In this age of social media, it’s easy to fabricate your reality for the sake of a like and a follow. So when we find artists who stay true to themselves and communicate that deeply through their music, we can’t help but be hooked! One artist we’ve particularly become attached to is Sarah Barrios, a pop, singer-songwriter from Connecticut who breathes honesty into every song she puts out. Recently, Barrios released her second EP Conversations With Myself and it is nothing short of powerful lyrics and lauded melodies.
The EP brings a whole slue of collaborators to the table, such as Rence on the emotional bop “Help,” Marc E. Bassy on existential and revealing “Bedroom Floor Feelings,” and syd hartha on poignant confessional “All My Sins.” The opening tune “Somebody I’m Proud Of” is the perfect exposé and highlights Barrios’ ability to deliver a song that’s 110% real. One of the most standout tunes of the whole EP is “Happy;” a song that feels like Barrios’ biggest exhale. The opening line “I woke up this morning and I didn’t feel like I was gonna die” grabs you instantly and emotional shakes your core. Every lyric continues to strike you like a match, inching you closer to understanding Barrios’ vision of herself and how you reflect similar feelings, questions, and thoughts.
We were lucky enough to talk to Sarah about this new project, what we can expect from her new music, and how if feels to be making music for a living.
RTFO: You music consists of particularly vulnerable lyrics and Conversations With Myself is full of them. Did you have a specific message in mind that you wanted to communicate to your listeners with this record?
SB: Thank you so much! I feel like I really wanted to get deep and personal and take the listener into my head. I often find myself overthinking or anxious and I think writing about it made me realize that it’s okay not to be okay, it’s okay to ask for help, it’s okay to question who you are!! At the end of the day, we’re all going through something similar and we’re not as disconnected as we might have thought.
RTFO: Now that you have a second EP under your belt, where are you looking to go next with your music?
SB: You’ll have to wait and see 🙂 just kidding, but I like every piece of music that I put out [and] feel like it’s evolving with me! So I think listeners will get more honesty, more self realization but growth in those realizations. Expect the unexpected.
RTFO: Who are some of your favorite collaborators and who would you love to collaborate with?
SB: I’m extremely grateful to have been able to collaborate with three very incredible artists in this last EP: Rence, Marc E. Bassy and Syd Hartha! All of them brought such beautiful vulnerability to the songs and that really made each one better than I could even imagine. I’m still praying for my Hayley Willams, Harry Styles and Stevie Nicks collab so any or all of them would be great. I’m obsessed with so many artists right now, I can’t wait to collaborate with more in the future!
RTFO: What’s a moment in your career so far that stands out?
SB: I feel like most of them do to be honest. I never thought I would be able to make music for a living, so the fact that I have a team that believes in me and people who care enough to listen to how I feel is something I will never get used to. Truly every moment has been a stand out for me.
RTFO: If you could be performing in any city right now, where would you be?
SB: OOOO this one is tough. I can’t pick one so my top five would be NYC, Stockholm, London, anywhere in the Philippines, and maybe Seoul!
RTFO: You always sport such vibrant hair colors! When did you start dying your hair and what’s one color you’ve been wanting to dye your hair but haven’t yet?
SB: Oh god, I’ve been dying my hair since high school, but I didn’t start dying my whole head until I was 18 or so! I really want to nail a peach color or a split dye! I love dying my hair, it’s one of my favorite forms of self expression which is why I change it so often haha!
Last year, Barrios released her debut EP Letters I Never Sent. The EP was critically praised by Clash Magazine and The Line of Best Fit, and Notion Magazine, who lauded Sarah for being “raw and vulnerable.” Growing up in Torrington, Connecticut, as part of a musical household, Barrios’ journey to becoming an artist shouldn’t be surprising, but like many young music lovers the idea of doing this as a job seems impossible, at first. Turning her talent from songwriting into hits for other artists paid off and now she’s living out her dream, doing it for herself.
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