27 January 2021
Single review – The Silence Above Us (The St Buryan Sessions). “The song is evocative and powerful, it will delight her long standing fans and is sure to bring new ones to the Sarah McQuaid fan club.”
https://www.vanloosreviews.co.uk/post/the-gift-of-painting-pictures-with-words-music
The Gift Of Painting Pictures With Words & Music
Multi talented singer songwriter Sarah McQuaid was in Germany half way through a European Tour when Covid hit last year. Sarah managed to scramble back home to Cornwall before the borders closed, but it quickly became apparent that her UK/Ireland tour also had to be shelved. Like so many of her fellow performers this left Sarah with zero income and forced to look at other options; Sarah considered the possibility of live streaming from home, but dismissed the idea due to concerns over unreliable internet and possible technical disasters.
With so much enforced time looming ahead Sarah realised that now might be the perfect time to record a live album, something she had previously thought about, but kept on the back burner as she was always too busy touring. By the end of June Sarah’s crowd funder campaign had raised enough money to employ a top team of production and sound engineers plus film makers to video the performance.
For Sarah and her crew, the choice of venue was a no brainer – Sarah had been singing in her local church choir at St. Buryan for some time, a beautiful church with excellent acoustics. With restrictions still in place there could be no live audience to appreciate Sarah’s performance, but the St. Buryan Sessions have produced a stunning selection of 15 songs for everyone to enjoy.
‘The Silence Above Us’ is the first single to be released and will be available from Friday 29th January. Sarah’s song writing skills are never in doubt as she is blessed with the gift of painting beautiful pictures using words and music; she has no need of big production technology, this is Sarah exactly as she is whether playing to a packed theatre or to her small crew in the local church. Sarah accompanies her glorious vocals on ‘The Silence Above Us’ using a grand piano loaned by St. Buryan Male Voice Choir. The song is evocative and powerful, it will delight her long standing fans and is sure to bring new ones to the Sarah McQuaid fan club.
Following the single launch this Friday there will be a YouTube video premiere for ‘The Silence Above Us’ the next evening, Saturday 30th January at 8pm UK time with Sarah live online to answer questions and respond to comments in the YouTube chat box. Everyone is welcome, simply follow the link to join the premiere - www.youtu.be/0xyVXMnhkeU
A similar premiere/watch party event will take place on Sarah’s Facebook page on Sunday 31st January at 8pm UK time - www.facebook.com/sarahmcquaidmusic
A second single, ‘Charlie’s Gone Home’ will be released on Friday 19th February, once again with video premieres on YouTube and Facebook on Saturday 20th and Sunday 21st. The roll-out of singles and videos will continue throughout the year, and Sarah hopes to release the full 15-track, 72-minute album on CD and double LP in late summer.
‘The Silence Above Us (The St Buryan Sessions)’ will be available for streaming and download via Spotify/ iTunes/Apple Music/ Amazon and other services and also as a pay-what-you-want download via www.sarahmcquaid.bandcamp.com from Friday 29th January.