Joel Sarakula

In the organizer's words:

Joel Sarakula is an Australian-British artist who writes, produces and sings soulful pop, looking at today's world through a vintage lens. His music is based on a rich 1970s-inspired musical and visual palette, drawing on soft rock, funk and disco influences and filtering them for our dark times without losing hope.

Sydney-born, London-based and internationally-minded Sarakula is a songwriter who has traveled the world in search of his muse, experiencing everything from being the victim of Caribbean carjackings to performing in remote fishing villages in Norway to dive bars in Europe and the US.

With his new single "Pacifico Waves", Joel Sarakula embarks on a picturesque trip along the Pacific coast in search of peace and the perfect sunset. Traveling is nothing new for Sarakula, it's his way of life. He was born and raised in Sydney, then moved to the UK and more recently to Gran Canaria: "I've been busy making my islands smaller," he jokes. But the music on "Pacifico Waves" sounds like none of these places: With its laid-back drum shuffle, soulful guitar hooks and gentle vocal harmonies, it's clearly reminiscent of Southern California. It's a portrait of the West Coast and could be a long-lost hit from an LA studio band of the early 80s. "Pacifico Waves" is about imagination and the powerful emotion of remembering, "The sound of the ocean brings me so high, it helps me remember what I left behind."