- Words Cal McIntyre
- Photography Cameron Postforoosh
Say hello to your new musical crush, Sarah Barrios, who pens heartachingly good pop ballads that you can't help but dance and cry to all at once.
Rising star Sarah Barrios is a songwriter who carefully crafts each lyric that is packed full of raw and powerful vulnerability, but her soaring voice transcends the words into greater heights.
With a string of releases to date, it’s clear that Sarah is onto something good already. Treating her songs like her diary, there’s a certain kind of strength that’s found in Sarah’s work as they capture her personal experiences whilst remaining open-ended for the listener to make a home in them.
Using music a release, Barrios’ music is best listened to when you’re feeling both outward and inward, when you want to dance but also cry. Sometimes there’s nothing better than doing that, and Sarah’s latest track ‘Mourn The Living’ is a track to do exactly that to.
With a light always finding a way to illuminate the dark places, Sarah’s fluttering voice helps you find that light. The latest track is about remembering and honouring certain relationships that have fallen away over time. Speaking on the release, Sarah revealed, “Whether you break up with someone or fall out with a friend, I think it’s natural to mourn the loss of someone’s presence in your life,” Sarah explains. “But there comes a point where you have to accept that, people move on and continue living and growing, and therefore you should too.“
We caught up with the rising star below to chat creative process, star signs and vulnerability…
Hi! How have you been doing spiritually and mentally during lockdown?
Hi!! I’ve been doing relatively okay, just creating music non-stop, reading a lot, drinking tea and playing too much animal crossing haha.
Have you discovered any tips on staying creative and positive throughout all of this?
I’ve really been trying to make a conscious effort to cater to my mental health and give myself small, healthy routines. If I’m feeling sad one day, instead of just ignoring the feeling, I listen to it, hear it out, and then try to create something from it. I’m also a die-hard journal person, so I’ve been trying to get up early every morning, make a cup of coffee, sit outside and write about how I’m feeling. It’s so important to have that ME time, before I start diving into the work for the day and honestly, most of the time what I’m journaling about becomes a song so it’s pretty full circle. Also, PLANTS. I don’t know if it’s just me but plants are like a game-changer for my positivity and creativity. They just make me feel so much more refreshed and having some color in the house is really important so I highly recommend haha!
Has your creative process changed at all?
To be honest, it hasn’t really changed too much. Most of the time, I write in my journal and really try to focus on being completely open and honest with how I’m feeling and then create a song from there. So creativity hasn’t changed too much, I feel a lot of things, a lot of the time. I think the biggest hurdle has been not being able to collaborate in person with others. I really enjoy working with a producer in the room, being able to collaborate on the music and lyrics and sharing the space together. Zoom sessions just aren’t the same.
What is your favourite subject to write about currently?
I’m currently in a very self-reflective stage of my life, so I think right now I’m really enjoying writing about that. Learning to be honest with myself about who I am as a person, trying to understand what it means to be human and what it means to exist, that’s been the most compelling for me thus far.
What is the main message you wanted to get across within your music?
That there is strength in vulnerability. That it’s okay not to be okay, and it’s okay to be happy too. It’s so easy to feel like you can’t be yourself as a whole or tell people how you feel because you’re scared, but I’m finding that, the more honest I am with myself and with others, the more whole I feel. It’s not so lonely when you realize you’re not the only one who feels the way you do.
What is something you want to tell your younger self?
Never be afraid to be yourself, never be afraid to speak up for others and if your feelings scare you, write about them.
What is your star sign? Do you think you’re like your star sign?
I’m an Aries! I feel like on the outside, I’m a pretty tame version of my star sign, but deep down I’m for sure an Aries. Definitely passionate and hot-headed sometimes and I have LOADS of emotions so it’s pretty spot on.
What is your star sign? Do you think you’re like your star sign?
I’m an Aries! I feel like on the outside, I’m a pretty tame version of my star sign, but deep down I’m for sure an Aries. Definitely passionate and hot-headed sometimes and I have LOADS of emotions so it’s pretty spot on.
What would the name of your autobiography be?
How I Turned My Anxiety Into a Career: 50,000 Words You Didn’t Ask For.
What are you most looking forward to right now?
I’m looking forward to sharing the music I’ve been making with the world. When I write songs, it’s usually to provide some sort of therapy, to help me express a feeling that’s been bottled up for too long. The second they get released, they become something else entirely, as listeners connect their own feelings and life experiences to them. Getting to hear what these songs mean to others is my favorite part of making music.