Born in New Zealand, Sarah Mary Chadwick moved to Melbourne in 2007 with previous band Batrider and has become a fixture in the city's thriving music scene ever since. Performing as a solo artist since 2012,  she is known for her candid, raw vocals - her 2019 live album 'The Queen Who Stole The Sky' was described by The Guardian as 'terrifyingly loud and heartbreakingly vulnerable, often grotesque in its sadness'.

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In 'A Love Letter to', Hook asks musicians to pay tribute to someone who has inspired or impacted their work. Sarah chose her friend, and much-missed Melbourne musician Karl Von Bamberger.

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Karl's world was smutty but beautiful, a kind of cracked hysterical crystal running through the night and rolling around in the dark. Karl has influenced my work arguably more than anyone. Usually I hang an album on a face, and then when its done, so is my infatuation. I work through their image and my pretend love for them. Maybe because Karl died, his hand still touches much of the work I do.
 

Karl only liked my songs when he was in them. Once I was playing a show at a magic shop and I heard him arrive late while I was playing,  loudly announce that he was on the door list, then dance around with his friend just out of my vision, to songs he knew were about him.  I think he may have even left that night without saying hello to me.

Karl made life big, grandiose and a spectacle. In that way he influenced me. In that way he spoke to me. In that way he was me and I was him and he is alive and I am dead.

Karl was a wonder like everyone is. And I touched him with my hands. I liked our filthy interaction. I wish we could have done it more, so now he's gone I play it out.

I don't want to spill my memories - as Chekov knows, when you speak of precious things, the magic is lost. I can't give enough time to memory, it overshadows everything, beat by beat.  Surprising things fill your life. Surprising people mean it all.

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- Sarah Mary Chadwick