Sarah Levins sits deep in the channels of Sydney’s music scene - but she’s ready now to make some waves of her own.
“I think the realisation of wanting to make music was probably an at least five years kind of thing. To be honest I came to it fairly late, but it feels like this real, like, realisation of who I am as a person, very deep down.”
Softly strummed and intricately arranged folk is the soft core of Sarah Levins music – akin to the compositions of Joni Mithcell or Laura Marling. Both are big inspirations for Sarah, as she told Ify on Up For It. Following on from an EP from last year, her new single ‘Eye Spy’ feels like an exciting next step; an over 5-minute long “Frankenstein” of a song, sweeping in its scope and construction.
“It’s actually the meshing of two songs. So there's a big, like, tempo switch-up halfway through, which actually was from another song that I wrote and then I realised, lyrically, I was meant to be writing this other song.”
This playfulness in form makes Sarah Levins stand out from other folk-tinged singer songwriters. Her songs are intimate but carefully formed, utilising creative production and dynamic, full band contributions.
“I feel like with all my songs, I just start, it's me and a guitar, and then it builds and builds and builds, you know. I just get more excited, to be honest, and add things.”
Similar to close collaborators Beryl and Jerome Blazé (Sarah features prominently across the latter’s new record), there’s a deliberateness to every part of Sarah Levins craft. In the same way ‘Eye Spy’ slowly unravels by the song’s end, so does its corresponding music video.
Here’s an artist with a strong intentionality behind everything she does. Expect further unravelings soon.
Here’s an artist with a strong intentionality behind everything she does. Expect further unravelings soon.
Words by Lindsay Riley