At
Latitude 2012, when Bat for Lashes played, all that stood between her and her captivated audience was
barrier, security and a couple of feet of spare stage. Before, it was a different experience; feathers, tassels, lycra, cloak or some other garment of armoury stood between Natasha Khan and her crowd. Te power of the music would permeate, but was there the same connection as now? With simple chiffon jumpsuit and demure new bob, Natasha was now presenting herself as she does on her latest album – quite literally if you sneak a glance at the artwork – bare, unarmed and easy to emotionally connect with…
We’re very much looking forward to you coming to Norwich – it’s been a while since you’ve been here… Yeah, it’s been a while since I’ve done a headline tour, I feel like. But no, I’m excited to come.
We did get treated to you at Latitude this summer, which is local to us, and you’ve popped up at others – you played Bestival last weekend, didn’t you? I did, yeah.
Have you recovered? Well I’ve just moved house in the last couple of days, so I went straight into packing up my life. And this morning I was doing TV, so yeah, it’s all happening at once. It’s been good to get the festivals sort of finished, ‘cause now I can just look forward to just doing my own shows, which is kinda a bit more fun, really.
You must have inspired matrimony, how beautiful… So you’ve been able to debut some of the songs from ‘Te Haunted Man’ on the live circuit, but have you been itching for us to hear them in our own space? Well I definitely think, in terms of the
12 /October 2012/
outlineonline.co.uk
record, obviously I worked on it for a long time, for two and a half years and I’ve got very involved in the production and the mix and the mastering of the thing, which is a very detailed, minute world. It’s a process for headphones and high quality listening, so obviously I love the idea of people listening to it alone, on their headphones and really immersing themselves in the universe of the album. Tat’s how I listened to it whilst making it, and I keep going back to how did it feel either on a big speaker with loads of sub bass, or failing that soundsystem, if you can hear it on a good set of headphones, yes, I’m excited for people to hear it.
I have to say, I woke up feeling emotional this morning and it’s kinda been punching me in the heart as I listen to it, it’s filled with such emotion. Even the line in ‘Lilies’, “thank god I’m alive”, is such a positive exclamation, but it sounds as if it’s a product of previous heartache… Yeah, when I think about that song, and that part of that song, it’s extremely emotional for me, and obviously the whole song is about looking for something, or searching
for a new life – or a way out of feeling blocked, or like alone – all those things that we, as human beings feel all the time. But there is that bit at the end that’s like, even though I have nothing, when I do feel just a tiny bit of hope or new blossoming, or there’s some little signal, the joy that you can feel from that moment of feeling really alive… Sometimes at your worst you can feel your most raw and alive. I think it is that bittersweet celebration; it’s quite pro-life, I suppose, with all its difficulties. It’s celebrating being a human being in all your complex form. It’s not that easy, but it’s joyous, and it is an emotional song for me. Tere’s an emphasis in our culture on being dark and sad, and it’s very rock ‘n’ roll to be suicidal and stuff, but I think to celebrate the joyousness of raw living is like isn’t touched on as much as it should be. It is joyous to be alive, and you don’t hear that pro-life message very often. People think it’s cheesy sometimes, you know, if you express that, so I’m proud of that.
Te album came at the end of a period where you seem to have made a very conscious decision to stay creative, which is just fun in itself – you directed a friend’s dance film, I read… When I was at university, making films was sort of my main thing to do, and I made soundtracks to go with them as well. It was just really nice to be involved in someone else’s projects, where the burden isn’t on my shoulders in a heavy way. I love dance and I’ve been doing a lot of dance this year, so it was really nice to explore that world; I’d warm up with them, then I’d get behind the camera and they’d do their thing. It was just lovely to hang out with friends and do other projects, definitely.
One of the most talked about points so far, for the new album, has been that cheeky little album cover of yours – - Hahaha, yeah!
Tere’s a strong contrast between the artwork for ‘Two Suns’ – it was quite a dense, colourful tableau; it reminded me of Frida Kahlo surrounded by votives – and then you’ve got the stark honesty of ‘Te Haunted Man’. I’m guessing that was a very conscious statement… Yeah, like you say, I was kinda into Catholic, religious art, looking at Frida Kahlo on the last album and iconography in that very adorned, symbolic way, using objects and symbols. It was very colourful and rich
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