Sarah Assbring AKA: El Perro del Mar is releasing her first new music since 2018’s EP We Are History, with her version of “Please stay,” Burt Bacharach’s original that’s been covered by the likes of The Drifters, Elvis Costello, and The Cryin’ Shames. “Please stay” will also be a part of a new dance performance piece by El Perro del Mar debuting at Stockholm’s famed Royal Dramatic Theatre in November and December.

El Perro Del Mar on “Please Stay:”

“‘Please stay’ by Burt Bacharach has been made in different versions but my favorite by far is the one produced by pioneer producer Joe Meek with The Cryin’ Shames from 1966. This version is complete magic,” Sarah explains. “It’s been on my mind for some time and when working on this album that’s all on dark matters I came to think about what would happen to the song if its original meaning of love and heartbreak was to be about death and the pleadings of having someone not die or return from the dead.”

“Please stay” and the other new music debuting as part of the Royal Dramatic Theatre performance was produced and written by El Perro del Mar, her longtime partner and colleague Jacob Haage, and Petter Granberg—all of whom will be performing live on stage and scoring the performance of three dancers from the Royal Opera. Sarah said of the new performance: “The music to an album that will be released in 2020 has been written for the performance which is best described as a cross-fertilization between modern dance, music and performance art—something that’s been a long time dream to be doing for El Perro del Mar. Ever since I was a child. This work gives the opportunity to throw myself into a darkness so total and boundless that I hopefully won’t be needing to revisit again.”