www.musicweek.com
30.03.12 MusicWeek 13
Jo and Nick groom everything to the last little detail. Sometimes I miss that attention. But I’m lucky that I’ve got amazing management. What I miss from the label, Lateral have stepped in and taken on. I used to speak to Jo every single day, but I don’t
have that anymore. It’s a bit different.When you all like each other and you all work hard, when you achieve it feels better. You can celebrate together. But it’s early days [with RCA] – Colin Barlow’s only been in the Sony building since January. The main concern is making a brilliant record I’m really proud of, and I feel like I’ve done that. If I’m honest, I didn’t feel like that last time.
That’s a surprise… I loved what [Do You Want The Truth…] was, but I always wanted to be the sort of recording artist that marks a moment with a record that has a consistent sound. To me, my debut was more of a compilation. I’d written those songs over a period of five years and each track was produced by a different person so it didn’t really have a coherent sonic to it.
What advice would you give to a young artist, knowing what you know now? You have to forgive yourself. If you have personal failures or make mistakes – or if you don’t get signed first time or you get dropped – so long as you have something to offer people, keep persevering.
Indie labels sometimes question the amount of creative freedom an artist gets within a profit- hunting major. What’s your take? Because a major label throws quite a lot of money at things, they’re usually a bit more tentative, whereas an indie maybe doesn’t throw as much. So [a major] is always worried about throwing it at the wrong person. But I think once, as in my case, they realise they
can take a bit more of a risk, you can get given a huge amount of freedom. For me, that’s come from a combination of things: I’ve gone straight to my label as well as people in the industry [and shown] that if I don’t like something, I will tell a journalist. I think they’re afraid they’ll have to listen to me because it’s kind of true. I sort of demand freedom in the sense that if I
don’t get it, I won’t play the game. It’s my way or the highway. If you like it let’s go with it, and if you don’t then drop me. I’ve said to Nick [Gatfield] on a few occasions: “Go on, drop me then.” It’s the way I am: it’s partly a lie, but also I’m pretty confident about my creative judgment.
Who’s the best music executive you’ve worked with? In the sense of caring and nurturing on a personal level – helping and giving confidence – I’d say Jo Charrington (right). But my managers are amazing; they’ve been with me since before I had a deal or anything.
ABOVE
Something beautiful: Paloma Faith’s 2010 debut album. Her new LP, Fall To Grace, is released on May 28
Managers can be blamed for ruining careers. What makes Lateral so good? Their ability to know if I’m not happy with the way something’s gone. Rather than be arrogant, they just change it and make it better. They’re quite a transient management company. I’m a workaholic and a massive multitasker. People don’t generally do things at my pace. Rather than lose me, they decided to employ someone on those day-to-day things. That means they can think about the bigger picture without me getting panicky that nothing is getting done. I’m quite demanding in some ways. If I send an email out I expect a reply quite quickly. More than being a diva, that’s more because my memory’s terrible.
Forget Sony and industry interests for a moment: what are your ambitions for this record? I’d love to buy a house [laughs]. I’d like to make a few waves in America and internationally. The last record did really well in the UK and I’m so grateful for everything that happened here. But considering I speak three languages I’d like to use my ability to fit into lots of different cultures. I don’t think anyone [at Sony] really utilised that on the last record. I’ve been waggling my finger at Sony
International people at parties who remain from the first album. They all look a bit scared. I saw one of them at the Sony post-Brits party. He cowered into the corner and said: “I know what you’re going to say! I promise I’ll do it!”
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52