Sarah Blasko Shares Video For “No Turning Back,” Covers Song from Annie Hall

As Day Follows Night Available in the US August 10th

Click HERE to watch the “No Turning Back" video and click HERE for an embeddable stream of “Seems Like Old Times” from Annie Hall (feel free to post and share).

“…for Sarah Blasko's wonderful third album, As Day Follows Night, the cinematic visions - produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn And John with an almost entirely unplugged palette of strings, sax, piano, nylon guitar, banjo, double bass, percussion and saw - are a rich frame for songs of naked heartache.”
-MOJO

“…her twisty rasp makes romantic ambivalence sound sultry”
-MARIE CLAIRE

This Tuesday August 10th, Sarah Blasko’s haunting new collection of songs, As Day Follows Night (Dramatico Entertainment), hits stores stateside and the singer is ready to share the video for “No Turning Back” with her US fans. Click HERE to watch the beautiful, animated clip and prepare to feel a wave of childhood nostalgia. The track features an ominous piano-led stomp, over which Blasko’s fragile, smoky voice gracefully rides. In the video, a pint-sized protagonist goes on a fairytale-like adventure that includes finding a companion in a shape-shifting wolf, and being swallowed whole by a whale.

As Day Follows Night was produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn, and John, who has also worked on records by Lykke Li, Shout Out Louds, and Primal Scream. The album has already been on quite the ride around the globe, cementing Blakso as a sensation in her home country of Australia, where she’s earned multiple Australian Recording Industry Awards. After receiving massive praise when the album was released in the UK this past Spring, the singer and songwriter now has her sights set on the US – keep a lookout for tour dates to be announced soon.

Blasko has also recorded a cover of “Seems Like Old Times,” which was featured in the film Annie Hall. Her version is available on Cinema Blasko, a bonus disc of covers included in special editions of the Australian version of As Day Follows Night. It also features covers of songs from The Sound of Music, Fame, Xanadu, and Cabaret. Click HERE for an embeddable stream of “Seems Like Old Times,” and please feel free to post this and the “No Turning Back” video!

Sarah Blasko

Bewitching Australian artist releases her ARIA Award-winning third album, produced by Bjorn Yttling

In modern pop, Sarah Blasko is a rare beast. On the one hand, she is a fiercely-independent free spirit whose haunting music critics have run out of superlatives to describe. On the other, the 33 year old Australian is a multi-platinum selling star whose mantelpiece houses an ever increasing array of awards and who performed at the closing ceremony of Sydney’s Commonwealth Games.

In April, Europe will have a long overdue introduction to Blasko with the release on indie label Dramatico of her ARIA Award-winning, third album, As Day Follows Night. Produced by Björn Yttling (from Peter, Bjorn and John) and recorded in a Swedish studio once frequented by Abba, As Day Follows Night is an elegant, intelligent collection of quirky, captivating pop songs of heartbreak and hope. There are elements of folk and jazz in the album’s bold but sparse instrumentation, though don’t be fooled that this is a regular singer/songwriter record. You’ll also hear references to Henry Mancini, Ennio Morricone and Talking Heads that belie the aching sadness of the lyrics, peculiar percussion and adventurous arrangements. However, most striking of all are Blasko’s bewitching vocals, at once intimate and otherworldly.

Sydney-born Blasko first found her voice singing with her mother in Pentecostal church and had a brief spell fronting bands whilst studying for a degree in English literature. Her real career began when she struck out solo in 2002. An early EP release was followed by 2004’s platinum-selling, debut album, The Overture & the Underscore and 2007’s nautically-themed, ARIA Award-winning successor, What The Sea Wants, The Sea Will Have.

Recently voted Album Of The Year by Triple J, Australia’s biggest national radio network, and nominated for a mighty five ARIAs (Blasko picked up Best Female), As Day Follows Night is already Blasko’s biggest seller. Written over several months in 2007 while she was simultaneously composing the score for the Bell Shakespeare Company’s production of "Hamlet" – in which she also performed – it is her most lyrically direct, musically simple and emotionally affecting album to date.

“My aim was to make a classic pop album,” explains Blasko. “I wanted pure, elemental songs played on acoustic instruments. I didn’t want to hide the lyrics behind electronics or effects pedals. Being involved in 'Hamlet' at the same time was a big influence – when I wasn’t performing, I would sit backstage at the piano and write my own songs.

“Even though I hadn’t played much piano in the past, it’s my favorite instrument and I found the loneliness of its sound inspiring. It suited 'Hamlet' and it suited my state of mind at the time. I knew from the start that I wanted all the instruments to have air in them. I wanted lots of strings and piano, double bass, jazz drums and not much guitar.”

Having made her debut album in L.A. and its follow-up at Neil Finn’s studio in Auckland, Blasko’s initial plan was to record As Day Follows Night in Australia. However, an invitation from Yttling to come to Stockholm changed her mind.

“I loved Björn’s production on Lykke Li’s album and obviously his work with his own band,” explains Blasko. “His music has some old-fashioned elements, but also a real freshness that feels modern and embraces all sorts of sounds. So I wrote him a long email and sent some music and got back such an enthusiastic response I had to go see what we could accomplish together.

“Going to Sweden on my own to work with musicians I had never met before was a bit daunting, but also really refreshing. I like the idea of an album being an adventure. Away from home, you’re more open to new ideas. In life in general, I like to feel uncomfortable, I like to put myself through difficulties unnecessarily. Nothing good comes out of being complacent.”

Over just ten days the pair transformed Blasko’s sad, solitary songs in to bold, beguiling, warm-hearted, sonically-spectral pop, featuring strings, brass, banjo, double bass and percussion. The result, said Rolling Stone, is “as warm as Blasko has ever sounded – immaculate, organic and airy”. Long-time fan and Go-Between Robert Forster described the album as “A triumph. Blasko has written a wonderfully diverse and melodic collection….a remarkable set of songs…a wonderful record. A classic, in fact.”

The album’s intriguing adventure takes in highlights as diverse as the spaghetti-western strains of future single "All I Want," the joyous pop of "Hold On My Heart" and "Over & Over"’s prickly, left-field folk. There’s also the spooky, bluesy shudder of "Lost & Defeated"’s tribute to Screamin’ Jay Hawkins, the double bass-driven "Bird On A Wire"’s sizzling, old-school jazz club vibes and the album’s dreamy, "We Won’t Run."

As for her first attempt to break Europe, Blasko can’t wait.

“I’ve wanted to have my music out here for a long time,” she says. “I’ve always known it was possible, but I’m a big believer in things happening at the right time. With this album, everything seems to have slotted in to place and the timing feels perfect.”