About
sarah & Michael
Releases
4 Track EP Out 01/11/2024
4 track EP Out 06/02/2025
TAlk About Album - Out 17/10/2025
the missions we
Talk About
Central African Republic
Bangui
Sarah : I spent six months in Bangui between 2017 and 2018, soon after the third civil war. Each day followed the same strict path: from the house to the car, from the car to the hospital—always behind high walls. They called it protection. On the other side, we heard bullets crackling through the air. Every sound felt like a threat. Every face seemed marked by fear or exhaustion. There was despair in every glance. The river became my only anchor. I felt a sense of freedom only when the horizon came into view. This track includes original recordings from the MSF security radio room. Every vehicle movement— arrivals at the hospital, passing checkpoints—we had to report back, confirming all was safe.
The song’s intro reflects this atmosphere: despair like a shadow, fear likean arrow. It speaks to resilience in the face of constant uncertainty and violence. When my colleagues shared their stories of being displaced within Bangui, they spoke of the impossibility of planning ahead. Some were no longer building a permanent house or raised livestock—there was no point if they might have to flee again.
Bangui felt like a ticking time bomb. Life moved under the shadow of what could come next. And yet, people found ways to endure, to resist despair, and to hold on to moments of hope.
6 MONTHs
Uganda
This was the second mission for me. Bidibidi is a South Sudanese Refugee Settlement in Northern Uganda, which at the time hosted about 280,000 refugees. For 3 months I worked on a research project on cholera prevention. In the midst of breathtaking nature, I saw for the first time what a real humanitarian emergency looks like.
But what I was most impressed by was the resilience of the South Sudanese refugees. How they managed to transform a refugee camp into a living city that above all allows a life in dignity after escaping a brutal civil war in South Sudan – this is Bidibidi.
The track includes field recordings of birds that were such a strong memory of my stay in Bidibidi.
South sudan
Juba
One day when I was working in Juba I woke up with the memory of a powerful dream. Immediately, I recorded the dream before forgetting it. A dream reflecting the daily reality of life in Juba… Some months ago I gave the recording to Michael, who immediately spend several nights turning this dream into musical reality.
3 MONTHs and 16 MONTHs
Iraq
Michael : With this track, I wanted to achieve one thing: to dance sorrow away. I will never forget that evening in 2019, sitting around a barbecue fire in Sinjar, when a local doctor quietly shared the story of his father’s kidnapping by the Islamic State. It wasn’t just a personal tragedy—it was a window into the deep, generational pain of the Yezidi people, who have suffered cycles of violence and persecution for centuries.
Everywhere in Sinjar, destruction was visible. Homes, streets, and lives torn apart. You could feel it in the silence, in the stillness. And yet, alongside this immense weight, I experienced an unexpected depth of hospitality, open-mindedness, and an almost defiant love for music. It’s that duality—grief and generosity—that stayed with me.
Sarah’s poem, written for this piece, speaks to the genocide and injustice endured by the Yezidi through the metaphor of fire.
«L’incendie des idées poussera toujours à l’exil». Her words remind us that even in the face of unimaginable loss, the fire of memory, of ideas, and of resistance still burns.
Sinjar is a tribute—to those who stayed, those who were lost, and those who continue to carry the spark forward. We composed and produced this track primarily using analog synthesizer in
Simon Oeggl’s studio in Vienna. The cello is played by Francesco Bocchi, an exceptional cellist from the Conservatorio di Trento (Italy).
Mali
Bamako
I have spent 6 months in Mali divided in two very different period of time. I was going there to experience the Mali we sell on TV, malian Kora, malian music one of the most recognized in the world. The contradiction between Bamako and the rest of the county striked me. The quite and alive Bamako made me live exceptional local experience, far away from the malian artists producing music for the white european festivals. I got to realize when a colleague of mine told me: "the malian artist you listen to are the one producing music to be famous and sell in Europe". Then Covid stroke our routine and malian experience was limited to the walls of my house and my office.
Mali for me is a profusion of light Kora notes, very peaceful people and one of the most quite capital i have been to. Red color pathway all over the city. Animals waiting there under the sun forever. Six entire months without a single drop of rain. Couples going to church with their scooter in beautiful outfits.
6 MONTHs
Democratic Republic of Congo
Goma is home to 800,000 people living at the foot of one of the world’s largest lava lake. A city suspended between the calm of a lake, the brutality of the mountains, and the ever-boiling presence of a volcano.
There was always a fear of invasion by the region’s most violent armed group—M23—which has since taken control of the city. Goma has changed. It was once a lively place, with rumba music in the background, dark terraces, plastic chairs, fresh mountain air, blazing sun, and easy friendships.
Despite being in one of the poorest countries in the world, Goma remains one of the most powerful—diverse, resilient, and angry.
Goma is a massive human experience. Beyond the impossible, life persists—in people’s minds, and in their hearts.
