Artist Of The Week #245 - Sarah Crean
This week’s Artist of the Week is rising singer-songwriter Sarah Crean - who has just released her new EP ‘Death By Laundry’.
Produced by Sarah alongside Gabe Goodman (Del Water Gap, Maggie Rogers) and Adam O’Leary, mixed by Chris Coady (Beach House, Blondshell) Death By Laundry invites the listener deeper into Sarah’s world and with artwork and videos directed by frequent collaborator Neema Sadeghi (Harry Styles, Lizzy McAlpine, Remi Wolf), fans are offered a cinematic experience of it too.
Crean began pouring her deepest thoughts and feelings into songwriting, self-releasing singles. And yet, just as she began to feel liberated, she suddenly found herself debilitated by chronic illness, with that dominating her life between the years of 19 and 21. Confronted by her own mortality, Crean’s mental health deteriorated too. Now London-based and closer to her network, today she’ shares her most impactful and candid work to date. She says “This EP is the culmination of 2 very crucial years of turmoil and learning curves. I’m not sure who I would be without the feelings and experiences that are documented within these 5 songs. It really does feel like a death and a rebirth after, both in writing the EP and even now in putting it out for others to interpret in their own individualised way.”
She took a moment to talk to us about how the EP came together.
Hey there Sarah - how are you? So your EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world?
It feels weird! I’ve spent so much time thinking about the EP in a non-complete form - writing the songs, making the videos etc. To process it now as an actually complete form that’s out in the world for everyone to hear is so bizarre but also really fulfilling.
It is called ‘Death By Laundry’ - what is the meaning behind that?
There are quite a lot of references to death in this EP (standard) and it felt fitting to include as bluntly as it is in the title of a project that was very tinged by consistent thoughts of ‘’none of this can get better’’. With the laundry element it's both literal and metaphorical. I spent a lot of time in a launderette next to my apartment at the time - I was very alone and the people passing in and out oddly felt like company. That launderette became very significant for me and my mind goes there a lot when I remember that period of my life.
Where was it recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the creative process you are happy to share with us?
The EP started in Dublin where I wrote most of it, recording then progressed to a mix of Limerick, Clare and London, with the final tracks/versions were recorded in Los Angeles. A weird but cute mix of places.
I do remember there was a point when Solitaire in Apt.7 wasn’t on the EP (I had gone back and forth about it being included) but the bracelet I mention in the first verse actually went missing while I was out in the middle of recording the EP and it felt like a bit of a sign - I’m a big signs person lol. Weirdly it appeared and my faith in both the song and the bracelet returned at the same time.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
It is probably the loneliest musical work I’ve put out in the world *so far*. At first I thought it was just a very depressing EP with tinges of hope here and there. But loneliness for me is the most visceral theme that pops up.
Japanese Breakfast’s second album ‘’Soft Sounds From Another Planet’’ really and truly is the catalyst for this EP. I heard that record and it lit such a bizarre fire in me. Listening to it honestly rejuvenated me as a songwriter most of all, and really pushed me to write whatever I wanted no matter how bleak it was at the time.
If the EP could be the soundtrack to any film - which one would it be and why?
I’m slightly biased because it was used as a reference for a lot of the visual content for the EP but Ladybird definitely fits the bill. I think the EP is filled with a lot of youthful angst that I’m trying to constantly navigate as each track progresses - a lot like Ladybird- and it’s cool to imagine each track behind different moments in the film - something I genuinely did when working on the music videos for the project.
Do you have a favorite lyric on the EP - if so, which one and why?
My favourite is in the final track on the EP, ‘Solitaire in Apt. 7’ - ‘’I cling to a scent that hangs on my bracelet’’. I mentioned that exact bracelet above and I really loved getting to sneak it in somewhere on the project, especially in a song about feeling very alone and out of touch with the concept of love. Having the bracelet represent the only sliver of hope I have left (especially as the EP comes to a close) is a funny but important one for me.
Now the EP is out there - what next?
Life since I finished the EP was written has been absolutely absurd in both incredible and dreadful ways and channeling that into my next project has been very cathartic. I’m always nervous finishing a project because that weird fear that I might not have another project in me always comes up so it is quite nice and exciting that I’m exploring new ideas and songs for the next project to come. I’m basically still a sad human and still writing bops about it and I weirdly think that’s lovely.
