Q:
Meta-Message provides a snapshot of part of your roller-coaster
musical history to date - how did you select the tracks for
the album? Does it work for you in the way that you had envisioned?
Meta-Message,
is the first release that I have had the privilege to put
out via a major label Nettwerk which I have been completely
'tranquilo' about. I worked very closely with Mark Jowett
and Blair my publisher on which tracks to select. My choice
was slightly different, but they have a good sense of what
will make an album balanced. As an artist I am a little
bit on the 'self indulgent' side and wanted to mix the tracks
together as a journey. Also I had so many to choose from
it was difficult in the end, and during the last month of
my pregnancy with Edie-moon I ended up in Hospital and had
no access to the internet. I had to hand a lot of the choosing
over to Nettwerk, but they came up trumps, and were very
respectful to me as an artist. Sometimes you have to learn
to let go of things and not be such a control freak. It
can often work out to be for your own good, like letting
the grandparents have the kids for a couple of nights so
you can catch up on sleep.
Q :
O>U>T is clearly a powerfully personal album written
at what you've referred to as a major turning point in your
life - how have you found your music contributes to your development
as a person? Do you find major life-experiences lead to greater
creativity?
Absolutely. My music is my 'journal'. I try to write them
occasionally but they just don't say it how I truly feel
it. With music you can tell it as it is, but add so many
different flavours to give the person listening the true
experience of what you may have been going through at the
time. It's not all about me, it's about my life as an observer,
listener, empathiser, speaker, my friends, whatever really.
Q :
Has becoming a mother helped or hindered your creative endeavours
in any way (putting aside the obvious demands on your time
and energy)?
To be a Mother
is the highest acheivement of them all. I know when I'm doing
OK when they smile all day and say 'please', and 'thankyou',
I know that I'm disappearing up my own arse when they shout
and scream and demand. My creativity has gone onwards and
upwards since the birth of my son Ike. I cannot begin to describe
how complete I feel. I work at night for a few hours, my husband
and I have good 'time' sharing.
Q :
What led to your release in 2004 of UniKids: The Sun &
The Moon?
H aving children, I was very ill for the first year of the
birth of my son and needed to 'snap out of it', so I started
to tune into my 'fun and silly side', and found that he responded
well to it. It healed me as a new time Mother, made my son
smile, made my husband laugh at me and occasionally 'with
me' lol. An album was born which my manager Steve Baker convinced
me to release. I now sell it on the net, and in Ottakers bookstore
in the UK.
Q :
Youve provided vocals for a number of different top artists
how would you say this has affected your own musical output?
Have you learned any special lessons?
I've learned 'many' lessons. That the industry I am in is
sadly very 'male' orientated. I'd love to rant, but I know
it's futile. I have become stronger as a result, and will
continue to grow and grow. I have to stay in touch with
my feminine side. This business is the perfect one to be
in for hormonal imbalances.
If anything it's helped me to learn a lot about 'dealing'
with people, made me stronger, and I've learned how to organise
time very well. My own musical output has suffered a bit
for my solo project as I've been offered to work with so
many different producers, that it's been a bit of a catch
22 as I earn my living off the small advances given. Meta-message
was the way in which to pull back some of that energy and
apply it to my own solo album, adding a few new tracks to
keep it balanced.
Ideally I'd like to make the next album working with one
producer, and having the luxury of an advance where I won't
have to take on any other work. This situation will enable
me to really knuckle down and focus on completion. Glen
from Future Funk Squad is a strong contender at the moment,
we get on very well, he is extremely unpretentious and very
talented. He always delivers the right formula. I've got
loads of tracks to produce and am well ahead of the game
so I am feeling warm and relaxed about it all.
Q :
Meta-Message and O>U>T demonstrate a range of styles
from d n b and dance to a cappella, downtempo and acoustic
piano do you have a favourite style to sing to?
Acoustic,
real, soulful music with 'real' musicians. Like say David
Randall who plays guitar with Faithless. That guy is a genius,
and it's nice to see that finally people are beginning to
notice him. Check out www.slovo.net
Q :
How do you write and record your own pieces do you have some
preferred processes or orders in which things get done?
Changes
all the time. People send me tracks, and I might put them
on in the car as that's a good time to listen. Or at the
gym on my IPOD, then I see what melodies, words come to
mind. Sometimes I may draw on a current situation, whether
it be a 'friend's' drama, or one of mine. Inspiration just
comes. Also if I'm working with a DJ, i.e. Tiesto, I may
ask him if he has any titles in mind, then try and write
my interpretation of that title, or try and tune into that
person distantly and give him a special gift. I've often
been right.
I send my vocals over an ftp site, and work
from home in my studio. I have a very good friend called
Tom Hill from Phase music who comes to the house once a
week and helps me do some recordings, tidies up my mess,
and fixes my poor computer when I've assigned things to
all the wrong places. (Tom just said I'm putting myself
down but it's true ;)
Q :
You appear to have a lot of unreleased material (two solo
albums) are shown on one of your fan sites is there any likelihood
of some of this music seeing the light of day?
Yes, I will find a way. I
have some good plans up my sleeve. Keeping Mum till they
are fruitful.
Q : How
great a part does live performance play in your musical life?
It's becoming a 'real' thing. I have performed twice over
the last month. One was an acoustic gig with my husband
at the Ginglik in Shepherds Bush, just me and Tom on guitar,
and the other was a night out in a town about 20 miles from
where I live which was the 'clubby' side. I performed most
of Meta-Message. I kept it quiet as I knew that it would
have enough people there already. It was a riot. They had
converted the whole venue into an 'old school' rave. I'll
be performing in Gozo on New Year's eve also (Malta). I
have mixed the tunes together like a DJ set, but will be
singing live over the top of it.
Q :
You are involved in a number of interesting projects
approaching release over the next year can you tell us a bit
about your part in some of these?
DJ Sam has a promising album coming out
which I have three tracks on called 'Lodestar', 'Split',
and then there will be a single called 'Insight'. It's just
been finished off for Blackhole Recordings. Tiesto and I
are perhaps going to do some more tracks. I have a project
with Future Funk Squad about to come out, Pentatonik, Matt
Darey, and Headstrong. Been talking with John B, and Pendulum
also Commix. John Bee could be 'mega', he is a winner and
we both like the Kenny Everett show so watch 'myspace'.
Q :
What might we expect from you as a solo artist in the
future anything to look forward to?
I've got into the habit of uploading
demo's that are unfinished onto my myspace page, just to give
'the present' light of day. Quite often you can write something
in a winter month that has no relevance to July, so why not
just share it immediately - people can buy it next winter.
It's the future, and I can only be where I am now.
