Steal Your Mum's Heart This Mother's Day with Sarah Brown's Sophomore Album
She held your hand on the first day of school, cradled you as you cried over your teenage crush and attended every sports game and dance recital but, as time goes on, the little things mum did tend to be forgotten.
Show her how much she means to you this Mother's Day with the heartfelt lyrics and soft melodies of award winning New Zealand singer/songwriter Sarah Brown and her sophomore album The Great Heart Robbery.
With her eclectic style of blues, folk, pop and rock, Brown's album ebbs and flows with a selection of velvety tunes that will convey your appreciation to your mum when words just don't seem enough.
Written over several years, The Great Heart Robbery is a collection of love songs and pays tribute to the special people in Brown's life including her own mother.
"Each song on the album is a song about love in some way," she says. "Whether it be about a past love or the love of a family member, there's that strong theme that runs its way through it."
After finding success touring with famed Kiwi musicians such as Greg Johnson, Tim Finn and Jamie Cullum, Brown decided it was time to raise the stakes for her latest offering and took time out in an isolated cottage in the Marlborough Sounds and in a sleepy village in the south of France.
"Being secluded provided the perfect creative space and really allowed the lyrics to transpire more freely. As a result, I wrote 25 songs which I was able to take with me to the recording studio," Brown says.
Recording of the album took place in Sydney, where Brown worked with celebrated music producer Tony Buchen, as well as a collection of skilled session musicians and the strings section of the Sydney Symphony Orchestra.
"I love Gin Wigmore, I love her sound, so I did some research and found that Tony did her first EP, so I got in touch with him to see if he was keen to work with me. Thankfully he was which was so exciting and I had the most incredible experience working with him," she says.
Recording took six weeks at Electric Avenue and 301 Studio, resulting in 11 tracks before it was sent to New York City to be mastered by Chris Gehringer at Sterling Sound, who has worked with acclaimed artists such as Madonna, Christina Aguilera, Joss Stone and Jewel.
Now the fully completed album is back in Brown's hands as she prepares for its full release through her own label, Boomusic, while at the same time organising her upcoming New Zealand tour with her five-piece band and juggling being a first-time mum.
"It's been an incredibly rewarding experience," says Brown. "I've always tried to maintain creative control over my music - I prefer recordings where you can hear their rawness and nothing is too over-produced - so releasing The Great Heart Robbery under my own label has allowed me to maintain all of the elements I'm passionate about as a singer and songwriter."
Sarah Brown has already won multiple awards in her career - including first place in the Juice TV Music Video of the Year award for her song Hands in 2006, and another first place in the nationwide Ovation/Rockshop Songwriter of the Year competition in 2001.
Sarah Brown and The Great Heart Robbery tour will be visiting Auckland, Wellington, Hawkes Bay, Blenheim, Nelson, Westport and Ashburton with more locations to be announced soon.
Wellington - 6th June at Bar Bodega
Blenheim - 7th June at the Secret Garden
Ashburton - 8th June at Ashburton Trusts Theatre
Nelson - 9th June at the Nelson School of Music
Westport - 10th June at the NBS Theatre
Hawkes Bay - 16th June at the Cabana
The Great Heart Robbery is available in May 2012. For more information or to purchase a copy of the album visit www.sarahbrown.co.nz.