Canadian violinist and composer Sara Neufeld is best known as a member of Arcade Fire and co-founder of the post-rock band Bell Orchestre. She is also an acclaimed solo artist and collaborator whose 2015 release, Never Were the Way She Was, earned a Juno Award and was longlisted for the Polaris Prize. Inspired by working with dancer and choreographer Peggy Baker, Neufeld's third solo album, Detritus, appeared in 2021.

Neufeld's association with Arcade Fire began during the recording of their 2004 debut, Funeral, when her primary band Bell Orchestre was simultaneously recording in the same studio. She and Bell Orchestre bandmate Richard Parry ended up contributing to Funeral and both went on to become full-time Arcade Fire members for their influential albums Neon Bible (2007) and The Suburbs (2010).

Turning to solo work, Neufeld made her debut with the album Hero Brother. Recorded in Berlin by engineer and co-producer Nils Frahm, it was released by the Constellation label in August of 2013. After touring with Arcade Fire in support of their Reflektor album, Neufeld returned to the studio to collaborate with saxophonist Colin Stetson. Among other projects, the two had previously worked together scoring the 2013 independent film Blue Caprice. Never Were the Way She Was, released in the spring of 2015, was an album of new co-written compositions performed live in the studio without overdubs or loops added in post-production. A major critical success, the album earned the duo a Juno Award for Best Instrumental Album.

Arriving early the next year on Paper Bag Records, her second solo album, The Ridge, featured a more prominent rhythm section (with Arcade Fire's Jeremy Gara on drums) and more voice than prior albums. Neufeld's third LP, Detritus, arrived in May 2021: Self-described as a record "inspired by both a sense of interior aloneness, and a sense of deep intimacy," the musician's third set featured further collaboration with Gara alongside a feature from Bell Orchestre's Pietro Amato and saxophonist Stuart Bogie. ~ Thom Jurek, Rovi