Sarah Su (stylised sarah su) is a Naarm(Melbourne) based singer-songwriter, artist and producer. Drawing from an eclectic musical upbringing from musical theatre to hip hop to jazz to game soundtracks, they share stories of their search for belonging and identity as a queer, 3rd-gen Hong Konger, living on stolen land. Their work leads listeners on a sonic journey from the familiar to the obscure; a 24-year-old’s mission to push the boundaries of independent pop.

 

Citing a wide range of influences, from Little Simz, to Alex Isley, to K-pop producer TAK, Su’s music uses intricate vocal arrangements, textural percussion, and lyrical poetry to tell the stories of their journey understanding their identity. In March 2023, they released ‘the soil in which my roots now grow’, a full-length genre-bender following their debut EP, ‘deep’ which was released in July 2020. The album’s lead track, ‘how to forget’ is a bouncy, percussive scene setter remembering adolescent relationships, while the album closer, ‘jinora’ features a luscious strings arrangement and syncopated acoustic guitars; a poetic confrontation of the collision of cultural expectations and gender nonconformity.

 

A truly independent record in all senses, ‘the soil in which my roots now grow’ runs at just over 40 minutes long, and is completely written, recorded and produced by Su, and mixed and mastered by fellow Obol Records labelmates and co-founders, Anthony Carr, Tilly Webb, and Jaime Sacchero. The album is released under Obol Records, a record label and artist community started by a handful of music students looking to carve out a space for electronic and experimental music in the Australian music scene.