One of Brisbane's best underground alternative musicians, Sabrina Lawrie continues her journey with a new single, 'NOPIATES', that explores the sensitive topic surrounding addictions and raises awareness to seeking alternatives for positive outcomes.
"I was deeply affected by the news of another musical legend taking their own life due to the misuse of pharmaceutical drugs," Sabrina says, "and it hit very close to home for me.
"After my own battle with painkillers following a serious spinal injury and the journey to drug-free pain management, inspiration struck me instantly and I started writing 'NOPIATES' on piano when I still lived in the forest north of Brisbane."
With 'NOPIATES' to be released tomorrow (26 October), scenestr is stoked to be able to share an exclusive stream of the track today. Enjoy.
The song was produced, engineered and recorded by Sabrina and collaborator Ben Kerswell in her own studio, mixed by Konstantin Kersting (Tia Gostelow, The Belligerents) and mastered by Berlin engineer Cem Oral (Wu-Tang Clan, Gwen Stefani, NIN).
"The first lyrics that I wrote," adds Sabrina, "ended up forming the bridge of the song and set the whole tone of the piece: 'I was wasting my time getting wasted, I was wasting away / If I'd had paid less attention and played it out, I wouldn't be here today.'
"Once I got into the studio environment and started experimenting with synth sounds and programming drums, the song evolved quite quickly from the initial seed and the rest of the instrumentation and lyrics flowed on from there quite organically.
"In the end, the chorus really is the sunshine of the song with the hopeful reminder: 'Rain rain, wash away, a sunny day will come again, no need to be so hard upon yourself / Chip chip chip away don't worry 'bout what people say about you or 'bout anybody else.'"
