Sarah Ingraham

Fusion th the Nth Degree. If you go to Sarah's My Space page, you will be hypnotised by her eyes, and if you listen to HUMAN her new album, you will be fascinated by her sound. Not one to sit still, Sarah has traveled the world in search of music that she can grasp, understand and shape into a concept that has universal appeal.

Sarah ingraham began in voice and harpsichord from UCSC, but she sings and performs World fusion cultivated and nurtured from extensive studies in many lands. Koto on Japan, filmis(music scores) in India,lyric poems or ghazals with Aziz khan Jaipuri and that is just the beginning of her globetrotting. Suffice it to say that she has experienced enough as well as learned enough to make an album of exciting music for a global audience. HUMAN is a mixture of World tracks,light jazz,Middle Eastern flavors and just a touch of pop. And it does. pop that is.

The title tune HUMAN started as a sultry tune with a touch of heat and an echoing chorus. The song speaks of urban desperation and the wayward teachings of fanatics. The chorus is a statement that no matter what we are human and we should have faith in possibility.

"We are all connected,one race human.
Human is the love, feeling in my heart.
Coming from above, love will make it start."

Two versions of the same song are remarkable. Romantic Fantasies and its instrumental version are gentle ballads dedicated to idle days when the rain cries your tears and the wind is a companion whispering in your ear. The one that your fantasies hold is hope. The instrumental version is even more melancholy than the vocal as Sarah uses soft piano for voice. these were both favorites.

A couple of songs that struck me as funky were Hojayegi Balle and Bolo Ta Ra Ra. Both these tunes must be filmis, the energized film music of Bollywood. They sounded like club groove with a Middle Eastern theme. I could not help tapping my toes to these.

Everyones idea of heaven is different and it should be. Sarah's tune called Heaven is a rhythmic number with dazzling electronics and sensuous wordless background vocals. Like a captured cobra, your body will sway and your senses will dance to the music. Perhaps for some heaven is in the dance.

Sarah Ingraham presents her skills aptly on HUMAN. you can travel the world with heras she captures in song the hearts and minds of many cultures. this album is a good example of east west fusion

Rating: Good + reviewed by RJ Lannan 5?30/2008
- RJ Lannan New Age Reporter

California based artist Sarah Ingraham's ltest CD, HUMAN is an eclectic blend of pop, Jazz and New Age. Sarah's insightful lyrics and sound seem to be influenced by a well traveled life.

Having studied her craft in both Japan and India, the songs on the dics clearly demonstarte a worldy vibe, while never losing sight of classic American pop sensibilities. This blend of cultures, life experiences and far reaching musical influences has converged to create an outstanding CD. If you like songs that have an intelleigent and international flavor while still remaining catchy and pop oriented, I encourage you to check out the music of Sarah Ingraham. If this is the new direction of New Age music, sign me up.

Rating: Good reviewed by Joseph A. Italiano 6/7/2008 - SKOPE Magazine HUMAN

Working with studio/keyboard wizard Rob Mullins, sultry singer/songwriter Sarah Ingraham's HUMAN sizzles, soars, struts and sashays from your speakers with an exotic mixture of world fusion, electronica, jazz and pop, featuring intelligent lyrics that manage to both enlighten and entertain without crossing over the line into preachy sermonizing. Whether pulsing with rhythmic energy on the opening title track, shuffling along on chillout beats, ethnic drums, and pulsing laser zapping synths on "Free at Last," ramping it up on the frenetic- to say the least- techno-paced "Hojayegi Balle" (Punjabi for "You'll Go Ga Ga"), or slowing down on the blend of torch-song sexiness with world beat spiciness of "Romantic Fantasies," Ingraham and Mullins whisk the listener away through a mixture of captivating melodies, catchy beats, and the artist's sensual vocals. Ingraham possesses a great voice and nows how to use it while producer/arranger/engineer Mullins pushes all the right buttons on the mixing board ( not to mention his musical expertise). While there is no mistaking the world music influences (notably East Indian and Middle Eastern), HUMAN should appeal to more than just those who enjoy traveling through their music, as the CD is always accessible if not dowright irresistable at times. Thumbs up from me! - Bill Binkelman New Age Reporter March 2008

8/10 stars

If Top 40 radio reflected the internet's global community instead of being centered around American pop culture(actually the hip hop community at this point) the music would sound something like that of Sarah Ingraham's.

Combining her European, Indian, Oriental, and especially Middle Eastern influences, Ingraham has brewed a style of dance music that both embraces the geographical regions outside the U.K./U.S. axis as well as the mainstream conventions that we're all familiar with. Some might say that Ingraham is selling out here, watering down world music for mass consumption. However, what is the purpose of music if it cannot be introduced to everyday people, convert the unenlightened?

Most of the listeners who will enjoy Middle Eastern-spice cuts like the title track and "In This World Together" have probably never heard of the late Ofra Haza, whose revolutionary blend of Egyptian and Western sounds broke all of the rules of club mixes during the 80"s. As wonderful as Haza was, she was a little too quirky for commercial radio, and the world was certainly smaller then in those pre-Internet days.

By singing in English, Ingraham certainly makes the songs more accessible, giving newcomers a friendly introduction to the exotic rhythms on her record. There are political messages contained in her lyrics, too, such as the war protests of "In This World Together" and the human rights violations in "Free at Last." None of it takes away from the bright colors and invigorating energy of the music.

author: Adam Harrington - Whisperin&Hollerin June 2007

There was a time when I couldn't stop requesting Ofra Haza on college radio. That was when there were no MP3's and I was too broke to afford her imported vinyls. Haza passed away a few years ago, and I will always have nostalgic memories of listening to her voice on the radio, that ethereal, angelic sound singing on a language I couldn't understand.

Sarah Ingraham reminds me of Haza. It helps that nearly half her album "HUMAN" has that cool Middle eastern vibe. On the title cut pulsating synthesizers create swirling textures around the Middle Eastern instrumentation, making the songs vaguely psychedelic.
"Feel Your Body" has the otherworldy vocal melodies that Haza did so well except that Ingraham is singing in a language I do understand.

Ingraham's talent isn't limited to Middle Eastern disco. "Bolo Ta Ra Ra" is good enough to be in a Bollywood picture and "Free at Last" utilzes a sultry R&B vocal with blissful Europop. Even the instrumentals that end the record are fresh and full of life.

Author:Kyrby Raine - Shotgun Reviews June 2007