Tobias Sarra and the breezy alt pop burning poetry of "Speculation"

 

'Why's it been keeping you up all day / severed in speculation? / I said that you shouldn't have run away / Now I keep dreaming in amber...'

The breezy but not easy peasy "Speculation", by Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK and Norway based singer-songwriter, multi-instrumentalist, improvisational provocateur extraordinaire, Tobias Sarra, will probably charm you in unexpected ways as it does me. The piano shapes, fluid and something between urbane pop and light jazz move against chill free drums played with brushes as smiling synths and a coy clarinet dances lightly doing the soft shoe providing a framework for Sarra's vocal countenance cast out like a fly fishing lines. 

I love the sound of Sarra's voice and the hushed self harmonies arriving from time to time but what sets Sarra apart is the playfulness of his word play. Either perfectly placed but more than likely fully improvised, the words sometimes are connective merely by flash paper ready to be lit but it doesn't matter. Most of the time the outcome is acerbic, nonsensical or, oddly enough, sagely. 

In the end, "Speculation" somehow feels dreadfully romantic and deep even if it may not be and that's ok with me. 

Liner notes reveal that Sarra is:

[Inspired by global & urban shamanism, zen/taoist philosophy and artists such as Hiroshi Yoshimura, Tarkovsky Quartet and Hiss Golden Messenger he is fascinated by stillness, exploring the power of sound to change our relationship to space. Through diverse means, his singular aim is to create immersive, communal experience.]

All I know is that I find myself listening to "Speculation" on repeat and it is pinging the synapse in my brain in pleasing ways. The track is the final single release before Tobias Sarra's album release in December. 

-Robb Donker Curtius 

THE FACTS AS WE KNOW THEM 

https://www.instagram.com/tobiassarra/

https://www.tiktok.com/@tobiassarra

https://tobiassarra.bandcamp.com/album/all-i-am-is-a-great-illusion

https://www.facebook.com/tobias.sarra.music/

https://soundcloud.com/tobias-sarra


Multi-instrumentalist, Improviser, Singer-songwriter, Poet, Performance artist & Workshop Facilitator based in Northern Norway.

Tobias's music drifts between experimental improvisations on failure & imperfection, and devotional, spacious folk songs devoted to source energy.

Inspired by global & urban shamanism, zen/taoist philosophy and artists such as Hiroshi Yoshimura, Tarkovsky Quartet and Hiss Golden Messenger he is fascinated by stillness, exploring the power of sound to change our relationship to space. Through diverse means, his singular aim is to create immersive, communal experience.
www.kickstarter.com/projects/tobias…Evj6IuRYC81YGeI

Tobias Sarra, alt pop, indie pop, jazz dipped, bedroom pop, improvisational pop, indie rock, "Speculation", UK, Norway, upcoming album, nuanced pop,