Voice, body and soul coming together in a creative flow. Sarahsson’s ongoing work has shown that the parts make the whole. After a childhood dedicated to classical study, it was already in her teens, through punk concerts and the discovery of electronics, that the tectonic plates moved, towards something bigger, something revelatory. A DJ and performer, Sarahsson soon became one of the prominent faces on Bristol’s artistic margins. Addressing themes such as identity or mythology, there is a celebratory but equally evocative feel that runs through the poetic-dystopian imagery of an artist who makes surprise a vital element.
Deeply transfigurative, The Horgenaith is Sarahsson’s official introductory album that echoed over and over in the ether of NTS and the BBC. A robust, gut-wrenching record, adorned with exotic flowers and alien landscapes. It takes from metal an unholy inspiration while rescuing distorted compositions from a neo-classicism infected by industrial alchemies. Cartographies present, although vague, in a world in transition of cutting beats, delicate atmospheres and glitches loaded with saturation. Between analog and self-built instruments, magic happens. It is no coincidence that the references to Cronenberg or P-Orridge are understandable, as they make up a fragmentary musical structure capable of engendering a wonderful synesthesia. A ritualistic feast that captures through its aesthetic daring and aims for an enigmatic realism.
The narrative of The Horgenaith does not follow a rational logic, but an intuitive force. It is often from there that small great understandings emerge, vital to break the bonds or break the automatism of things. A similar lineage has been developed by people like Bendik Giske, Claire Rousay, Anne Roxanne and Lyra Pramuk. A constellation that could probably only exist in this space and time, in this here and now.
With the brilliant mix for Fact still very much in evidence, Sarahsson arrives in Lisbon for a one-off performance. The usual chaotic beauty she creates on stage is sure to bring belief and fascination – among other offerings hard to deny. NA
