Tag Archives: Sarah Neufeld

Mixtape #119

02 October 2020


One of the most extraordinary contemporary musicians out there, the staggeringly talented Austrian percussionist and composer Manu Delago got us under his spell a while back. So much so that his two previous beguiling studio albums, Circadian and Parasol Peak, both made it to our Album Picks of the Year. Highly in demand, he has garnered wide acclaim in recent years performing and recording with an impressive list of artists, including Anoushka Shankar, Björk, Poppy Ackroyd, the London Symphony Orchestra, and many others. A pioneer of the handpan, Delago‘s technical ability and creativity knows no bounds. So we’re over the moon to have him curating this month’s mixtape with an utterly sublime selection of tracks.

  1. Daniel Thorne – From Inside, Looking Out [Erased Tapes]
  2. Colin Stetson & Sarah Neufeld – Never Were the Way She Was [Constellation]
  3. Douglas Dare – Wherever You Are [Erased Tapes]
  4. Khushi – From Me [Warner Records]
  5. KÁRYYN – Ever [Mute]
  6. 5K HD – 10/15 [fiveK Records]
  7. S. Carey – Rose Petals [Jagjaguwar]
  8. Sufjan Stevens – Fourth of July [Asthmatic Kitty]
  9. Soap&Skin – Italy [PIAS]
  10. Pablo Nouvelle feat. Norma Jean Martine – We Ain’t Dead Yet [Bakara Music / Armada]
  11. The Cinematic Orchestra – Time & Space [Ninja Tune / Domino]
  12. Nirvana – Where Did You Sleep Last Night [Blue Moon Records]

Sarah Neufeld previews new album with ‘Where The Light Comes In’

15 February 2016
Photo: Gesi Schilling

Photo: Gesi Schilling

Montréal based extraordinary composer and violinist Sarah Neufeld is streaming ‘Where The Light Comes In’, the latest track to emerge from her highly anticipated somophore album The Ridge. We were head-over-heels in love with the magnificent title track, ‘The Ridge’, and the new single makes us even more excited for what’s to come. ‘Where The Light Comes In’, is “…a piece I wrote in a moment of peace”, said Neufeld. “Those glorious seconds where all is quiet and open and green and the thoughts that form are snowflakes instead of lists of details and reminders. Pure deep water that never ends.”
Let yourself get immersed in the delicate and wondrous ‘Where The Light Comes In’.

The Ridge is out on February 26th via Paper Bag Records.

Sarah Neufeld announces new album and unveils first track ‘The Ridge’

18 November 2015

Sarah Neufeld - The Ridge

We’re a little bit more than excited to hear about the upcoming new album from Montréal based extraordinary composer and violinist Sarah Neufeld. Her outstanding debut album, Hero Brother, came out in 2013, and she followed it earlier this year with a staggering collaborative album with sax wizard Colin Stetson. Comes February 26th, Neufeld will unveil her new album The Ridge via Paper Bag Records.

The Ridge “is a body of work that sees Neufeld moving away from Hero Brother’s classical minimalism and sepulchral ambience, and into the world of rhythmic pop minimalism”, says the press release. “The new album employs more emphasis on vocalizations than Neufeld’s previous works; the interplay between Neufeld’s voice and violin has become strongly integrated and narrative.”

We’re not sure Neufeld will be employing her incredible foot-stomping technique in any of the album tracks. Percussion is in good hands though, with Neufeld bringing in Jeremy Gara, her bandmate in Arcade Fire, to guest on drums.

The magnificent title track, ‘The Ridge’, opens the album and is now being offered as the first taster of what’s to come – it’s intense and fragile, haunting and calming, poignant and beautiful – a grand opus of a song. Here it is.

Watch Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld’s new video for ‘Never Were The Way She Was’

21 October 2015

Colin Stetson & Sarah NeufeldColin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld have unveiled a stunning visual accompaniment for ‘Never Were The Way She Was’, the title track from their staggering collaborative album released earlier this year. The video was made by Derrick Belcham and you can watch it below.

Never Were The Way She Was is out now via Constellation.

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld premiere video for new song ‘The rest of us’

15 April 2015

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - The rest of us

We’re only a couple of weeks away from the release of Never were the way she was, Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld’s much anticipated collaborative album. The effort will see the light of day on April 28th via Constellation. To keep us excited, the pair have just unveiled a video for a glorious new track off the album, ‘The rest of us’. Watch the video below, directed by Dan Huiting.

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld announce debut album as a duo

19 February 2015

Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld - Never were the way she was

A match made in heaven: the musical union of sax magician Colin Stetson and extraordinary violinist Sarah Neufeld. The pair have been composing together for a while now whilst carrying on playing with other outfits and keeping busy as soloists. 2015 will bring us the Colin Stetson and Sarah Neufeld duo‘s debut album. Entitled Never were the way she was, the album was recorded at their farmhouse attic studio in rural Vermont by Hans Bernhard and mixed in Montreal by Mark Lawson (Arcade Fire). As is usual with Stetson and Neufeld, in both recording and live formats, they didn’t use any looping/layering or multi-track/overdubs technologies. You’ve probably already heard us raving about Colin Stetson, and you’ll know of his superhuman powers and how he plays tremendously and uninterruptedly using circular breathing, which allows him to produce multiple sounds simultaneously in real time.

“Never were the way she was is guided by the metaphorical narrative of the life of a girl who ages slow as mountains; excited, exalted, and ultimately exiled in her search for a world that resembles her experience”, explains the press release. “The album’s expansive sonic trajectory and multiplicity of structures and voicings belies the fundamental economy of two acoustic instruments combining in real time. The result is a musical chronicle that powerfully establishes its own spatial and temporal horizon, a soundtrack that requires no images but profoundly compels the imaginative.”.

‘The sun roars into view’ is the first wonderful and staggering track being offered from the album. We can’t wait to hear more.

In other Stetson and Neufeld related news, and coinciding with the album release, the pair are bringing their compositions for horns and violin to Europe in April. Their tour includes a stop in London at the Islington Assembly Hall on April 17th. Head over here to check all their other dates.

Last November, we were delighted to have Colin Stetson curate our monthly mixtape. If you’ve missed it, check out now an incredible selection of tracks that inspire him.