting times for my team and me. I really look forward to sharing my work with you.
To conclude and let you listen to the song, I will repeat myself once again. The times we live in are historic. Don’s stay out of the loop – get informed and discuss your thoughts with other people. It’s up to us to change things. All we need is to take it on our hands. Let’s be honest and brave. Let’s be bold. If we know who we are and what we want for us and our children, then we have nothing to fear. We should stop looking back and start over now. Let’s focus on the future. Let’s erase and restart.
It’s been a long while since the last time I was on the road, but that’s about to change. Shows are coming up for Sarah P. and I cannot hold back my excitement!
My very first show/record presentation/birthday party will be on the 12th of December, two days prior to the release of FREE. For obvious reasons, it will be at Birthdays, in Dalston, London. It will be a free show. If you find yourselves in London those days, you should come over. It happens that I’ve played that venue with my old band, shortly before they had their opening or something. It smelled like fresh paint and everything was super new. It also happens that London is my magic city. Everything starts from the British capital for me. Although I’ve played quite some shows there, this one marks my renaissance and that’s quite important. The Sarah P. crew is super happy to share the stage with the gentlemen of Teddy. You can find more info on the facebook event of Birthdays , because no matter how much I nag about it, Facebook happens to be the center of one’s social life. ~Don’t get me started~.
We move forward with the dates since there are some more shows that I can announce *wink*.
Next stop is Eurosonic Noorderslag, in Groningen, Netherlands. The festival runs from the 13th to the 16th of January. Although I am not allowed to tell the exact date/time/location of the show, I have to say that I’m impressed by the venue that we’re playing. I say “we” because I have a band.
What is more, the shows must go on!
It’s probably no news that my home is now Berlin. On the 25th of January, there will be a Sarah P. show at Privatclub, in Kreuzberg. Yo, Berlin! Save the date. I will make sure to remind you, though, because I know that you do not plan that far ahead.
Anyway. If my messy writing & blah blah had you all confused, you should hop on songkick where all the dates are listed. There will be more dates added very soon. I hope I’ll catch you somewhere. If that happens, come to say hello!
With Love,
Sarah
PS: In other words and news, oh my, I caught a super bad cold, that I wish nobody gets it. Stay protected and dress well! ~ words by the granny of your hearts~
PPS: Just to make sure there is no miscommunication here, I will be fine by the time of the shows. Let’s make sure we’ll all be healthy to boogie. Naja. Boogie. To “shake it” might be more accurate. Byye!