Sudan
Blue Nile
The first time I went to Sudan, I spent three months in Blue Nile in 2022. It was a remarkable experience to work in Damazin. I have truly never encountered people as gentle as those in Damazin. Damazin is a vibrant city stretching along the Blue Nile, in the southern part of Sudan, not far from the borders with South Sudan and Ethiopia. Affected by sudden tribal clashes while I was there, I witnessed how quickly conflict can create suffering and misery. My MSF colleagues worked tirelessly to support displaced communities and prevent disease outbreaks in a cholera-endemic area.
One of my strongest memories is of playing chess—countless nights spent with Fathi, a Sudanese colleague and friend, drinking tea and playing together. Fathi is a shining example of Sudanese youth: deeply committed to improving life in his community. I still keep in touch with him regularly to exchange news. The voice notes in the track are his updates from early 2024, when the Rapid Support Forces (RSF) were advancing toward his hometown. You can hear the concern in his voice—a chilling reminder of the violence of this war. The poem in the track is about friendship, a tribute to the bond I share with Fathi.
The track also includes field recordings from my time there: people laughing in the streets, the call to prayer from the Blue Nile mosque, birdsong, and the endless rain of the rainy season.
This is Sudan. This is Blue Nile.
3 MONTHs
Haiti
4th of October 2022. It was the first time I reached a place and my thoughts were: “I can’t cope with this”. I will never forget that car ride from the airport to the MSF accommodation. Empty streets, burning tires, constant gunfire could be heard, dead bodies on the street and the fear of
cholera lingering in the air. Three months of mission going to my absolute limit to help control the cholera outbreak: late night shifts, frequent helicopter rides to avoid a gang-controlled area, cholera treatment centers with hundreds of patients and the resilience of my Haitian colleagues. To not escape Haïti. To not run. To not take that illegal migration route. Port-au-Prince turned into a civil war without being said.
The core of this track is a poem recorded for us by Menjie Richard Michel. She is a Haitian poet, who wrote this poem in 2010 after the devastating earthquake. This poem has gone through time and remains a reflection of reality, a different one.
The track includes recordings of gunshots and granulated Compas music (traditional Haitian music).
We wanted to try to recreate the feeling you have when you are in Port-au-Prince today: Music still banging the ears and constant gunfire in parallel streets. Because in the end, even in these extreme conditions, Haïti wants to stay alive.
Haiti
Port a Piment
Port-à-Piment is a small town in southern Haïti—far from the chaos of Port-au-Prince. I spent most of my second mission in Haïti, in 2023, in this quiet coastal village. By quite some margin, it is the most beautiful and mysterious place I’ve ever worked in.
Port-à-Piment—literally, the port of spices—once played a role in the Caribbean spice trade. Today, it’s a poor fishing town, surrounded by mystical mountains and stunning natural beauty. Compared to gang-controlled Port-au-Prince, it felt like paradise. Just before I flew to Port-à-Piment, I met Sarah. So we decided this track would be about us—Sarah and Michael—the beginning of Ësenaim., and the place where it all started : Port-à-Piment.
occupied Palestinian territories
We have both been working for Gaza since October 7, 2023. Sarah in the "Emergency Team" spent the first three months from Paris finding ways to bring essential medical supplies to the MSF clinics in Gaza. Michael spent a month in Jerusalem and the West Bank in May 2024 to prepare the team in Gaza for a possible cholera and measles outbreak.
It is probably the most emotional work we have done to date. The misery we witnessed day after day knows no boundaries.
In June 2024, we contacted "Gaza Poet Society". They were enthusiastic about our album and art performance project and wrote and recorded multiple poems for us. Michael then processed the recordings into four tracks that reflect the reality in Gaza today.
Live Dates
31-Aug 2024 | Blera - Italy | Blera Summerfest |
7-Feb 2025 | Paris - (FR) | MSF France HQ | |
7-Mar 2025 | Copenhagen (DK | Christianshavns Beboerhus |
TALK ABOUT - 2025 Tour Dates
2-Aug 2025 | Libourne (FR) | La Guinguette du Charron'ro |
24-Aug 2025 | Alpbach (AUT) | European Forum Alpbach |
17-Sep 2025 | Auvergne (FR) | Free The Farm Festival |
27-Sep 2025 | Roskilde (DK) | INSP! Roskilde , Stroem paa Roskilde/PVC |
17-Oct 2025 | Schlanders (IT) | Basis w/ MSF |
23-Oct 2025 | Brussels (BE) | Kiosk Radio LIVE |
25-Oct 2025 | Brussels (BE) | Brasserie de la Senne w/ msf |
7-Nov 2025 | Amsterdam (NL) | NDSM Theatre |
22-Nov 2025 | Vienna (AUT) | Das Lot (Brotfabrik) w/ Msf |
6-Dec 2025 | Lyon (FR) | La Fourmilière |
20-Dec 2025 | Bolzano (IT) | ZOONA |
more live dates to be announced very soon