Sarah Robyn Farrell says her musical talent has for the longest time taken the back banner, but now she wants to incorporate her environmental advocacy, her social activism and her passion for art, poetry and writing to heal the world from its many ills.
With Farrell still riding a wave of success of her debut single, “Love in Our Hearts”, which was released in March, it comes as no surprise that she’s dropping another hit single, “Hibiscus”.
The song officially releases on Friday, May 21.
“I'm very excited about this release and it is very personal to me, offers the star.
“ It is also a lot more poetic lyrically, and whilst it still has a 'folk feel', it has a lot more electronic elements.”
Farrell insists that though “Hibiscus” tackles a deep topic, the song has a lightness to it that she refers to as hope in the midst of adversity.
“The song touches on personal and systemic grief in the face of loss, ecological destruction, and socio-political injustices, whilst also calling on us to look to the earth as to what to do in times of difficulty.
She adds that the song got its name from her “ritual of drinking hibiscus tea in the garden whilst watching the hibiscus leaves” fall from the tree and start to decay.
“To me, this became the perfect visual metaphor for how the earth always gives back to us - even through decay.”
Even though her sound has a strong element of folk, Farrell refuses to be boxed into a specific musical genre.
“My sound is developing, and I am keen to experiment rather than commit to one sound or genre.”
Farrell’s passion for music was discovered at an early age, all thanks to her music enthusiasts parents.
“At the age of two, I named my first cat after the Italian composer, Vivaldi. I always wanted my parents to put on his music and would just shout his name until they complied. When they asked what I wanted to name my cat, Vivaldi was my only choice, “ recalls the star.
The Cape Town-based star also plays the ukulele, an instrument that she really loves.
“It has such a happy sound that I feel has an ability to bring lightness to heavy topics. I used to say if my soul had a sound, it would be the sound of a ukulele.
“But I was a little younger and more naive then. Now I'd say there's a whole orchestra - and more - in there,” admits the star.
Still, at the dawn of her musical career Farrell’s musical influences include Kimya Dawson, Maggie Rogers and Sylvan Esso.
“I am inspired by so many different musicians and genres which may not be immediately apparent in my music but are there under the surface.
“I have noticed that growing up as an oboe player, the tone of the oboe and the melody lines often given to the oboe in orchestral compositions, have affected the timbre of my voice today and also the way in which I write melodies.”
“I try not to draw specific inspiration from artists when writing because I want my music to be my music.
“But after the fact, I can often hear a distinct inspiration coming through. Love in Our Hearts, for example, was unmistakenly influenced by anti-folk singer Kimya Dawson.
“As for ’Hibiscus’, I can hear I drew (maybe even unintentionally) from artists like Maggie Rogers and Sylvan Esso.”
As an independent artist, Farrell would like to release more singles with the ultimate goal of releasing an EP or full album, which is wholly dependent on funding.
“Love in Our Hearts” and “Hibiscus“ are available on all streaming platforms.