Regina Folk Festival

In just 2 days, Sarah Slean will be playing the Regina Folk Festival. In anticipation of her performance, The Leader-Post printed the following article. (thanks to Kyall for submitting this news)

Cured by cabin fever: Four months alone saved exhausted Slean
The Leader-Post (Regina)
Thu 28 Jul 2005
Page: D3
Section: What's On
Byline: Andrew Matte
Source: The Leader-Post

Fans of Sarah Slean can thank small-town Ontario for allowing a rebirth of sorts to occur for the singer-songwriter, known for her angelic sound andcerebral, spiritual approach to writing and performing.

At the end of her last tour, Slean admits, mental and physical exhaustion left her so unmotivated that she feared her career in music had come to an end. However, after a show in Almonte, she was attracted to the Ottawa-area town's beauty so much that she stayed -- for four months.

Slean rented a cabin and lived alone, enjoying downtime that not only lifted her spirits, but also cleared her mind and made her eager to return to music.

It was then that Slean recorded her fourth album, Day One, a CD that critics and fans view as her greatest success, thanks to an evolution in a sound that leans more toward pop and rock rather than the lilting Tori Amos-like sound Slean was known for.

"I'd reached a real bottom and a real zero time in my life," she says of the time she arrived in Almonte. "I needed to clean out all of my senses, including my sense of identity. "I wasn't sure whether I'd continue in music, and I felt really adrift. All my dreams were about me being in the middle of the ocean hanging onto a piece of driftwood."

"I was reading way too much philosophy I guess . . . I was looking at the desolate side of existentialism rather than the freedom and optimism that could be found."

In recent months, Slean has enjoyed a growing audience and appreciation for an outlook on life that is different from the way she viewed the world in years past. She admitted to regularly pondering heady issues such as the meaning of life and the conflict between science and religion, and has since discovered she's more comfortable in her own skin living without trying to find answers to questions she deemed unanswerable.

"Sometimes you have to simply be, rather than make life a math equation. That proved very educational to me and I try to cultivate that in my life because thinking too hard about everything, I think it would kill you," she says.

The evolution in her sound and sharper skills have occurred naturally, Slean says, though she approaches songwriting and performing in the way she always has. She acknowledges she's a better singer today than she was in her early days, but believes her progress has resulted from the simple experience and practice, rather than from any mandate to arrive in any new place.

"I hear my voice revealing itself. In the first two records, and even the third record, my voice sounds paralysed in fear and insecurity and hesitation. And I think that's gradually going away as I do music," she says. "I feel the muscles and the various tools you need to employ, I hear them getting stronger."

"I don't really know about my music stylistically. I wouldn't be able to describe any big shift in the sound of my music. It's all becoming clearer to me, I guess."

Some songs on Day One veer away from folk music, but it didn't happen by design. Slean has never altered her approach to song construction. "I try not to think about the final product when I write a song, because to me a song is the melody and the chorus ... a good song is still one that you can play by yourself," she says.

"Some of the folk crowd is narrow minded, but I find that most of them are just fans of music. So I hope they don't throw things at me if I play some rock songs."

What hasn't changed is her view on the realities of performing, which includes the rather unfortunate chore of travel, living out of a suitcase, and dealing with "industry" issues in order to share her music.

"It's a real double-edged sword. The joy and power you get to experience by making art and giving it away, and performing on stage is so thrilling. And that's tempered with the emptiness of travelling," she says.

Another challenge comes every summer when Slean performs outdoors, as she did last weekend, at the high-profile Hillside festival in Guelph, Ont.,and will do again this weekend in Regina. Playing in clubs and theatres aids her sound and performance, and she concedes that she misses those factors when she performs outside to a crowd sprawled in a park.

"A lot of the time, I use the darkness of the hall, and I use that to my advantage and ramp up my character. I guess the difference between the character on stage and the real person goes up a notch," she says.

"When I play outdoors, I just try to trust that when I open the door to the music, people won't throw knives at me. I think that if you are a little bit scared, then the music dies."

Hillside information

Sarah's performance at the Hillside Music Festival has been quickly approaching. Tickets for the entire festival have been sold out.

CFRU in Guelph will also be airing interviews and live performances over the festival. See their page for more information and online streams.

On Saturday at 3:00 pm in the afternoon Sarah will be playing a show titled "Diamonds in The Rough" (unrecorded songs). The show will take place on the Sun Stage and also feature Kevin Fox, Dave MacKinnon, Luke Doucet & Melissa McClelland.

