We are currently living in a digital age when it comes to music. A majority of music fans are downloading their favorite singles right to their phone or are streaming albums via service like Spotify. With such a shift in how music is consumed are the days of listening to an entire record track-by-track gone? Musicians like Sarah McQuaid want to stress the importance of appreciating albums as a whole. She is presenting that argument in a very unique way.

During on her current tour McQuaid will be playing her fourth studio album, Walking Into White track-by-track, in full for the audience to experience. “Most of my shows are normally two 45 minute sets. I’ve been playing the new album live track-by-track. I like the way that this album flows. The way one track goes onto the next and it fits really nicely as a whole,” explained McQuaid.

Audiences have been enjoying this type of interactive show and through this avenue McQuaid is able to present a complete piece of music. “I think this trend might be more popular, I’ve read about a number of bands who have been doing the same thing," said McQuaid. "When you are an artist you really put your heart and soul into making an album and you spend ages thinking about the tracks. Taking care of the way one track goes to the next and setting the levels. It all matters.”

Chelsea Lewis from TheCelebrityCafe.com was able to speak with Sarah McQuaid. We discussed her latest tour, her musical influences and what her plans are for the upcoming future. The entire interview is below.

C: Thank you for taking the time to speak with us! For fans that are new to your music, how would you describe it to them?

S: Both my style and my background are widely eclectic. I have a unique background my dad was from Spain but I grew up in America. I also lived in Ireland, which is where my husband is from.
My first album When Two Lovers Met was recorded when I still lived in Ireland and was influenced heavily by Irish folk and traditional music. So that first album was mostly Irish and it had one original song on it.

My second album was recorded after I left England and moved into my mother’s house. She had just passed away, that album features many influences from her. It includes a lot of influences that she was fond of and everything in-between.

For my third album, I met up with a woman named Zoey, She had just recorded an album under that name and, she was completely different musically compared to myself. She was more from the pop music side of things and she had many pop singles. She and I started writing songs together. I guess it was working with Zoey and writing songs with her that made me real start to focus on song writing and focus on that more. My third album is mostly my own songs and it does feature a more medieval style. That leads me to this latest album that was recorded in New York. Walking Into White features all original songs and is a bit more contemporary.

C: Do you feel that it is a different experience playing Walking Into White live track by track?

S: Most of my shows are normally two 45 minute sets. I’ve been playing the new album live track-by-track. I like the way that this album flows. The way one track goes onto the next and it fits really nicely as a whole. When people download albums, it tends to go right into their phones or iPods, it might never get fully listened too. It’s never listening to a complete album in order. The second half of my show is more free form. Second half of the show I get a lot more audience participation and interaction. My tour just started and I completed two and a half week, five weeks left.

C: Do you think playing albums live and in full at concerts is a trend that will become more popular?

S: I think this trend might be more popular, I’ve read about a number of bands who have been doing the same thing. When you are an artist you really put your heart and soul into making an album and you spend ages thinking about the tracks. Taking care of the way one track goes to the next and setting the levels. It all matters. On an album, the distance between tracks is determined by the mastering engineering, there can be down time between tracks and you can even blend tracks together. All of this matters.

C: How has your current tour been going?

S: It’s really heartening to see the reaction and I’ve been humbled and delighted about the reaction I’ve been getting. Standing ovations, when the show isn’t finished. That is really lovely, and I love traveling and seeing a lot of the places that I go too. Coast to coast, we are covering the whole United States, well at least a big part of the country.

Another nice thing about this tour is I have been starting to get and work on new song ideas. What happened with the last album was that it was a productive and good process. I had really intensive tour schedule over the past two years leading up to the album and I booked the studio time without even having a full idea. I just had jotted down bits of lyrics and rifts and voice memos. If I didn’t have voice memos I would be lost. Once I actually scheduled the recording I sat down with the ideas and sifted through them. I developed a bunch of them into songs and I was able to pick and chose and see which songs worked together as an album.

I’ve never worked that way before and it turned out to be a very good way of working.

C: What are your plans for the future?

S: I’ve had a bunch of song ideas since the start of the tour and being on the road really sparks the creative process. I haven’t been finishing songs and just writing down bits of lyrics and melody and when the time comes hopefully I will have the same amount of raw material.