Parallel names, Sara and Sarah, and parallel lives for two Coast musicians: Sky Parallel has recently released their debut EP and you can expect a few tunes from it when they perform at this weekend’s Rogue Arts Festival in Wilson Creek.
Sara Fitzpatrick, an extraordinary violinist, spoke with Coast Reporter about teaming up with songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Sarah Noni and the career journey of the two musicians.
Fitzpatrick grew up on the Sunshine Coast, learning her art through playing with the Coast String Fiddlers and the Community Orchestra. As an adult she took her violin on the road, most recently with the electro fusion group Delhi 2 Dublin who travelled the world playing to huge audiences. When she became pregnant she knew she wanted to embrace motherhood and she moved back to Grantham’s Landing. By coincidence Sarah Noni moved into the house next door and the two quickly discovered they had a lot in common.
“There was a strong connection,” Fitzpatrick said, “and a studio between our houses where we could conceptualize and write music.” They were both “full-on mothers” at that time, but the collaboration was emerging. The birth of Fitzpatrick’s child and death of her own mother around the same time gave more intensity to her ideas for music. It still took a long time to record the EP, especially when both women had children under the age of two.
The music is difficult to define. The Sky Parallel EP sits on a background of classical and jazz though Walk On, the first track, is a lively rock number. Most of the six songs are originals but How I Feel, a bluesy tune, is a nod to Nina Simone. Roll Me Down is pure pop.
“Yes, it’s difficult to define,” Fitzpatrick agrees. Electro folk? The songs have folk elements. “The themes are mature,” she said, “and they’ve been expanded by layering of the vocals and manipulation of the violin.”
The duo doesn’t perform much on the Coast because their children are still young. The members of the Sky Parallel band, John Glasparich on drums and Arista Hawkes on bass, also have children – the four band members collectively have ten kids under the age of six. That makes it difficult to play at anything but a family-oriented concert.
You can catch them at the Rogue Arts Festival on Saturday, Aug. 25 at 11:55 a.m. and again at 4:30 p.m. on the main stage (www.roguefest.ca). For more, see www.skyparallelmusic.com or find the EP digitally on Spotify and SoundCloud.
