July 1-7, 2006

Publication title: TV Week, vol. -, Iss. -, pg. –
Place: Unknown
Writer: Darren Parman

Surfacing

Out of the spotlight in recent years while raising her family, Sarah McLachlan gets set to re-emerge in the music world with a long-awaited new album and concert tour.

She’s been mainting something of a low profile over the past few years, but Vancouver’s best-known pop diva is readying to re-emerge in the public eye. In fact, for Sarah Mclachlan, her time spent under the celebrity radar has largely meant chilling out in her West Vancouver home, where she’s been domesticating with husband (and long time drummer) Ashwin Sood and four-year-old daughter India. But with a new album in the works, domestic bliss will soon be replaced by promotional spots, TV apppearances and performing. “Things have been great on the domestic front,” says McLachlan. “Being a mom is great, and home life is great, but now I’m happy to say that I’m working on a new record.” She and Sood are relishing the chance to get back in the studio together for the first time in awhile. “We’re actually working on a new Christmas album and there’s been some long days in the studio, but we’re almost done,” she says. “It’a crunch time, but things aren’t quite as manic now as they used to be years ago. It’s been great to be able to take time off when I want to.” The luxury to call her own shots and work at her own pace has not come easily, and the perks of being a multi-platinum recording artist are the fruit born from years spent on the road.

McLachlan’s meteoric rise to the top started way back in 1988 when she was offered a contract from then-fledgling Nettwerk Records, which prompted a move from her native Halifax to Vancouver, the town she’s called home ever since. Her debut album, Touch, was an instant success, which quickly turned gold in Canada and attracted serious attention south of the border.
Her second album, which included the smash hits “Drawn to the Rhythm” and “Into the Fire,” took off in a big way and put McLachlan on the map across North America, but it wasn’t until 1993 that she made her real breakthrough internationally with the album Fumbling Towards Ecstasy. Since then, she’s sold 25 million albums worldwide, won several Junos and Grammys, and has even been awarded the Order of Canada. And although her concert tours have seen her crisscross the globe numerous times, she admits she can’t imagine living anywhere else.

“Everything is stunning about this part of the world,” she says. “You just have to open your eyes. Aside from the rain, which makes everything beautiful and lush, you just have to look up to marvel at the amazing mountains. It’s absolutely majestic and pristine here.”

And speaking as a mom, McLachlan says she’d never consider raising her daughter anywhere else: “It feels very safe here compared to a lot of other areas. I’ve been here 19 years and we are not going anywhere. I could live anywhere, but why leave the best spot in the world? I don’t really even get back to Halifax very much anymore. I’m happy to spend my time right here – I’m a lifer now!”
Aside from her music and her family, McLachlan remains passionate about devoting her time to worthy causes, especially those close to home, including a local outreach program that provides musical education to inner-city children. At a recent Vancouver General Hospital cancer benefit concert organized by friend and fellow British Columbian Diana Krall, she helped raise $2.4 million when she appeared as a surprise unbilled guest, receiving a standing ovation from the audience at the $5,000-a-plate affair.

McLachlan has also been devoting her attention to shining the spotlight on the plight of African children living through teh bloody civil war in Uganda, and she spoke passionately about the subject during a recent appearance to promote the Vancouver premiere of Uganda Rising, a locally produced film about the enormity of this tragedy. “I think there’s a huge lack of knowledge in Vancouver when it comes to the horrible situation in Uganda,” she says. “I’m trying to get more educated on the issue myself. Some of the images of Uganda are absolutely haunting. The war there has been going on for 20 years and not much is being done to help. It seems like celebrities have to get involved because governments aren’t interested if there’s no money to be made. It’s an atrocity! Vancouver is the type of city that will rally behind a cause like this, and hopefully we can raise awareness. I’ll come to more events like this if it will help.”

Anyone familiar with McLachlan’s career will recognize this kind of activism is nothing new, as evidenced by her participation in NBC’s tsunami relief telethon and the worldwide Live 8 concert for African famine relief. Her best-known charity efforts, however, evolved from the inception of her Lilith Fair tour, the addition to being one of the higest-grossing concert tours of the ’90s, Lilith Fair managed to raise more than $7 million for an array of charities.

And while the gruelling pace of constant touring is now behind her, McLachlan admits she has no intention of calling it quits by any means – it’s simply a matter of shifting priorities. “I’m very, very busy raising my four-year-old, and that’s a full time job,” she says. “She’s now in pre-school, by the way. Other than that, I’m just really focusing on getting this new record out in time for Christmas. It’s going to be a lot of work, but I’m crossing my fingers. I’ll probably do some travelling in the U.S. around their Thanksgiving holiday, to promote the new album, but I think it’s safe to say there won’t be any more big Lilith Fair-type tours in the near future. Family comes first.”