Today we’d like to introduce you to Sarah Meyz.
Sarah, can you briefly walk us through your story – how you started and how you got to where you are today.
I started playing piano when I was about four years old after my mom heard me trying to play a children’s song by ear. It was at 11 though that I’ve found my true passion in an instrument form, the harmonica. It was love at first play, as I like to put it. From that moment on, I became deeply involved with Blues and got to perform with several renowned Blues musicians from Brazil, such as Igor Prado, Artur Menezes, Vasco Faé and many others. At that time, I went on a couple of tours around the state of São Paulo, played at festivals and clubs, and was endorsed by the former Brazilian Harmonica company, Bends, as the youngest endorser, at only 13 years old.
A couple of years later, I entered a contest from a partnership between Berklee College of Music and Lollapalooza Brasil. They were to select one person from Brazil and another from Chile to participate of a Summer Program in their Valencia campus, in Spain, with all costs covered. After a couple of weeks, I got the news that I was the chosen Brazilian to go, and during the Summer of 2012, I went on my first trip abroad and completed the program. There, I was also awarded a full-tuition scholarship to participate in the 5-Week Summer Program in Boston the following year.
Between returning to Brazil and going to Boston in 2013, I was invited to perform at the Lollapalooza festival in São Paulo, as a solo act. With my own band, formed by José Alberto on drums, Victor Abla on bass, Marília Sarmento and Vasco Faé on guitar, we’ve made a very energetic and remarkable performance at the festival, getting a high praise by the main media channel in Brazil, Globo, as the best picture and best new artist of the third day of the festival, as well as a very positive review and feature on their website by their critics. During that Summer, in 2013, I went to Boston and did the 5-Week Program. That was my very first time in the US and I have to say it started on a great note.
During the program, I auditioned and interviewed for a scholarship to become a full-time student at the college. At the end of it, I was awarded a full-tuition scholarship to study at Berklee, where I then started in the Spring of 2014. At Berklee, I decided to pursue a double major degree in Performance and Music Production & Engineering, with a minor in Commercial Record Production. Learning how to produce, mix and record music has been an absolute joyful ride and I cannot imagine myself not being part of this fantastic Universe. Most recently, in my last semester, I traveled to England to complete an internship in post-production, where I got to work directly with Re-recording Engineer, Andrew Wilson, on the recently released Disney Nature film, Elephants. During the mixing of the film I also had the privilege of spending significant time at Abbey Road with Re-Recording Engineer David Fluhr and Oscar-winning Producer, Roy Conli, as well as at Real World Studios, owned by Peter Gabriel.
College was where I’ve discovered my true identity as an artist and which direction I wanted to follow sonically. I started writing songs around 13 years old, already developing my lyric and production skills, but when I arrived at Berklee I got to explore with many different sounds and colours, as well as to experiment with different timbres of my voice and the harmonica. The past year and a half, I have dedicated an extensive amount of time to this journey of creative exploration, especially with my harmonica sound, giving a new voice to it and going from the traditional bluesy approach to a more modern and electronic production style. During my time at Berklee, I also got to perform with artists such as Seu Jorge at the Blue Note NYC, Daru Jones and at the Juke Joint Festival in Clarksdale. I am currently preparing for my next single and video release, which will be announced very, very soon on all of my social medias!
Overall, has it been relatively smooth? If not, what were some of the struggles along the way?
I am extremely grateful for the path I have been in my career and everything I’ve accomplished so far. That being said, there were definitely obstacles in the way, which is quite unavoidable, especially in our fast-changing industry. Being away from family and starting a new phase of my life in a completely unknown territory can be quite a change at first, and there were many lessons I’ve learned in the way, but I am extremely lucky to have a wonderful family that has always supported me. Since I was a little kid, my parents took me to all the gigs I’ve played in Brazil, even went on tour with me for several days, and that kind of foundation was key for me to keep moving forward and not getting discouraged by any challenges that would appear in the way.
Also, being a woman in the music industry has its “rolling eyes” moments, especially in the production and engineering areas. There is a certain expectation, as well as doubts, of your capacity as a professional, but I choose to ignore this negativity and just keep on learning, making mistakes and constantly evolving my skills. Not being afraid of making errors and of what people think about me has been my life motto since I remember myself as a person. Criticism is a great, great tool, especially when it is constructive and helps you grow, and I certainly appreciate it. On the other hand, when it comes with the sole intent of diminishing who you are as an artist and as a person, it just never made sense to take those in my baggage, and that creates a constant sense of freedom and lightness to me, which I absolutely love it! Focus on what’s positive and keep on going!
Can you give our readers some background on your music?
I love creating a dreamy and spacey vibe in my music, almost as if the listener could travel somewhere they’ve never been before through my productions. In my lyric writing, there’s a bit of everything, from inner conflicts and broken love to more political themes and oneiric nightmares. If I were to mention a few artists that I admire, it would cover from Arcade Fire, Coldplay and Lana Del Rey to Tears For Fears, Sonny Boy Williamson and Jack White. Some of the incredible artists and producers I have worked with include Seu Jorge, Ebonie Smith, Wendy Wang, Ethan Johns, Robert Vincent and Nathan Dies.
What was your favorite childhood memory?
Being in the car with my parents, driving somewhere as we listened to music. There was a lot of Tears for Fears, Pink Floyd, Ry Cooder, Pearl Jam, The Police, Muse and an infinite number of artists that I love. It is still one of my favorite things to do these days, except I can now be the driver!
Pricing:
- For Mixing – $125 / per song / with revisions
- For Editing – $50-100 / per song / details to be discussed
- For Full Production – $300 per song / details to be discussed
Contact Info:
- Website: https://open.spotify.com/artist/7l2FlXMBHroFRLLTOZ4qEM?si=uVvxIwMnTx655at1y3mclw
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/sarahsarahmeyz/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/sarahsarahmeyz/
- Other: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-Pl_iqnPQyA
Image Credit:
Arlan Fonseca Andrew Wilson Joe Hahnenfeld Sue-Elie Andrade-Dé
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