Sarah White

Sarah White

Sarah White is a United States-based singer and songwriter from Warrenton, Virginia, who also appears in a separate soul and electronica context with Sarah White & The Pearls. She is associated with Jagjaguwar and later releases on Antenna Farm Records, and her work spans folk, alt-country, soul, electronica, hip-hop, electro-dub, and country material.

Early life and Charlottesville years

White is born in Warrenton and moves as a child to Monroe County, West Virginia. When she returns to Virginia, she becomes part of the Charlottesville music community and plays in several bands near the end of the 1990s, including White Trash Cookin', Pat Nixon, and Miracle Penny. At that time, Jagjaguwar is based in Charlottesville and releases her early solo work.

Solo releases

Her first solo album, All My Skies Are Blue, appears in 1997 as a collection of lo-fi four-track recordings made over a three-year period. In 2000 she releases Bluebird, a more melodic studio recording that draws favourable comparisons to artists such as Cat Power and Edith Frost. Later that year she issues the self-released Pickin' Strummin' And Singin'... The Versatile Sarah White, a set of early country standards and traditional songs.

Sarah White & The Pearls

After a quieter period, White returns in 2004 with Sarah White & The Pearls and the self-released EP You're It. This project emphasises melodic writing and uses more traditional folk and country song structures. In 2006 she completes the full-length album White Light with The Pearls, and it is released by Antenna Farm Records.

Collaborations and performance

White also performs with Sían Richards in the Acorn Sisters. In her soul and electronica work she is linked with producer DJ Don Cuco, whose arrangements combine indigenous sounds and synthesised instrumentation. That material includes the song “C Train”, where she moves between singing and emceeing and uses spoken, rhythmic vocal styles alongside melody.

Style and earlier projects

Her earlier work includes collaboration in the regional hip-hop group Traditional Methods, which she joins in 2002 as an emcee. In 2005 she starts Black Blondie with vocalist Samarha Linton; the group blends hip-hop, electro-dub, and soul and receives regional acclaim as well as a Minnesota Music Award nomination. White’s artistic background also includes theater, dance, spoken word poetry, and rapping from the age of 14.

Live appearances and related acts

She opens for artists including Jill Scott, J*Davey, K-Os, Camp Lo, Amy Winehouse, Fishbone, and The Roots, and performs at venues such as Smooch in Fort Greene, Solomon’s Porch in Bed-Stuy, The Delancey in Manhattan, and the Apollo in Harlem. She also appears at the 2007 Black Lily Festival in Philadelphia. In the soul/electronica material, her voice is described through its use of breathy phrases, deeper vocal lines, and a flexible movement between singing and rapping.