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Sarah Slean
Singer, songwriter

Canadian alt-pop artist Sarah Slean has lived a life punctuated by numerous creative endeavors. In the mid-1990s, Slean made a name for herself on the Toronto nightclub circuit with her innovative cabaret-styled songs. She followed with several albums, each featuring her lilting crystalline voice, energetic piano-playing, and witty lyrics. The album songs attracted attention and were featured on television programs, including Dawson's Creek and Party of Five. Slean's fans have been lucky—they have been able to enjoy her work in a number of mediums. In 2005 Slean appeared in the film noir musical Black Widow, earning a Gemini nomination for best performance. That same year she released a book of poetry titled Ravens, and in 2006, Slean exhibited her original paintings at Toronto's Spin Gallery. All the while, Slean continued to perform and write songs. Speaking to Colin Hunter of the Ontario, Canada, Guelph Mercury, Slean described her mania this way: "I'm a Gemini, which means my brain is a kaleidoscope—it's completely fractured and looking in 13 different directions at the same time."

Trained as Classic Pianist
Born on June 21, 1977, Slean grew up in Pickering, Ontario, Canada. As a child, her interest in music was piqued after seeing the famed Andrew Lloyd Webber musical Cats. "I was enthralled with the total experience of it, of having your senses assaulted and your heart being tugged at," she recalled to the Toronto Star's Vit Wagner. "It was the most magical thing. The music was so unabashed and unashamed. As a child I was very meek, and seeing that was like ‘Oh my God, look at what those people are doing.’ And I longed to share that fearlessness."

Slean started out on piano, and by age nine was composing her own musicals, full of tragedy and dramatic deaths. As for her singing abilities, Slean explained to Canadian Musician magazine that she was self-taught. "I learned to sing by singing often—that's all. I sing in the shower all the time, and I sang with my favourite records and stuff." Her preferred choices included Leonard Cohen, Joni Mitchell, and Willy Nelson. As a child, Slean felt most comfortable behind the ivories, and studied classical piano all the way through her teen years. She continued briefly at Toronto's York University before transferring to the University of Toronto, where she studied music theory for about a year before dropping out. The more Slean studied the technical aspects of music and piano, the more readily she concluded that she wanted to do more than play piano concertos for the rest of her life.

Found New Universe Through Songwriting
Slean started writing her own songs and began hitting the Toronto nightclub scene, becoming a local favorite, often accompanied by a single cello or small ensemble.

In 1997 she released the six-song indie sampler Universe, which attracted the attention of Warner Music Canada, who signed her to a deal. The deal was unique in that it allowed Slean to independently release another album, 1998's Blue Paradise, before recording for Warner. Slean wanted more experience before tackling a major studio project. Both releases were filled with mostly sad, slow-tempo numbers.

Slean's major label debut came with 2001's Sarah Slean and was followed a year later with Night Bugs. On Night Bugs, Slean took on the role of co-producer, working with Toronto singer/songwriter and multi-instrumentalist Hawksley Workman. The eleven-track album, complete with Slean's trademark rhythmic vocals and piano-playing precision, was more polished and edgy than her previous offerings, and garnered Slean a Juno nomination for best new artist. After the album's release, Slean experienced a dark night of the soul. She felt lost, and her interest in music, people, and life seemingly came to an end. "Normally I can shake those seasons of my mood, but this time I couldn't," Slean told Jordan Zivitz of the Montreal, Canada, Gazette. Slean retreated to a family-owned cabin in the Ottawa woods, where she spent four months examining the root of her emotions. "You can placate all those little demons in modern society—go to a movie, have a drink with a friend, or just forget, forget, forget. You can't do that in the woods. You've got to lie in the middle of it and suffer through it." As Slean sat isolated in the woods, removed from all distractions, she found herself wanting to paint and play piano, and resolved to dedicate herself to those passions.

During her stay in the woods, Slean wrote many of the songs that appeared on her next album, 2004's Day One. This album was more beat-based than her previous efforts, sounding as if she had channeled a bit of Radiohead or Bjork. Packed with rollicking piano, the upbeat opener, "Day One," seemed to be suited for a tap dance revue. Other songs, such as "Mary" and "California," were more somber. This album included more variation, more contrast in songs and mood. As a critic for the Morning Star of Vernon, British Columbia, noted, "Day One is a CD rich in content and moody energy; some of it offbeat, upbeat, wistful and fateful." The album sold well and earned Slean a Juno Award nomination for best adult alternative album. Speaking to Zivitz, Slean explained the deeper meaning behind the title: how humans, including herself, are prone to waiting for "some day" instead of living their lives in the now. "The reason I called the album Day One is because it's a reversal of that ‘one day’ psychology. Every present moment is sitting there, this nugget of potential, and we let so many of them float away in this endless cascade."

