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Dates Appearing: July 5 - August 24 Current Release: Surfacing Dog's Name: Rex (Labrador Retriever) Home: Vancouver, BC |
1. Emerging, becoming apparent
2. Rising to the surface
3. Waking upAn album title that alludes to the sense of 'rising' is most fitting for Sarah McLachlan. The Vancouver singer/songwriter's ten-year career has indeed been a decade ascending: in popularity, in profile and, most importantly, in her sense of self.
McLachlan has made a career out of putting herself on the line emotionally; fans are repeatedly drawn in to her candor and forthrightness. Sarah's new album, Surfacing, is no different. As she herself explains it, "Surfacing is about me finally growing up and facing ugly things about myself. We all have a dark side; it's bullshit to say that we don't. At some point we're going to have to face that."
The album was recorded in producer/engineer Pierre Marchand's Ciel Sauvage Studios in Montreal, home to McLachlan's much-acclaimed previous effort, Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Although Surfacing's recording process spanned an eight month period, Sarah admits that the project took considerably longer than that. "I had a huge writer's block when I first came off tour; I had just been on the road for so long. I needed a break. I needed to live. So I took eight months to myself and then felt like enjoying it again. It's a lie to do it if you can't enjoy it and I just can't fake it. That's the worst travesty in the world."
Fans of McLachlan will be thrilled to know that Surfacing contains certain familiar qualities consistent with McLachlan's other works; most notably, her talented players. Returning band members include drummer (and also Sarah's new husband) Ashwin Sood on drums, Brian Minato on bass and guitar and producer Marchand on keyboards and bass. Jim Creeggan (of Barenaked Ladies fame) contributes "a beautiful bowed bass" according to McLachlan. Sarah herself, as always, leaves her musical mark not just on vocals, but also on piano and principal guitar.
Life is about living and learning; Sarah McLachlan admits that the process of making Surfacing served to teach her many things about herself. Not all of the experiences were easy, but each and every one was necessary. "I've learned to trust myself, to listen to truth, to not be afraid of it and to not try and hide it."
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