Soft Focus, by Joel Sarakula

Soft Focus

by Joel Sarakula

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
full album on black vinyl with printed inner sleeve and lyrics

Includes unlimited streaming of Soft Focus via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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€19 EUR or more
Record/Vinyl + Digital Album
collector's item - test pressing of full album

Includes unlimited streaming of Soft Focus via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

ships out within 4 days

3 remaining

Purchasable with gift card

€23 EUR or more
Streaming + Download

Includes unlimited streaming via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.

Purchasable with gift card

Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

€10 EUR or more
CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album
full album in plastic free digisleeve with lyric booklet

Includes unlimited streaming of Soft Focus via the free Bandcamp app, plus high-quality download in MP3, FLAC and more.
Download available in 16-bit/44.1kHz.

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1.	Confident Man 03:33	buy track
2.	Bitcoin Bro 03:23	buy track
3.	I'll Get By Without You 03:44	buy track
4.	Authenticity 03:16	buy track
5.	King Of Spain 03:14	buy track
6.	Back For Your Love 03:59	buy track
7.	Loved Up 03:16	buy track
8.	The Matinee 02:59	buy track
9.	Midnight Movie 03:10	buy track
10.	Telephone Calls 03:36	buy track
11.	Bird Of Paradise 03:47	buy track
12.	Microdosing 04:07	buy track

about

Joel Sarakula's new album “Soft Focus” is a mid-career album spanning his many influences and genres including Soft-Rock, Funk and Indie Pop, all brought under the umbrella of his gentle gaze and a 'soft' aesthetic. “Soft Focus” is also the name of a photographic technique born out of a spherical abberation of the lens where the image is a bit blurry and undefined: it's both flattering and forgiving on the subject. It's an apt title. As a lifetime wearer of (vintage) glasses, Sarakula knows a lot about spherical abberations. Perhaps he produced these songs with his glasses off as these are abstract and warm vignettes, never overstaying their welcome and for this reason Sarakula manages to feature twelve new tracks on “Soft Focus”.

Highlights include one of the two Shawn Lee produced tracks “I'll Get By Without You” and “Telephone Calls”, the rockier, iberic beat of “King Of Spain”, the soulful affirmation of “Back For Your Love” and the psychedelic-tinged “Bird Of Paradise” and “Microdosing”. This is a lovingly crafted album, well polished and it feels like the culmination of Sarakula's adventures in soulful soft-rock and his defining statement in the genre. While comparisons will be made with contemporary projects like Shawn Lee's Young Gun Silver Fox, Drugdealer, Benny Sings and Prep, echoes of soft-rock icons Ned Doheny, Boz Scaggs, Todd Rundgren and Michael Franks also ripple gently through the album.

Biography

Imagine if Ray Manzarek was the frontman for the Bee Gees... It’s a neat visual introduction to Joel Sarakula, a UK-based Australian artist who writes, produces and sings Soulful Pop, gazing out at a contemporary world through vintage glasses, vintage threads and long blond hair. His music is informed by a rich, 1970s-inspired palette, drawing on soft-rock, funk and disco influences: sunny, uptempo jams for darker times. Self-aware that he looks and occasionally sounds like the love child of Ray Manzarek and the Gibb brothers, his self-deprecating sense of humour is always there just below the fringe.

Born in Sydney, based in UK and international in outlook Sarakula is a songwriter who has travelled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being a victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in the remote fishing villages of Norway before finally establishing his career in the UK and Europe. Since then he has released albums such as “Island Time” (2023), “Companionship” (2020), “Love Club” (2018) and “The Imposter” (2015) that have racked up plays on rotation across national UK and European radio and got him noticed in The New York Times, The Independent (UK), The Irish Times, Rolling Stone Germany, El Pais (Spain) and Sydney Morning Herald. It’s- been a long road finding his current cult status starting out at the piano from a young age in suburban Sydney, writing and singing songs by the time he was a teenager and onstage by fifteen years old playing jazz standards in his local golf club. “I came from humble beginnings, it’s best not to mention” as he sings in his 70s boogie influenced song “I’m Still Winning”. Joel Sarakula is a fixture on the festival and club circuit having previously performed at SXSW, Primavera Sound and Glastonbury festivals. Ever the internationalist, he tours with pickup bands sourced from each territory he plays in: a Barcelona band for Spain, a Berlin band for Germany and so forth. This cross-cultural exchange is another echo of the 1970s when world travelling soul and pop artists from the US did the same and guarantees that his live shows remain fresh, exciting and absolutely contemporary.

credits

released November 8, 2024

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about

Joel Sarakula London, UK

Joel Sarakula is an AUS/UK artist who writes, produces and sings Soulful Pop, gazing out at a contemporary world through vintage glasses. His music is informed by a rich, 1970s-inspired musical and visual palette, drawing on Soft-Rock, Funk and Disco influences, filtering them for our darker times while still remaining hopeful.

He was born in Sydney, based in London and international in outlook. ... more

shows

Dec 3

Live/Evil

Munich, Germany
Dec 5

B72

Vienna, Austria
Feb 26

Teatro Magno

Madrid, Spain
Feb 27

Sala Tocata

Lleida, Spain
Feb 28

Rock & Blues Café

Zaragoza, Spain
May 12

Cluny 2

Newcastle Upon Tyne, UK
May 15

Voodoo Rooms

Edinburgh, UK

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Soft Focus

by Joel Sarakula

LP Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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LP test pressing Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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CD Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

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Record/Vinyl + Digital Album

€23 EUR or more

Streaming + Download

€10 EUR or more

CD
Compact Disc (CD) + Digital Album