Turned to Acting
In 2005 Slean took her voice off the stage and put it in front of the camera, playing the femme fatale in director and co-writer David Mortin's CBC musical Black Widow. This film-noir-tinged musical told the story of a dark-haired singer who murders and dismembers her husband. The story was loosely based on a real 1940s murder that rocked Canadian headlines. "I picked up one of [Slean's] albums in the early stages of casting," Mortin told Angela Pacienza in a story for the Halifax, Nova Scotia, Chronicle Herald. "Just listening to her music, some of the dark corners, I just immediately heard the right sort of sound." The musical featured 1940s music, including songs made famous by Cole Porter and Mel Torme, which fit Slean's style. Shot over a period of eleven days, the stylish black-and-white production won a Czech Crystal at the 2006 Golden Prague Awards, for best musical or dance program made for television. Slean earned a Gemini nomination for best performance in a performing arts program or series.

In 2006 Slean traveled to France to write the songs that would appear on her 2008 release The Baroness. While in Europe, she suffered another creative block and decided to attend a retreat at a Buddhist monastery near Bordeaux. During the ten-day meditative retreat, facilitated by the famed Vietnamese monk Thich Nhat Hanh, Slean underwent another transformation. "I feel so differently now," she told Hunter. "Internally, there's a whole new landscape—that's the only way I can articulate it." Her newfound confidence was palpable on The Baroness. The album opened with the rage-fueled "Get Home," a song about cheaters that featured Slean's voice and piano-playing with no other instrumentation. "In terms of angry-lover songs," wrote the Montreal Gazette's Lynn Saxberg, "this slow, sad tearjerker ranks right up there with Alanis Morissette's fiery "You Oughta Know." " The Baroness served as a breakout album for Slean. On these tracks, she distinguished herself from other piano-playing songwriters. The Morning Star noted, "Slean is a different breed from her singing/piano playing sisters (Chantal Kreviazuk, Sarah McLachlan) in the business. Her music is textural as well as being accessible, yet a sense of mystery hovers behind it. This quality is infused with an adventurous spirit, giving Slean's music a passionate playful edge."

Found Expression Through Painting, Poetry
Slean is best known for her music, yet she has many creative sides. She has published poetry and is a painter as well, exhibiting her work in Canadian galleries. Writing in her online Journal on her Web site, Slean discussed her take on creativity and how songwriting, painting, and poetry are linked. "I've said before I really believe that all art comes from the same place—that meeting place or crossroads within every human—where the wondering, thirsty conscious mind in this particular time and place and form touches up against the eternal source or spirit." As for personal preferences, Slean is a vegetarian who prefers Thai food. Writing on her Web site, she said her creative process often involves long walks, bike rides, and meditation. She collects vinyl recordings, favoring albums by Judy Garland and Marlene Dietrich. Over the years, she has remained an on-again, off-again student of philosophy and music at the University of Toronto.

As for the future, Slean has said she intends to keep doing the same things. Speaking to the Toronto Sun, she put it this way: "The fact that people are affected or moved by what I do means that I need to keep going. Two humans connecting with each other is a major event. I think that's what we're here to do. To deny that would be to sleepwalk through life."

Selected discography
Universe, independent release, 1997.
Blue Parade, independent release, 1998.
Sarah Slean, Atlantic Records, 2001.
Night Bugs, WEA/Atlantic Records, 2002.
Day One, WEA/Atlantic Records, 2004.
Orphan Music (live), WEA/Atlantic Records, 2006.
The Baroness, Warner Music Canada, 2008.

Sources
Periodicals
Billboard, March 30, 2002, p. 58.
Canadian Musician, July/August 2002, p. 32.
Chronicle Herald (Halifax, Nova Scotia, Canada), January 16, 2006.
Gazette (Montreal, Canada), September 25, 2004, p. D5; March 24, 2008, p. D4.
Guelph Mercury (Ontario, Canada), May 15, 2008, p. F3.
Morning Star (Vernon, British Columbia, Canada), January 2, 2005, p. 00b5.
National Post (Canada), April 27, 2002, p. TO5; December 28, 2002, p. TO5.
Toronto Star, July 1, 2002, p. C01.
Toronto Sun, December 14, 2006, p. 86 (Scene).

Online
"Biography," Sarah Slean Official Web site, http://www.sarahslean.com/about/ss_bio.aspx (December 10, 2008).
"Journal Q&A, Part 2," Sarah Slean Official Web site, http://www.sarahslean.com/about/SS_journal.aspx (December 10, 2008).

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