Press

Date: November 2009
From:
Outword Magazine

Cloistered Serenity Inspires Sacha Sacket's New EP Hermitage
by Steven Le Vine

Sequestering himself in a California mountain cabin to flee an exhaustive touring schedule has had a profound effect on openly gay, California-based piano rocker Sacha Sacket.

"When you are on your own and haven't seen anyone for more than a week, strange things rise to the surface," Sacket told Outword. "In some cases, issues you didn't even know were there. You think about your life completely differently."

After releasing three full-length studio albums and a live record, and following hundreds of concerts at live performance venues and universities around the United States, Sacket sought the solitude that has helped him re-examine himself and his music.

Now, he has returned to reclaim his title as one of indie pop's most inventive singer-songwriters with his newest album Hermitage. "I had surrounded myself with people so I could avoid listening to myself," Sacket said. "Sometimes running away to some remote corner of the world is the only way to remember how to do that. Hermitage revolves around isolation and how that experience can transform you."

It was in that cabin that Hermitage was born, similar to records recorded in Los Angeles' Laurel Canyon neighborhood, a cloistered area of the Hollywood Hills where in the 1960s and 70s, many of Rock 'n' Roll's classic albums were birthed.

Sacket's previous album, the critically-acclaimed Lovers and Leaders, was hailed by American Songwriter as "a melodic song cycle coupled with extraordinary lyrical depth," and helped to reinforce Sacket's position within his league of contemporaries such as Coldplay, Keane and Rufus Wainwright, all of which, like Sacket, have placed pianos in the forefront of their music.

Based on Sacket's pure instrumental talent, Hermitage sonically captures his classical leanings, while interweaving electronic and modern rock elements around common human themes of self-betrayal, reflection, faith, hope and love.

On Hermitage, Sacket brings a cornucopia of instruments into the soundscape – including cello on the first single, "Running Away," as well as on "Used," which also features xylophone; accordion on the timeless, dreamlike love song, "You Could;" and rich lap steel guitar and rain-like drums on "Hold On and Hope." 

The limited edition of Hermitage will give fans a more visual experience of the album, with its unique packaging that includes an additional track, "The Sign Was Everywhere," along with extra photos, a personally signed note, and several items one could discover within the artist's mountain retreat.

Hermitage, a 5-song EP, will be released on Nov. 17. For more information, please visit Sacket's official Web site, www.SachaSacket.com.

All original material © 2007-2010 Sacha Sacket Source. All other material property of their respective owners.