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The Kirsty MacColl web site
INTERVIEW
This is an interview by Amazon to mark the launch of the Tropical Brainstorm album in 2000.
Kirsty MacColl names her favourite Latin musicians.
Tito Puente.
Celina Gonzalez.
Celia Cruz. Los Van Van.
The rhumba wouldn't be the first thing you'd associate with Kirsty MacColl. The daughter of British folk legend Ewan, she's the woman behind the Johnny Marr-bedecked hit Walking Down Madison, the shambolic anti-Christmas duet Fairytale Of New York with the Pogues' Shane McGowan and the inimitable vocal touches she lent to classic albums by the Wonder Stuff, Billy Bragg, the Smiths and David Byrne. Oh, and in her spare time, you might recall that Kirsty also came up with a string of sussed, sharp-tongued solo albums with alternately soaraway and tongue-in-cheek titles like Kite and Electric Landlady. None of which hinted at the cheekily effective Brazilian/Cuban/Brit fusion she's served up in 2000 with Tropical Brainstorm. And however English you are, there's no time like the present to learn to dance and no better guide than our Kirsty to take you along for a limbo, a rhumba or a samba. Amazon.co.uk contributor Jennifer Nine spoke exclusively with Kirsty MacColl.
Tropical Brainstorm certainly sounds like an honest-to-goodness Latin record. Is there something you're not telling us about the roots of the MacColl clan?
"Oh, God, no, it's not a Latin record, it's an Anglo-Latin pop hybrid; it's not trying to be a puritanical record and it's not trying to be a disco thing, either. It's just a collection of good songs, I hope, with good rhythms; I wouldn't want people to expect it to be a pure Latin record. I wouldn't have worked with the people I worked with if I wanted to make that. I would have worked with a Latin producer for a start, not [songwriting, musical and production partners] Pete Glenister and Dave Ruffy who actually had had no experience of Latin music whatsoever before we began. I wanted to make a pop record which included aspects of Latin music that I liked, particularly the rhythms and the brass treatments. And of course I wanted this to be a record that you could dance to, in which you didn't have to listen to the lyrics if you didn't want to, but on the other hand, the words would have a little more to add than what you get in crap dance music."
What would Brazilians and Cubans think of it?
"I wasn't making it for them; I was making it for me and my fans here, really. It's not trying to be something it isn't, and I don't think there's anything else like it really. If I had been trying to do a purist record I wouldn't stick Cuban and Brazilian music on the same record anyway. But I think there are a lot of people similar to me, who liked my previous stuff but who are open to good music from anywhere. When I used to come back from my travels [in Cuba and Brazil] with all sorts of CDs and I'd play them to my friends, they'd say 'That's fantastic, but how did you get to know which stuff was good? If I went into a record shop, I wouldn't know where to start!' My answer would be that it's only because I'd just ploughed through about 300 different records to get to the good stuff. I don't have a great knowledge of the language and the history, but I just wanted to introduce some aspects of the music that I liked so that, hopefully, people who hadn't heard it before might say, 'Oh that's different to what I'm used to, but I still like it.'"
What's the difference between Cuban and Brazilian music, aside from the Spanish and Portuguese languages?
"Oh God, that's a really big thing to answer! I think, initially, from an outsider's point of view--and I should add that I'm not talking about Brazilian rock music like Sepultura, who are hugely successful, but the 'classic' Brazilian stuff--an important part of what makes up Brazilian music is the influences that came from Portugal, like fado music, which is very sad, generally. It has quite melancholy melodies and is quite quietly sung. It's not blasted out. There's no Brazilian equivalent of Celia Cruz [the legendary Cuban singer] for example. In contrast, the Cuban, Spanish-language stuff tends to be much more strong, aggressive, forthright and loud. That's a huge sweeping statement, of course, and what's more, that's just one aspect of it all. The rhythms are different as well: samba and bossa nova come from Brazil and cha cha and rhumba and salsa all come from Cuba. Brazilian music hasn't got that tradition of having lots of horns in it, that brassy sound like you get with the Cuban stuff."
