Formula Indie Sessions – Interview with Sarah Coponat

What is your earliest memory connected to music?

I remember creating a little dance show with my cousins and my mom when I was maybe three or four. We spent the whole summer dancing to Enya. I remember feeling like a little witch, blasting this incredibly powerful and emotional music. Now, whenever I hear Enya, it almost feels like being transported back into an old dream.

How did your passion for creating music begin?

As long as I can remember, I’ve been passionate about creating. Whether it was dancing, composing, singing, drawing, writing poems…my whole world has always been made of imaginary stories, sparkles.. and dreams.

I was always creating little universes in my head. And, of course, I was convinced I would become Elton John one day. Haha.

What’s the story behind your current music project?

My new album, Lost Rhapsodies, is built around my favorite kind of piano to play. Romantic and tormented.

There is light and darkness, crystal clear melodies and deep bass echoing. I love playing with textures and colors, and with the space between sounds.  The piano can whisper, scream, disappear, and come back… like a storm!

How would you describe your sound to someone who has never heard your music before?

That’s always a difficult question because I feel like everyone’s perception of music is intrinsically personal, almost intimate. I’ve never really believed in putting music into categories.

But I would say that piano is at the center of almost everything I create. It’s emotional, intense, neo-romantic, sometimes tormented. And when I bring in vocals, kazoo, or synths, it can become something more like an ethereal, cinematic journey.

I try to keep emotion always at the center.

What is one thing you’ve learned that completely changed the way you make music?

Everyone has their own voice and their own story, and both deserve to be heard.

Your art is your freedom. Never let anyone make you feel like you’re not enough or that you don’t deserve to be heard.

Your voice matters. Your art matters.

Realizing that has made me want to be truer to myself every day; to create more freely and be unapologetically myself .

What tools, instruments, or software are essential in your creative process?

I’d bring my piano, a huge bass, and a massive reverb to a desert island.

I think that would be enough.

Which indie artist or song are you loving right now?

At the moment, I’m having the best time getting lost in Sigur Rós’s landscapes.

And I also have a huge crush on Somber. His music makes me really emotional.

How have your personal experiences influenced your music and artistic vision?

In every way possible.

I feel like we’re all made up of the stories we experience… the flowers we smell, the people we meet, the places we go, the things we lose and the things we fall in love with.

Everything influences me. A sound echoing in the wind. A smile from a stranger. Love. Pain. A movie. An image. A particular color or light.

And oh yes, dancers.

I’m endlessly inspired by movement and by the way dancers can tell an entire story without saying a word, I feel like dancing is almost like shaping silence and space .

What emotions or messages do you hope listeners take from your work?

I hope my music makes them feel.

That’s really it.

I don’t necessarily need them to feel a particular emotion or understand exactly what I meant. I want the music to open a door and let them experience something of their own.

What’s the most important lesson music has taught you so far?

Perfection was never the goal.

Emotion, discovering who you are, and being true to yourself, that’s what matters.

What is a dream venue or festival you would love to perform at?

I’d love to play at the Paris Opéra Garnier.

It’s such a masterpiece. Just being inside that space would be incredibly inspiring. I think about all the stories those walls have witnessed, all the artists who have stood there, all the people who have been moved inside that building.

I’d love to create a concert there that feels like another world.

If you could collaborate with any artist, past or present, who would it be and why?

There are so many.

I’d love to collaborate with Estas Tonne. His freedom really inspires me. There’s something about the way he plays that makes me want to become more fearless and more free in my own music.

Where can our listeners follow and support your music?

I do live improvisation sessions on Twitch, where I’ve found a really beautiful community.

I’m also on Spotify, YouTube, Patreon… I’m pretty much everywhere!

Looking toward the future, what’s your dream for the next chapter of your musical journey?

My dream is to tour the world and move people. I think that’s something very special.

I want my concerts to feel like magical, cinematic, emotional journeys, something people experience.

I also want to work with more artists who inspire me. I love the magical synergy that happens when two worlds meet. Sometimes something appears between two people that neither of them would have created alone. That feels like magic and love to me.

I’d also love to score more films. I’m passionate about it I love when different artistic worlds meet.

And I definitely want to work more with dancers.

What do you hope listeners will discover about you along the way?

I hope they see that I’m my most authentic self when I’m on stage, playing music.

That’s where I feel like I finally belong.