Sarah's main set is Saturday evening at 7:05 pm on the Main Stage. Her set will be followed by Stars and The Arcade Fire.

On Sunday at 2:00 pm Sarah will be taking part in "CBC FUSE II - Sarah Slean & Buck 65 Session" the lake stag. The recording session for CBC's new program Fuse. Visit the Fuse site for air times and stations. There is also a webstream. Update, this Fuse scheduale indicates that until September there will be no brodcast of Sarah or anything else from Hillside.

Last date with the band?

Sarah has now finished her dates in Europe. A fan review from the Denmark show that was played two days ago states, Sarah said it would be her last gig with this great band. It's unclear if she will have the support of the "Night Bugs" playing with her at any of her upcoming Canadian dates.

source, Cille on Igloo

Review from Germany

Sarah has arrived in Germany! Her first show of the tour played at the Knust featured an array songs from her album Day One. The set list appeared similar to the shows she recently played across Canada. Some new songs have been prepared but have yet to be played.

Read the rest of Sleancredible's review of the show here.

Note that the London date will be a solo show.

Interviewing - Nelson Chan, Video Director.

On Tuesday Littleslean.com had the chance to interview Nelson Chan, the creator of Sarah's last two music videos. He spoke about the concepts and influences for both Day One and Mary videos and how he got started. It was an excellent discussion and you can read the full interview here: Flying Monkey Animation Takes Flight.

Subscribers to the Littleslean.com newsletter had the interview sent to them yesterday. Sign up to the newsletter here. Discussion for the interview on the official board is here.

Mary Radio Mix hits the radio

A radio remix of Mary has appeared on Toronto radio stations today. Both Chum FM and the Mix 99.9 played the upbeat version today. This is not the same mix that DJ Steve did live from C Lounge that was aired on Chum last month.

Request the Mary radio mix on Chum FM here.

Source, Neal "Sweetone"

Update June 17:
The new radio release has been sent out across Canada. See this thread for more details, Cathy also asked the following:

Now is the time to show your power. Call or email these stations and ask them to play Sarah Slean. Chime in here and let us know what stations you have covered - include an email link for others if you like. If your favorite station is not on the list, call them and ask them to add Mary. This group can make an impact for Sarah at radio!

Confirmed Date Canada - Europe

Confirmed dates posted today by Cathy on Sarah's board. More dates are being worked on, so "unconfirmed" date information still may appear here. Watch for updates.

• June 7 -- Toronto ON - The Phoenix*
• 2 Songs covered: Sunny Side of the Street, Woodstock
  
• June 15 - Hamburg Germany - Knust
• June 16 - Berlin Germany - Franz Club
• June 18 - Heidelberg Germany - Deutsch-Amerikanisches Institut
• Confirmed on June 9
  
• June 19 - London England - The Troubadour
• Ecard with more info.
  
• June 21 - Stockholm Sweden - Debaser
• June 22 - Copenhagen Denmark - Loppen
• July 8 -- Trois-Rivieres QC - Le Bistro Tourisme Quebec
• July 23 - Guelph ON - Hillside Festival
• July 30 - Regina SK - Regina Folk Festival

*White Ribbon Concert - Sarah will only play one or two songs.

New Toronto Date, June 12, Gladstone Hotel

Continuing in the theme of finding shows that are not officially confirmed, it appears that Sarah has Toronto date between the White Ribbon Concert and her shows in Germany.

• Sunday June 12, Toronto, Gladstone Hotel

5-10 pm with Lily Frost, Sarah Slean and John Southworth (Art Benefit)

This show is confirmed from the Aporia Records web page indicating Sarah will be playing with Lilly Frost. Lilly Frost's page also confirms Sarah will be playing with her for this show. The Gladsonte Hotel site does confirm that Lilly Frost will be playing that night but makes no mention of Sarah Slean. Tickets are $10 and the night of music and fundraising is in support of the George Herman House.

Update, June 13. Sarah did not play this event.

Denmark Date - June 22

A date in Denmark appears to have been added, as found by board member "copenhagnen1".

• June 22, The Loppen Copenhagen

The Loppen website and this site has a bit more detail about the date which I was unable to translate. Unlike the two previous German dates in June, this show has not been confirmed through Warner or the A.S.S tour promoter. It appears she is backtracking over some of the venues she played while opening for Ron Sexsmith.

Update, June 5: Show is now confirmed.