Insight Interview: Stefan Baranowski on ‘Saorsa’

On Monday, Insight Music will release ‘Saorsa’, an epic compilation album featuring exclusive tracks by Vacant, Enzalla, Phelian, Soular Order, Cobalt Rabbit and many more.

In celebration of this landmark release, we caught up with our founding member Stefan Baranowski to talk about the album and what’s on the horizon for Insight Music. Check out our exclusive interview here…

Hi Stefan! How’s it going? What have you been up to recently?

I’m doing really well thank you! Recently I’ve been keeping myself busy, finding the right balance between work life and life at Insight, but also cherishing those moments where I get to sit back and really enjoy the music.

When did you start thinking about creating this compilation?

I believe the project started back in February/March of this year. I hadn’t contacted any of the artists at that stage but the idea of revolving the compilation album around my first visit to Scotland was the plan. My family and I visited the highlands in Scotland – and I instantly fell in love with the place. I was lost, but the feeling was beautiful. We had some new camera equipment as well as a trusty old Canon film camera. It was our goal to capture some footage for this compilation album in particular.

Tell us about the name ‘Saorsa’.

The title ‘Saorsa’ is one I’d never heard before. It’s Scottish Gaelic for ‘Freedom’, something that I found extremely fitting for the album. All the photographs and design work were produced by me and my partner.

Were you trying to capture a particular sound with this collection, or did it develop organically?

Instead of setting a genre or direction for the artists to follow, I allowed them to choose their own paths. I wanted the artists involved to produce music that defined them as artists, their original sound amongst other artists who have all been big parts in the life of Insight.

Tell us about the artists involved – do you feel that they represent Insight?

I’m extremely lucky to know these guys and am massively grateful to every artist who contributed towards the album. I’d love to showcase the talent of all those who are part of the Insight family, but sadly there are aspects of releasing physical music which means we can’t include the entire Insight family.

Can you describe this album and what it means for you?

The album certainly means a lot to me. Every Insight release is extremely valuable and is on our label for a reason, but I feel we showcase the talent of the Insight family so well on our compilation albums. The fact that we have 14 unreleased tracks from 15 artists is truly remarkable; we then have the iconic Vacant himself taking time out to master the album. It’s been an absolute pleasure, everything from planning the release to unveiling the final product, it’s a huge goal completed for the year.

Will the album be released physically?

We have the album being released on CD and cassette as well as digital. I love cassette dearly and for the CD we’ve gone for a great looking CD design with an 8-page booklet featuring photographs taken from our Scotland adventure. We also chose to use recycled card stock for the packaging to relate the CD to nature as much as possible.

Anything else on the horizon you’d like to tell us about?

We’re looking to set up a live YouTube stream in the near future, which I’m very excited about!

And finally – would you like to say anything to the artists involved, or fans of Insight, about the compilation album?

The music has been a blessing and the artists I owe dearly. Our fans and following inspire me to push forward and continue to do what I love. Thank you.