Joel Sarakula

'The new album The Imposter is dreamy and Bowie-esque... It's a really engaging and adventurous record, I would highly recommend it', Lauren Laverne, BBC 6 Music (2015)

'This is a really cool new release by talented Aussie singer-songwriter Joel Sarakula... I love this actually... It's like modern Northern Soul', Craig Charles BBC 6 Music (2015) 

Joel Sarakula (AUS/UK) writes, produces and sings Soulful Pop, gazing out at his 60's and 70's tinged world through vintage glasses... imagine Ray Manzarek fronting a 70s soul band. Born in Sydney and now based in London, his current album THE IMPOSTER has racked up generous plays across BBC Radio 2, BBC 6 and has been play-listed on national radio in Germany, The Netherlands, Belgium and Italy. He is a regular fixture on the festival and club circuit in the UK, Europe and Australia, including appearances at Scala, Latitude, Glastonbury, The Great Escape, V-ROX Vladivostok and Reeperbahn Festival Hamburg. Sarakula is a songwriter who has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being the victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway, via the dive bars of Europe and the US. It was the hodge-podge musical tapestry of England’s capital that finally drew him to a settling point. 

With personal tastes that span from the more avant-garde to soul and pop greats like Sly Stone, Todd Rundgren and Elvis Costello, there are clear nods to contemporaries like Beck and Erlend Øye in terms of ambition and style.

His previous single Northern Soul racked up 150,000 views within the first few months of the online and limited edition 7" vinyl release by mod and soul specialists Heavy Soul Records (UK) - Sarakula has definitely touched more than a few Northern Souls. The remix of his latest single European Skies (due Aug 19, 2016) teeters on the edge of a decadent night in 1980s Ibiza before unashamedly losing itself in Euro Dance-Pop.

Both songs are from current album The Imposter (Elevate Records), where Sarakula lovingly indulges his late 60s and early 70s references while executing them with a colder, contemporary vision. Ever the internationalist, Sarakula recorded The Imposter in studios spread across London, Berlin and Sydney with a host of his musical comrades appearing on the record. It's a fitting album title for a man unafraid of playing his various roles as singer, artist, writer and producer. Joel Sarakula is THE IMPOSTER.

The Imposter has been played on all relevant radio stations around Europe . Currently Joel Sarakula is working on his next Album.  

Quotes:

“The Imposter is an album rich in variety and absolutely worth listening to.” Deutschlandradio Kultur (2015)

'Vicariously talented wunderkind Joel Sarakula has been a collectors item for a number of years through his Australian-only hard-to-find internet releases. His approach to folk music is at once simplistic and basic however it also meanders thoughtfully in the hinterland between those two radical states with apparent disregard for fashion.' Trebuchet Magazine, Jan 2011

'The artfully unexcited and lyrically languid chorus develops into a cheery sing-along, the words “because I am! A bohemian! A modern Stone Age man!” chanted like a drunken mantra by what sounds like a group of gentle non-conformist types around a campfire. With tambourines.' Stereoboard, July 2011