These yellow bricks have brought me this far. Can't believe it, but I'm finally here. Been walking down this road like a lost child. Feeling so alone but now I found my home. - As a little girl, Sabrina loved watching the movie The Whizz, but only later grasped the underlying message of it. "I resembled the main character, Dorothy, who travels a long road, the yellow brick road, to get home. Finally, she finds out that home is not so much a place as a feeling. Home is where the heart is. This album and the road leading to it are my yellow brick road."
Music has been a constant. "At home we always listened to the radio, and every Sunday was Soul Day. Growing up, I subconsciously stored those sounds. When I started to listen to old Soul much later, I recognized many songs. But then I also found out who the performers were and how big their musical influence had been." When Sabrina was 16 years old, she knew she wanted to pursue a career in music. As vocalist she joined a reggae band. Reggae with its backbeat drive has deeply influenced Sabrina's laid back style of singing and her unique sense of timing. At the same time her love of playing the guitar grew and she decided to use the instrument to compose her own songs. In 2005 Sabrina decided to pursue a solo career. "Initially, I stood on stage all by myself. Just my voice and the sound of a guitar - such an intimate and one of a kind experience. But I wanted more. I changed to an acoustic line-up and eventually wound up with a complete supporting band. I want to keep on doing this, playing acoustic by myself but also go for broke with a loud kick, a snare, a grounded bass, soulful backing vocals, an organ and a horn section."
In 2006 Sabrina took part in the Rotterdam Talent Night, with as first prize a performance in the legendary ApolloTheater in New York. She won and in doing so literally followed in the footsteps of such Jazz and Soul greats as Billie Holiday, Sam Cooke and James Brown. "It was an awesome venue with a very special vibe. I stood on the same stage as the legendary artists who were my inspiration and that was an indescribable feeling." Back in Holland, Sabrina came second in the Grote Prijs van Nederland competition, and the National Pop Institute invited her (and 7 other unsigned talents) to participate in the project Unsigned. This resulted in the album The Mighty 8 and with Sabrina scoring a number 2 hit in her homeland Suriname with the song, Romeo & Juliet. "A number 2 hit is already something special but it was extra special to me because Suriname, and the people living there, mean so much to me. This was a real sign of recognition from my mother country." Sabrina also contributed the song Old Soul to the compilation CD, Heartbreakers & Ass Shakers, released by Popunie. She then entered the Pop Round project, was elected Musical Ambassador of Rotterdam by Music Matters, and performed on the North Sea Jazz Around Town, at the Uitmarkt in Amsterdam and Rotterdam, at CrimeJazz, at Rotterdam summer festivals and in Metropolis.
Despite the Apollo performance, the hit in Suriname and all the musical projects she was invited to take part in, Sabrina never felt she had really made it. "I've always been convinced that things will only fall into place when you are fully ready for it. That you have to progress step by step, because that is the only way you can grow, musically, but as a human being as well. That is very important to me and I have also incorporated that in my album." The title song Yellow Brick Road indirectly tells the story of where Sabrina has been the last few years and what she stands for now. Other songs on the album have been inspired by people she has met along the way, in the places she has visited, but also in the world around us. Keep It Simple is an example that deals with the simple things in life. It now seems as if eveything has to be translated in terms of money and luxury items. "Love is now measured with fortune and fame," she sings. And further on in the song: "Kids playing outside at the corner. But they don't like that anymore / They like TV now / Jumping rope / Do you remember?" Of course, love is another important subject. The first single, Do For Love, is about the power of love, and You Are My Love and Romeo & Juliet are also deeply felt love songs. The song, It's Time, deals with the hurried pace of life that seems to have gripped nearly all of us. No time to stand still or be alone. But Sabrina's yellow brick road has taught her to stand still more often. "My parents always used to say: Patience, Sabrina, patience, your day will come. And they were right."
Besides patience it was hard work that got Sabrina to where she is now. At a given moment she met the Dutch producer duo, Beat Royalty. Sabrina travelled to Los Angeles, the home base of Beat Royalty, and worked long hours there. "I was in the studio from early in the morning untill late at night. I loved working in the studio because every day meant coming closer to realizing my dream, my debut album." The sessions were recorded by engineer Brad Gilderman, who besides being the recipient of various Grammy nominations, has worked with, among others, Destiny's Child, Tony Braxton, Eminem and Boyz II Men. Initially, Yellow Brick Road was released privately. Sabrina: "And then I got a call from Blue Note. That label with its roster of old heroes that I have in my record collection. Truly a moment of accomplishment."
It took a while to get there, but Sabrina is delighted with the way things have gone. "Now I am really ready for it, as a woman, as a human being, and as a musician. It is exactly the right time!" And is this the end of the yellow brick road? "Ah, no! That road goes on, but only on a different track."
Yellow Brick Road, Sabrina Starke's debut album, was released on the Blue Note label on November 14, 2008. On Januay 17, 2009, Sabrina will perform live on the Noorderslag Festival in Groningen.
Source: http://artists.letssingit.com/sabrina-starke-jm3gg/biography
