Blasko was first heard in the mid-1990s fronting Sydney band, Acquiesce, after an initial tour of France with founding members Dave Hemmings, Paul Camilleri, and her sister Kate Halcrow. With material written by Blasko and Camilleri, they recorded a single and an EP with producer Hugh Wilson, receiving some local attention.
In 2002, Sarah decided to go solo. Material for the Prelusive EP - a result of initial explorative collaborations with Wilson but fully realised with Nick Schneider and Steve Francis - was originally recorded as demos. However, after becoming disillusioned with the indecisiveness and lack of solid commitment from the labels she met with, Blasko decided to release and promote the material independently. With the financial assistance of then-manager Craig New, she also produced a music video for the leading track, "Your Way".
The track was picked up by local community stations such as 2SER, as well as the national youth broadcaster, Triple J – who also gave light rotation to two other EP tracks, "Will You Ever Know" & "Be Tonight". "Your Way" was also featured on the test loop of fledgling Sydney community radio station 2FBi, when the station began to broadcast full-time.
After this initial success, Sarah was approached by and eventually signed to Brisbane-based label, Dew Process, who repackaged and re-released the EP. There are minor variations to the packaging of the major label release, which make the independent release slightly more valuable to collectors.
In late 2004, Blasko released her debut album, The Overture & the Underscore, recorded in Hollywood at the studio of engineer Wally Gagel. She co-produced the album with Gagel and fellow songwriter, Robert F Cranny.
The album was met with critical acclaim and received gold accreditation in Australia, despite limited commercial radio play. In 2005 Blasko was rewarded for her work with four ARIA nominations. Of particular note was her nomination for Album of the Year.
Sarah spent most of April 2006 recording her second album in Auckland, New Zealand at Roundhead Studio, the studio of Crowded House frontman Neil Finn.
Sarah produced the album with Robert F Cranny , and "Flame Trees" collaborator and Midnight Oil guitarist and keyboard player, Jim Moginie . The recording session was engineered by Paul McKercher, who has worked with numerous Australian bands including Glide, The Cruel Sea , You Am I and more recently Augie March.
The final addition to this all-Australian team was New York-based producer/engineer, Victor Van Vugt, who mixed the record. Van Vugt has worked on a number of Beth Orton records and has a long association with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds , mixing a number of their albums as well as some Mick Harvey solo work and production efforts such as PJ Harvey’s Stories From the City, Stories From the Sea.
The album was nominated for the 2006 J Award, and debuted at number 7 on the ARIA Albums Chart. It led to her first ARIA win for Best Pop Release at the 2007 ARIA awards and a nomination for Sarah for Best Female Artist.
After some posts detailing on her blog that Sarah would be soon releasing new material on a third album, on July 10, 2009 she released 'As Day Follows Night'. Produced by Bjorn Yttling of Peter, Bjorn & John and recorded in Stockholm, Sweden, the album was performed with a band of local Swedish musicians with comparatively little electronic production in contrast to her previous works. The end result was an album retaining Sarah's signature style of pop and trip hop, while adding some jazz influences to the mix. This release, along with her extensive touring across Australia resulted in her receiving the ARIA award for Best Female Artist and being nominated in two other categories.
Diverging from previous efforts, Sarah made a conscious effort on her third album to make her songs more intimate, closing the distance between herself and the listener. In an interview to The Brag magazine by Mike Gee, she states 'Generally the songs are more open and I didn't want to obscure them too much... I wanted the songs to be straight to the point. I wanted them to be like classic old pop songs in that they had that structure.'
In 2011, Sarah collaborated with two other artists, Sally Seltmann and Holly Throsby, to form a group named Seeker Lover Keeper. They released a namesake album in June of that year and promoted the record by touring churches around Australia.
October 2012 saw the return of Sarah's solo work in which she released her fourth independent record, 'I Awake'. In an effort to explore her family's heritage, she recorded the songs with the Bulgarian Symphony Orchestra. However, she was aware that recording such an album was risky. Sarah stated in an interview that she did not want the album to be 'watered down' or 'unnecessary'.
She is currently promoting the record by touring Australian cities in which she invited their respective orchestras to provide backing music. Most recently, she performed live in the Sydney Opera House where the concert was streamed live via Youtube. Soon, Sarah will embark on a European tour to promote her album overseas.
