Sarah Pagé is a harpist based in Montreal whose perhaps best known as a longtime member of The Barr Brothers. But to pigeonhole Pagé in the roots rock genre would be a disservice to her impressive and diverse musical talents. Not unlike Colin Stetson and his sax, Pagé records one-take pieces on the harp and then molds them every which way, spinning complex tapestries with the help of homemade pickups.
Forrthcoming album Dose Curves is the debut solo Sarah Pagé record, the result of eight years of practice, play and collaboration, a release that can be held as physical proof that she is equally adept at the experimental as the traditional. The five tracks are quite unlike anything else you’ll hear this year, utilising the harp in ways that feel unique from any period of its 5,000 year history. The songs ebb and flow like organic matter, intricate melodies sprouting like wildflowers meadows amongst the deeper tonal qualities. As the press release describes, “Like an entirely detailed, delectable world in a spin of its own, the album moves, breathes, grows and changes at a pace that feels wonderfully natural; in welcoming ways that belie its intricate oddities.”
Today we have the pleasure of sharing the album’s third single, ‘Lithium Taper’, along with a video by experimental filmmaker Kyoka Tsukamoto. The song has a strange kind of celestial clarity, the harp transformed beyond recognition by Pagé’s creative techniques. Tsukamoto’s video is equally beautiful and mesmerising, a long rolling shot of a snow-covered landscape punctuated only with occasional dark rocks and the navy blue ribbon of a river. Hit play below to be transported to another world.
Does Curves is due for release on 11th October, and you can pre-order it now on LP, CD and digital download from the Sarah Pagé Bandcamp page.
Photo by Linus Ouellet, artwork by Sarah Pagé