www.musicweek.com INTERVIEW LADYHAWKE SHE’S A LADY
The New Zealand singer- songwriter is back with her second album – four years after her debut
13.04.12 MusicWeek 19
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INTERVIEW BY TINA HART
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adyhawke, aka Pip Brown, has taken her time producing her sophomore LP. Her UK Gold-status top 20 self-titled debut
arrived in 2008 – when it topped the chart and went platinum in her home country. The album’s success and smash single My Delirium kicked off a gruelling two years of touring. Now she’s back with second album Anxiety, due
for release on May 28, which already boasts Top 10 positions in UK pre-release charts. Here, the unassuming artist - who counts fans
in Kylie Minogue and Courtney Love - speaks to Music Week about recording, rock music and second album syndrome ahead of her UK tour, which kicks off later this month…
Your first album sold well – did your label give you a brief for the second one or did they just send you out to record? They didn’t really say anything, they were just like: “Hurry up and do an album!” I get on quite well with all the different people at my labels and they just said: “Do your thing”. So I did.
Were they hoping you would finish it before the 18 months it ended up taking? I finished touring in 2010. I’d been touring for about two years and they wanted it done that year, but there was no way that was going to happen. I took quite a lot of time off, about six months, and just disappeared. I had nothing to do with music at all, I didn’t even go and see any bands – I was just so spent from it all. I couldn’t even pick up my guitar, which was weird for me. So I gave it a breather and then got back into it. That’s why it took so long.
You ended up recording all the tracks with Pascal Gabriel – was that intentional? I really just wanted to work with one person – we had history and we’re good friends. He understands me and it’s not like an awkward easing-in process of working with someone new, so it worked out well.
You’ve said Anxiety is a bit of a rock album but that there’s multiple influences in there – can you describe its sound? It’s like an amalgamation of Sixties rock meets Britpop meets grunge meets glam. I have little elements of each of those things in there because I was always listening to that sort of music.
When lead single Black, White and Blue premiered on YouTube, it attracted 75,000 YouTube views in two days. How important are videos to you? Video is one thing I always struggle with because I always pick myself apart too much. Then I actually physically see myself on TV - once the video’s made I cant watch it ever again, it’s too weird. I think videos are important because it’s a way to connect with the person [the viewer] can hear singing and so they can actually physically see the person on the screen. For me as a fan of music it’s exciting to watch a music video.
You have a strong UK fanbase – is it noticeably different from your audience back in New Zealand? I’ve got a really amazing, loyal UK following which is awesome and why I live here. They were the ones that were there first and I think they know that. I had a handful of people that knew about my music in NZ and Aus and that was it but I got a lot of support over here. I started to notice a lot of similar faces turning up to my shows from a very early stage and still do now.
You’ve been dabbling in some remix work – is there more of that coming up? My label want me to do some more remixes. It’s really cool. I don’t have any studio set up in the UK – I should get my act together and set up a studio here so I can do more. It’s in the forefront of my brain at the moment so hopefully I’ll do something soon.
“I was really blown away when I found out I was nominated for a Brit Award. I was in the category with superstars like Lady Gaga and Shakira” LADYHAWKE
What’s been the highlight of your musical career so far? I was really blown away when I found out I was nominated for a Brit Award [in 2010]. I was in the category with superstars like Lady Gaga and Shakira. Also, in 2009 I played Glastonbury on the John Peel stage and it was amazing because I hadn’t seen how many people were there but when I walked out it was overwhelming - people were singing along so loud I couldn’t hear myself. It was the best moment ever.
Gotye was recently No.1 in the singles chart here – do you think Australasian music is getting the spotlight it deserves in the UK? When Kiwis see a fellow Kiwi doing well overseas and they kind of got there on their own, it’s inspiring. A lot of the time people don’t come to you, you’ve got to go to them – I had to get up off my arse and literally move to really get anything happening for me, which was what I was happy to do. When I saw The Datsuns do well in the UK,
they were just brilliant, real rock‘n’ roll – they were the inspiration for me. Seeing them get out of NZ and do these
amazing tours… I used to ask them lots of questions and they were like “just go and do it”. Sometimes having someone like that is the kick up the arse you need.
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