Sarah Blasko's sonic journey continues with sensuous synthesiser sojourn

Perhaps they'll ditch the drum kit and dive head first into electronica, or flick their heavy punk ferocity for easily digestable pop-rock.

Whether the change of gear works or falls flat, it's still a brave move - one that can alienate fans and alter a songwriter's fortunes forever.

But then there are songwriters in the echelon Sarah Blasko, who have turned their sonic evolution into an equisite and organic artform.

Fourteen years into her solo recording career Blasko, with her aching, instantly recognisable voice, has made creative exploration feel essential to her craft.

The Sydneysider's progression as an artist has been so gradual and immaculate that the breadth of territory covered is only apparent when you compare the '90s folk-pop leanings of her 2004 debut record The Overture & The Underscore, to her new release - a sensuous synth-laden journey called Eternal Return.

Blasko didn't think twice about choosing the warm, heady euphoria of analogue synthesisers as her latest muse, stepping away from the rich orchestral pop of the 2012 predecessor I Awake.

"You're just always hoping that people can come with you for the next part of the journey," Blasko says.

"I was aware that it could be something that takes a minute to get used to, but I don't see it as being worlds away from my other material, personally."

It's true that Eternal Return is no grand departure from the four lush records that lead to it.

Blasko's voice is unmistakable, ever fragile and arresting, and her penchant for classic, almost cinematic melodies is as apparent as ever.

The hooks on Eternal Return could land a shark.

They even caught the ear of Elton John, who name checked Blasko to an audience of millions during The Late Late Show segment Carpool Karaoke, alongside affable host James Corden. 

To kick-start the writing of Eternal Return, Blasko bunkered down for a writing session with long-time band mates Ben Fletcher and David Hunt.

This initial collaboration informed the direction of the project.

"There were a few friends where I thought, 'Okay, I want to try and write songs for the album with them', so I said 'Let's go away for a couple of days, I just want to work with these two people and a drum machine," Blasko explains.

"So the keyboards definitely influenced the songs a lot.

"We wrote so much in this five-day period that actually over half the record is from that time.

"That furious few days of writing set the tone.

"Then I went and did another bit of writing and recording with another friend [Nick Wales] and I played him the stuff that I'd done with Ben and Dave, to carry on the flavour, to a degree."

It was a return to collaboration that Blasko has purposefully avoided on recent releases.

"The last two albums I mostly wrote on my own," she says.

"Because I'd co-written the first two albums it felt important to feel like I could prove myself in that way.

"So then it felt time again to collaborate with other people.

"I knew them [Fletcher and Hunt] so well, I knew I'd be comfortable writing with them.

"I guess we didn't really know what would come out or if it would work.

"But it ended up working really easily."

What is apparent from the first listen of Eternal Return is the heights to which Blasko has pushed her voice.

It has always been an emotive instrument but on dreamy and rapturous tracks like Beyond and Luxurious, it bends to glacial falsetto.

"The falsetto elements on the record, they all happened pretty naturally," Blasko says.

"That's the biggest difference between this record [and others], that higher register.

"It seemed to really suit the melodic bass lines and the synths, like Blondie or the Bee Gees.

"I can think of lots of pop examples of falsetto.

"I was going to ditch that and change the key of everything, because I thought we wrote everything in keys that were a little bit too high.

"But then I realised that was what I really liked about it.

"There's something about the high voice... the delivery has to be very short and simple.

"I liked that about it, so I kept and went with it."

Blasko recorded with prolific Australian producer and former Gerling member Burke Reid.

Even though Eternal Return feels more playful and minimal than her previous records, echoing of '80s synth-pop acts, the songstress says the recording process was arduous.

"It was pretty gruelling but fun at the same time," she says.

"I was pregnant and Burke seemed to ignore this fact.

"He works really long hours in the studio, so we were working from 11 in the morning until three in the morning.

"We were all staying at the studio, it was a residential studio.

"It was like a band camp vibe.

"It was really fun but really intense at the same time.

"You know when you go away on a school camp in high school?

"You're exhausted but having fun at the same time.

"We were cooking together, dancing together and making music, staying in the same place.

"It was fun, but it was pretty exhausting."

Blasko is embarking on a national tour and the singer promises her live shows will be heavy on synthesisers, with previous hits reimagined with the analogue instruments.

"It's a pretty in-your-face sound because there's so many synths on stage," she explains.

"There's six keyboards, so it's a big sound, it's pretty strong.

"I think it will be about adapting some of the older stuff.

"The string parts from the last two albums will be very adaptable to synths or string synth sounds.

"That's what I've been planning for a while."

In fact, Blasko invested in a specific piece of equipment to make her vision for the tour a reality.

"I bought a special keyboard a little while ago, it's like a digital Mellotron," she says.

"A Mellotron's an old keyboard from the '60s.

"There's a new version of it and it's got this very recognisable string sound, and I bought this keyboard a couple of years ago knowing that with the next album I wanted a lot of synths.

"I was going to come to the challenge of trying to play the string parts [live].

"This is a good way of playing strings on the keyboard.

"I think it will be fun and pretty upbeat for the most part.

"It's a really great band, a great band of people.

"Half of them played on the record, and are such good players.

"I think it's going to be great."

Sarah Blasko plays Newcastle City Hall on Saturday, April 9 at 8pm.

Tickets available through Ticketek.