Finding oneself is an altering journey accompanied by streams of trials and tribulations. The journey to self-growth never yields–it persists whether we want it to or not. Los Angeles artist Sarah Grace White reaches for self-ownership and encapsulates this theme–reaching for something–yearning for more while weaving through the thin boundary of space. Her EP Are You Here This Time follows her journey through six carefully crafted tracks as she navigates the thin line that dictates reality.

Her debut single “Touching” opens with a soft melody and an overlaying beat that feels like a persisting rainy day. White’s voice is deep but soft as she goes through the motions as she describes it–"touching, falling, leaving.” As one of the five senses, touching remains the most intimate. We create bonds and develop a deeper understanding of the world around us through the simple act of touching. White focuses on that aspect while using her sense of touch to capitalize on its healing capabilities. Through touching shingles on a roof, scavenging for oysters in the grass, and delicately caressing her food, White challenges the real and the imagined.

Directed by Caroline Falls, the “Touching” music video opens with Sarah sitting in a secluded room with a plastered man’s head in the background. She goes through various outfit changes as she navigates the structures around the house's grounds. She dances around as she sings, “It feels so good I could cry, and the grip gets so tight I lose it.” She’s serious but gives in to a childlike demeanor as she moves her body with no particular rhythm or plan. Her music translates through her various stages in the video as she navigates forward–sometimes falling back to her original self. “Touching”  resembles White’s inner monologue perfectly strewed across a retro keyboard and the occasional subtle but necessary bass. She lies on a roof and touches the weight of the sun and transitions into the cold of the night–still moving with childlike leisure and a solid understanding of the atoms that surround her.

“Touching” is the foundation of Are you Here This Time as White carefully intertwines her stream of consciousness throughout six tracks: “Touching,” “Here,” “Ribbon,” “Ash,” “Anything,” and “Blood Like Water.” A keyboard, bass, and subtle guitar perfectly suit this EP as White ponders the idea of the self. When the day reaches a close and we the trap of self-doubt accompanied by inescapable thoughts, some childlike dancing may alter our otherwise gloomy minds.