Guest Blog from Bea Benn: Sarah Smout

Combining music and environmental activism, Sarah Smout’s work perfectly evokes the feeling of being immersed in nature. Using both cello and vocals within her songs, and often incorporating spoken word poetry, Sarah Smout certainly speaks to a new generation of environmental thinkers. Her music is often accompanied by her gorgeous music videos, including Atlas and Rooted, which audiences had the treat of seeing on the big screen at Skipton’s Plaza Cinema at the Rural Film Showcase.

Sarah’s music has been showcased on a variety of reputable radio stations and she has performed at folk festivals across the globe. In addition to this, Sarah’s music has also been powerfully incorporated in international environmental campaigns, including Greenpeace, demonstrating the potency of combining art and global issues in contemporary society. Alongside the universal themes that embody Sarah’s work, her personal experiences are acutely felt throughout. More recently, Sarah’s journey to Iceland significantly shaped her creative output, being the basis of her 2023 tour, Eyjar.

Evocative, timely and deeply rooted in nature, the music videos accompanying Sarah’s work are no anomaly to her prioritised themes. The sweeping visuals of Atlas and imagery of the natural world in Rooted, perfectly embody the tone and ideas of each song, ensuring that Sarah’s environmental angle is never overlooked. Even her latest video created using AI software, At Sea, still retains the organic, raw feeling that comes from experiencing a piece of Sarah Smout’s music.