"Where Are You Really From?": Sarah Bernadette's New EP Exploring Mixed-Ness
Sarah Bernadette is a Singer/songwriter from NJ- her new EP passionately explores being mixed from her unique perspective and is a must-listen. We had the opportunity to hear from her thoughts on writing this EP and about her mixed identity, check it out below!
“For the most part, I spent my summer how many of us did this year: inside, alone with my thoughts. I spent more time with my thoughts this summer than I ever have allowed myself to in my entire life, which was often overwhelming, scary, saddening, stressful, maddening. This flood of emotions would often be released through tears and Bad Days, but every once in a while it would redirect itself into a rapidly flowing stream of creativity. I jumped on these rare chances to write music in hopes that, in doing so, I would be able to digest all the overwhelming feelings and thoughts circulating my head. Thus my new EP, in/process, was born.
The opening track of in/process is one that’s been a long, long time coming, but that I never was able to find the right words for. During quarantine, they finally came to me. It’s called “Where Are You Really From?” and you probably already have an idea what it’s about.
Any person of color, mixed race person, or slightly-racially-ambiguous person knows exactly what “Where are you really from?” means, likely from first-hand experience. It’s a coded way of saying, “Why are you not white?” or “Why are you different?” And although people may come to the defense of this phrase, saying that they’re just trying to get to know the person, I say: Why does it matter so much to you to know their racial or ethnic background? Will that somehow affect how you view them as a person?
In my song, I tell the stories of two separate incidents involving this sort of questioning. One is of a girl who, unprompted, asked me if I spoke Chinese, implying that all Asian people are Chinese and that we must all speak it. Why was she so confident in her (incorrect) assumption? Another is of a random cashier who asked where I was from in a way that was clearly getting at my racial background. Does this cashier really just “wanna get to know me” because he’s so interested in me as a person? Of course not. It’s just a way of gauging whiteness.
I truly hope that writing music about these experiences (of which I have had many) helps my listeners who have been in a similar situation to feel seen and heard. The song has just the right mixture of anger and sass; I’m really proud of how it came out. It’s also featuring a fellow mixed Asian artist, Jenni Rudolph, who I’m so happy was down to collaborate with me.
The other songs on in/process deal with other themes that can be difficult to grapple with, such as acceptance of loss, death, and mental health. I can’t wait for you all to hear it.”
Sarah Bernadette’s upcoming EP, in/process, is out now on all streaming platforms!
Insta: @sarah.bernadette
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