Seductive, strong and sassy… those are just three words to describe charismatic UK singer/songwriter Sarah McGuinness; a woman on a musical mission to thrill. With glamour as her weapon and the lyrical pen as her sword, this steely woman of mystery pulls on the mantle of her melodic alter-ego and steps into the limelight with her debut album ‘Unbroken’; set to be released November 17.
Sarah McGuinness is set to release her debut album
Fusing vision with sound, each track on the album will be accompanied with its own mini movie. The creative strength of Sarah McGuinness demonstrates that she’s been through the traumas of life, yet, like the strongest of women, she remains ‘Unbroken’.
By day she’s best known as Sarah Townsend; the internationally renowned movie director, producer and screenwriter for both television and the big screen, whose most notable work includes Emmy-nominated documentary Believe and multi award-winning Noma: Forgiving Apartheid.
By night the music takes over and her alter-ego, Sarah McGuinness leaps into action like The Avengers’ Emma Peel. Immersing herself in the glamour and intrigue of the 50s and 60s silver screen, Sarah slips on her stilettos, slicks on the eyeliner and morphs into her singer/songwriter role. Flipping herself inside out and confidently displaying a previously unseen inner core, Sarah plucks at snapshots of her real life and delivers them melodically with all the strength and glamour of a 1950s movie goddess.
With her debut album ‘Unbroken’ right around the corner, we asked Sarah to share her Top 5 ‘Unbroken’ Things:
1. The first pair of designer stilettos I ever bought – A huge deal to get them! They’re YSL black Cuban-angled heels, utterly gorgeous and in spite of everything they’re still going strong, defying the laws of gravity and making me feel powerful, feminine and elegant every time I don them.
2. My friendship with Noma Dumezweni – The most unlikely thing to have sprung from that audition for the Edinburgh Festival 22 years ago, and yet in spite of periods apart, our different rollercoaster trajectories and our apparent differences, we pick up seamlessly and talk about real things without apology or preamble whenever we see each other… A rare and precious thing indeed.
3. A pair of Victorian amethyst drop earrings – My parents gave me them on my birthday before I left home. One cracked when I dropped it and as a student, it was such an outlay I kept it in a little bag in my jewellery box forever after. On the odd occasion I do open it however; I find myself instantly transported straight back to that time… They’re like a little wormhole back into the subconscious of the person I was then: nervous, ambitious and naïve.
4. Chanel 19 – The fragrance that never quite leaves you… It was the first perfume I ever bought from duty free on a trip to forget my first love. I had no idea if I’d even like it, then I developed a love for it that remains to this day; it’s almost but not quite floral, evanescent, like memories lingering on a warm breeze, the smell of freedom and joy.
5. My resolve – I think this simply comes from being a woman. You’ll see from my new album that I love the gorgeousness of glamour, but never be fooled into thinking that glamour equates to weakness. I believe that women have a will of steel, if we put our mind to something we can achieve anything. So behind these long lashes and sky-high stilettos, there’s a resolve to achieve my dreams that will always remain unbroken.
-
The debut album ‘Unbroken’ from Sarah McGuinness is released on November 17 on Right Track Music through Universal.