There seems to be something in Cuban culture that really appeals.
" Yes, maybe. I first went to Cuba in 1992 and loved it, and then I didn't go again till 1994 when I went as a representative of the Cuban Solidarity Campaign. I was very proud to be asked, and I had a wonderful time every time I went. I really admire them; I like the way they're battling on, despite the USA. You know, despite the sanctions and all, they've got more doctors per head than they have in the USA."
"I think what a lot of people like about it--and it's not just Cuba, but a lot of Latin America--is that it's very open emotionally. It's not just intellectuals who are poets; people are quite romantic and poetic in their lifestyles. I'm not saying that everything is great and perfect and they have great lives and are dancing all night, you know, but just that the way they deal with life is much more directly emotional than the way we do deal with things in northern Europe, where people don't like letting on how they feel about something You know; you get on the Tube and everyone just ignores each other. People are much more open there, and will actually talk to you."
Where does Tropical Brainstorm fit in your discography? The musical sounds might be different, but the lyrics are as important as ever.
"I think it's the best album I've done. No doubt. I like to play it, too, but then I play all of them. They're all different periods in my life but I just think this is the most cohesive. It's got a lot of continuity, more than any record I've done before, which is quite refreshing for me, because everything I've done in my career so far has been quite eclectic. Each album has had about twenty different styles in it. I think this one works really well. It was probably quite a big job to take on, but I didn't notice it at the time because I was so fired up and so ready for it and Pete and Dave were, too. It just seemed natural to us. Now I listen to it and think, 'Blimey, did we do all that?'"
How do you feel about the theoretical man in your internet song, Here Comes That Man Again? Disgusted? Amused?
"Oh, he's quite real. . . and I quite like this guy, actually. I don't hate him; I feel quite protective towards him. There are lots of worse things out there to end up doing than sending dirty e-mails. As far as pornography goes, it's another big discussion but it's not the end of the world. I just think there are so many things of greater importance in the world; if you get uptight about that then you're not looking at the news in Rwanda or Croatia, are you?"
Wrong Again, which is about the breakup of a long-term relationship, is sung in an almost offhand way, but it's terribly sad lyrically.
"Wrong Again was sad, but it's also just straightforwardly true. If it's powerful, it's because I wrote that song within 24 hours of the events described in it happening. And when I sang it, it was only 48 hours after that, and since I'd been crying for three days I could hardly breathe. But we decided to keep it on the album the way it was, because it sounded right with the track. There's no point doing it again with a big happy face on. And once you've done it, it's done. You just think... 'Good, that's over now, then!' It's like therapy but you don't have to pay for it!"
What are you listening to?
"I'm listening to quite a lot of jazz because my boyfriend's into jazz. I really loved Eminem's album; everything about it is great. His phrasing and diction is fantastic; you can understand what's he's saying, which is what I miss in a lot of rap music. And no, I don't really find it misogynist, I find it hilarious; we all sit in the car and listen and sing along because it's so funny. It's obvious he's got a great sense of humour; it's the Ren And Stimpy of the hip hop world, basically, and there are tracks on the album that make me laugh out loud. In fact, even when he tries to be misogynist, I think it's really unconvincing. I wouldn't be scared to meet him in a dark alley. Must have him 'round, actually... Otherwise, the only British thing I like on a regular basis--and I admit this sounds weird--is Supergrass. I really like them. I like the new Steely Dan album, but then I always do, no matter what anyone says. I like Beck, although I haven't got the new album yet and I'm not sure if I'll like it as much as the previous stuff. I quite like Fountains Of Wayne... they're great, aren't they? They've got all the right elements of the Beach Boys, which I like, but the lyrics are really sharp, really funny, as well."
Tropical Brainstorm might only be a hybrid of English and Latin rhythms, but it has been know to get people in this country dancing. Is there hope for the English on the dance floor yet?
"Oh, it's entirely possible. I've got a boyfriend who can dance...and he's completely English! I won't take the credit for it, though, since think he's always been able to. I think if they're not hung up about themselves, I think the prognosis for dancing by Englishmen is very good, actually."
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