What's your band/artist name? Can you tell us a little bit about you and your career/projects so far?
My name is Sara Vidal Cabré. I come from Barcelona and I've been based in Berlin for two years now. Back in Spain I studied at a Drama School and worked as an actress. After graduating from university, I started exploring the world of soundtracks for theatre, which I loved. After this discovery, my moving to Berlin was a transition from theatre to music. Here, I found a big community of musicians who I adore. Last year I started my personal project called "Anne Had a Baby", which is a collective of some of those musicians. Lately I've been organizing the events for Souljam Berlin, a project that I love and whose goal is to gather musicians to play in the most open, free and respectful way. This project, again, is just possible with the support and will of this community consisting of people from all around the world moving to Berlin.
How did you get into music and what were/are your influences?
We all had a band when we were teenagers, right? I was one of them and started doing music when I was 15 with some friends from my hometown. I took a break when I got into Drama school, which was super intense and lated six years. My relation to music started when I moved to Berlin, at the time when I met Jarrah and all the other musicians I still work with nowadays. I needed someone to guide me when it came to sharing inspirations, talking about music, pushing me a bit to go to events, jam sessions, etc. as my background was fully theatrical. So that's how everything started. I never know who my inspirations were. I struggle to identify or to have a clear idea about what I was hearing as a child. So last year I decided to change the music I was listening to in order to try to find voices similar to mine. I think, as a woman, I had mostly male reference points in music. It was blocking me from developing my vocal instrument by solely listening to them. So last year I had half a year in which I was just listening to female vocals and my singing changed a lot since then. The voice is such an independent instrument and just from listening to something you can relate to, like a woman's voice, you can learn to do things you didn't know you could do. So my biggest inspirations nowadays are coming from the R'N'B/Soul corner such as Erykah Badu, Cleo Sol, Olivia Dean. However, I still feel connected to the deep voices of artists of my hometown like Sílvia Pérez Cruz, Maria Arnal, Rita Payés in my head... Music wise I can't also forget about the groove I experienced with the album "The Dude" from Quincy Jones or the mind blowing album "Random Access Memory" by Daft Punk. And deep in the heart, my safe haven are musicals like "Hamilton" or "Spring awakening" among many others.
Which partners or artists have inspired/accompanied you on your path and how?
Definitely Jarrah Dhyan is one of the biggest inspirations and partners on this music path I've been experiencing in Berlin. I owe him a lot, from the overall knowledge to the bravery to go out and connect with everyone making music in this city. Another big friend and music collaborator I admire is Tufty Head, who I love to produce music with. He's such a groovy and talented musician. In general, I feel it's impossible to mention everyone I was lucky to have had by my side since I arrived here. Júlia Pigali, Henry Weekes, all the Souljam Family, Anne Had a Baby, just to mention a few.
What has been the most formative experience in your career so far?
The mix of respect and discipline I learnt from theatre and the freedom I found in music. I'm just focused on my work, while having the abstract imagination that leads to the feeling and control of the energy, tension and release. I couldn't have one without the other.
Can you tell us about highs and lows of your music career so far and what you've learnt from it?
The pandemic had a clear impact in the course of my career. To work in the arts in Spain was already difficult, but the pandemic just destroyed it all. In my case, the lockdown arrived at the time I was finishing my studies, so exactly at the point in time when first job opportunities were coming up. All the possibilities I had encountered were suddenly gone. However, Souljam Berlin definitely helped me in staying positive and get back so many connections I had lost due to the pandemic. I stay positive, when I see all the will and love of artists to rebuilt the community.
How did you hear about MusicHub and why did you choose our platform to distribute your music?
It was just chatting with people around me that I discovered the platform and, as I said, I find these connections and collaborations super important. My work evolves around these things, so I thought it was a great opportunity to discover new people!
Listen to the song "Anytime (Blank Space)", created as a collaboration between Skyline Sun and Sara Vidal Cabré in our MusicHub community in just 3 hours: https://listen.music-hub.com/iq3VJ6
What goals do you still want to achieve? What are your plans for the future?
A goal for the future would be to live and work 100% just from art in general. Not just music but also in theatre and cultural events. We all share artistic jobs, but the truth is that most of us have second jobs to be able to make ends meet and pay the rent. I don't feel ashamed to say I have other jobs, I think it grounds and disciplines me, but it also takes a lot of energy at the time to create. I am hopeful and I believe that community is very important, as it's the only way to support each other and help each other grow.
Watch 3hr Song Session of the track "Anytime (Blank Space)" featuring Skyline Sun and Sara Vidal Cabré here:
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