We love when we come across people who are truly creating something unique and different with their music and our latest Hi-Fives feature Sarah Lipstate is one of those people. Operating under the moniker Noveller, Sarah creates incredibly lush ambient pieces via one guitar and a pedalboard. The originality of her sound has opened the doors to opening slots for St. Vincent and Iggy Pop among others as well as collaborating with like-minded sonic craftsman like Lee Ronaldo.
Give it a quick read to get Sarah's take on everything from performing at the Royal Albert Hall to the delicacy of Reindeer meat.
Top five current favorite pedals:
- EHX Superego has changed my life. I wish I'd bought this pedal years ago. Thanks, TVL.
- Spruce Effects Salt Water Fuzz is so awesome that it's the ONLY fuzz/distortion pedal in my current setup.
- Red Panda Lab Particle is my secret weapon.
- Earthquaker Devices Avalanche Run is versatile AF.
- Chase Bliss Audio Tonal Recall warms up my tone and is full of surprises.
Top five venue experiences:
- Royal Albert Hall in London opening for Iggy Pop. No explanation needed! When I walked out on stage I could barely catch my breath.
- Tempodrom in Berlin is an architectural wonder. One of my favorite venue exteriors.
- The Cloisters in NYC. I played outdoors overlooking the medieval garden for the New York Guitar Festival.
- The New York Public Library Main Reading Room. I was playing in Ben Frost's guitar ensemble in this incredible space. Didn't hurt that Brian Eno introduced the performance. Magical.
- Silo City in Buffalo, NY. The natural resonance inside this concrete silo was incredible. I almost felt that I could have performed without my pedalboard!
Top five worst jobs you’ve held
- Cleaning rental brass band instruments. I had the pleasure of scrubbing used trumpets and trombones in a shack behind a music store as my first summer job. One time I dipped a coronet into a vat of acid solution and a cockroach floated out.
- Assistant Dog Euthanizer. My younger sister is a veterinarian and she recently began a mobile vet practice. Her second-ever house call was to euthanize a large elderly lab who was paralyzed from the waist down. She needed help moving the dog so I donned scrubs and become her assistant angel of death.
- Slinging Headphones and Record Players to European Tourists. I worked retail on Bedford Ave. in Williamsburg for a summer when things were slow in the music business.
- Digitizing the Bible. My 2nd job after I moved to NYC was working for a digital content startup. I was hired before the holiday season and my first task was ripping DVDs of different versions of the Bible being read aloud.
- Record store clerk. This would typically be an awesome job but unfortunately I ended up working for a creep who got busted for selling bootlegs. I think we also sold knives at one point. Only in Louisiana, folks.
Top five things to spend five bucks on:
- A really great cappuccino
- Pack of guitar strings
- Another cappuccino
- Topo Chico
- Hot Sauce
Top five things that confuse you:
- Maps. I get lost everywhere I go. I think it's a form of geographical dyslexia.
- Sports. They don't make any sense
- Conservative Politics. They don't make any sense
- Cats. How can love and indifference coexist so seamlessly in one tiny being?
- Boys. See above.
Top five vocalists you could picture working with
- Laurie Anderson
- Laurie Anderson
- Laurie Anderson
- Laurie Anderson
- Laurie Anderson
Top five things about living in a city with winter
- Winter is lame
- Snow sucks
- Snow boots are the worst
- Which block of ice is my car?
- I hate winter
Top five foods to avoid
- Reindeer. I ate canned reindeer meatballs while staying with my friend in Norway years ago. Let's just leave reindeer alone, ok?
- Cilantro. It tastes like stink bugs. At least, what I imagine stink bugs taste like.
- Octopus. No. Just no.
- Pork. Pigs are smart and adorable. Don't eat them.
5. Alligator. This is a big one in Louisiana. Does fishy chicken appeal to anyone?
Top five films:
- Woman in the Dunes by Hiroshi Teshigahara
- Down by Law by Jim Jarmusch
- Picnic at Hanging Rock by Peter Weir
- Persona by Ingmar Bergman
- Eraserhead by David Lynch
