Sarife bares her soul on intimate debut ‘Ghosts From The Past’
Hamburg-based singer-songwriter Sarife proudly presents her debut album Ghosts from the Past, transforming past experiences and memories — her “ghosts” — into music: gentle, honest, and deeply human. For the nights when you cannot escape yourself, Sarife becomes a safe place. Filled with radical honesty and emotional depth.
Ghosts From The Past captures the perfect fusion of dreamy neo-soul, warm R&B textures, and subtle jazz influences. Its soft lo-fi and vintage aesthetic — shaped by producers Laura Hofer and Dennis Rux of Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Studios — guides listeners through Sarife’s memories, thoughts, and dreams. With this album Sarife turns her gaze toward her own shadows, with an intimate confrontation of the experiences that have profoundly shaped her: the loss of a loved one, grief, desire, self-discovery — and above all, the slow and painfully honest journey back to herself. Nothing is filtered. Every feeling is given its own voice, its own sound.
Sarife reminds us that the first step on the rocky road of healing is radical acceptance — of who you were, who you wanted to be, and who you are. That both grief and hope are necessary to find your way back to yourself. A restless path that is never linear. A path where vulnerability becomes strength — and heals. Her own musical journey also led her, through several detours, back to where she had always belonged. From 2012 to 2015, her first path took her through formal musical theatre training. In the years that followed, she gained her first professional experience, including performances on international stages. In 2019, she was a finalist at the World Championship of Performing Arts (WCOPA) in Los Angeles in the Musical category.
During the pandemic, the voices of her childhood idols — Aretha Franklin, Alicia Keys, Joss Stone, and Whitney Houston — reminded Sarife that she had always wanted to write her own music and move more toward soul and jazz. She found her Yellow Brick Road called neo-soul. Inspired by Yebba, Cleo Sol, Robert Glasper, and H.E.R., Sarife released her first single “Careful” in 2020 — fully independent, without a label, entirely DIY. This was followed by the EP Relations and several singles such as “Music” and “Turn Back Time”.
In the following years, Sarife established herself within Hamburg’s music scene. In 2023, she joined the Hamburg soul collective Angels of Libra, first as a backing vocalist and a year later as lead singer. On March 1, 2024, they released the single “Baby When You Hold Me” together. At the same time, Sarife began working on her debut album. It was created partly in a small home studio and partly at Yeah! Yeah! Yeah! Studios with the great support of owner and producer Dennis Rux. Without a large budget, but with even greater passion. Several tracks are enriched by outstanding guest musicians (Joél Davíd, Angels of Libra, Jonny Wenk, and many more), who recorded their parts partly remotely from home.
Ghosts from the Past is the result of three years of intense work, into which Sarife poured everything that has shaped her — her experiences, her Spanish-German roots, and her idols.The album will be celebrated with a release concert at Birdland Hamburg on June 12, 2026.
‘Ghosts From The Past’ on LP / CD / digi on June 5th 2026 via Waterfall Records