Always On This Line
Sarah Blasko Lyrics
Jump to: Overall Meaning ↴ Line by Line Meaning ↴
Under these suburban skies
Think of all willing lies, of cutting ties,
The emptiness,
At first light, first sight,
The world seems like a miracle,
But try to hold it in your hands
Oh the ugliness of fate,
When you're always on this line,
When you're always on this line,
You could've crossed a million times,
But you're always on this line,
Oh, put your hands up,
Claim your crime,
'Cause you never had the time,
You still get to work just fine,
When you're always on this line
But it's alright, it's okay,
When there's excuses in your way,
You can try, just make it up,
Settle down but don't look up,
At first bite, first lie,
The world seems like it serves you well,
But try to catch it in your hands,
Treating it like a slave of the emptiness you crave,
When you're always on this line,
When you're always on this line,
You could've crossed a million times,
But you're always on this line,
Oh, put your hands up,
Claim your crime,
'Cause you never had the time,
You still get to work just fine,
When you're always on this line,
Oh, it might be unkind of me to make you feel bad,
It might be a shame of me to treat you like that,
When there's everything you've worked for in your life,
On this line,
When you're always on this line,
When you're always on this line,
You could've crossed a million times,
But you're always on this line,
Oh, put your hands up,
Claim your crime,
'Cause you never had the time,
You still get to work just fine,
When you're always on this line
The song "Always On This Line" by Sarah Blasko is about the emptiness and dissatisfaction that can come from living a life that is defined by routine and conformity. The lyrics describe a person who is always on the verge of breaking free from their monotonous existence but is held back by fear and a sense of societal obligation.
The chorus repeats the phrase "When you're always on this line," which can be interpreted as referring to the pre-determined path that the singer feels stuck on, unable to deviate or veer off course. They recognize that they could have crossed this line a million times and found something new and fulfilling, but instead, they remain trapped in their familiar cycle.
The verses describe the tension between the excitement of the unknown and the fear of failure. The singer recognizes that the world is full of wonder and potential, but when they try to grab hold of it, it slips away. They wish they could break free from their self-imposed limitations but are too afraid to take the leap.
The bridge of the song hints at the possibility of redemption. The singer recognizes that they may have made mistakes and wasted opportunities, but they are not beyond salvation. They can still put their hands up and claim their crime, acknowledging their failures and taking responsibility for their life choices.
Line by Line Meaning
As the day turns to night
The transition from day to night has occurred
Under these suburban skies
The scene is set in a suburban area
Think of all willing lies, of cutting ties, The emptiness,
Reflect on the lies you have told and the relationships you have ended, leaving behind an emptiness
At first light, first sight, The world seems like a miracle, But try to hold it in your hands And watch it get away, Oh the ugliness of fate,
When you first see the world, it appears to be miraculous. However, trying to hold onto it reveals the harshness of fate.
When you're always on this line, You could've crossed a million times, But you're always on this line, Oh, put your hands up, Claim your crime, 'Cause you never had the time, You still get to work just fine,
You have been stuck on the same path or decision, even though you could have chosen a different route. Accept responsibility for your lack of action and keep moving forward.
But it's alright, it's okay, When there's excuses in your way, You can try, just make it up, Settle down but don't look up,
It's easy to make excuses, but just try to make something out of what you have. Settle down, but don't aim too high.
At first bite, first lie, The world seems like it serves you well, But try to catch it in your hands, Treating it like a slave of the emptiness you crave,
At first, the world seems to serve you well, but eventually, you realize the emptiness that you crave cannot be fulfilled by external possessions
Oh, it might be unkind of me to make you feel bad, It might be a shame of me to treat you like that, When there's everything you've worked for in your life, On this line,
It may not be kind to point out your faults, but everything that you have worked hard for is on the line.
When you're always on this line, You could've crossed a million times, But you're always on this line, Oh, put your hands up, Claim your crime, 'Cause you never had the time, You still get to work just fine,
You are still stuck on the same path and need to accept responsibility for not making a change. Despite this, you are still able to function effectively.
Lyrics © Sony/ATV Music Publishing LLC
Written by: BLASKO, CRANNY
Lyrics Licensed & Provided by LyricFind
Takis Karagiannis
hey!greetings from greece. today i "discovered" sarah and i felt in love.. what a voice!
blurrystar
Her dancing makes me all kinds of happy. And this song. And the video. And Sarah. Ahhh. :)
okelydokely2
She is sooo talented, and lovely. The best musicians are rarely the most popular, but they tend to have longevity. I hope Sarah makes many albums (and videos) in the years to come.
MsVisionary Xo
I’ve been looking for this song for so long.
I remember watching this video on IMF.
Absolutely love this song.
formanm19
This is eye-catchingly artistic and quite brilliant. The spacing, timing and rhythm of this music are impeccable.
waitressboy
Wow, what a video. I'm still waiting for "Queen Of Apology" to be a single, but I that song is way too good for a single. I love this video. It's great that they did the blue scenario while they where shooting the other parts.
Wayne Dunn
Her voice and her dancing are tops sarah should be so much bigger love her music
a angerosa
what a most memorable 4 minutes and 25 seconds coalescence of art i've seen
K. Jansen
I really like this video and i love the way she dances.
lmax228
Good video - I like that Sarah is a little different as an artist and she's incredibly talented.