Titanic Days : Promotion : Videotech Interview

Kirsty MacColl has been away far too long for some of our likings. The wait however has been more than worth it. The album is sensational and she remains in the finest of form. She joined Videotech Online to talk about what's she been up to for the past five years and how Tropical Brainstorm came about.

Your new album and first for over five years is out on 20 March. How are you feeling so near to the release date?

"I'm just really looking forward to it coming out. I finished it last year and since then have been doing promotion and some live stuff where the response has been excellent so I'm just keen to get it out and play some more shows."

Tell us about how you became interested and involved in Latin American music.

"I never stayed in Cuba for more than a few weeks but I did visit a lot and went to Brazil as well. I'd been really into the language and the culture and the music for many years so I felt it was time I actually explored some of it."

Which Latin American artists have caught your imagination?

"There was about three years where everything in English seemed so retro that I couldn't really be bothered with it. When I was going to Cuba I used bring back tons and tons of CDs and listen to loads of stuff. It wasn't necessarily contemporary music I was listening to - there was a lot of stuff from the '40s and the '50s. One of the artists I could mention is Celina Gonzales. Some of her older recordings were what turned me onto her. I caught her playing live here in London last year and she's doing the Cuban equivalent of country music which has quite a different feel to the out and out salsa stuff. I also love the sound of those older recordings. The state of the technology back then meant that everything just went straight to tape so there was no way of polishing the sound. What you heard was what was played and that gives the sound an immediacy you don't get nowadays."

You said last year that you didn't want to make another 'English weather' record and then recorded most of the album in Bermondsey and Ealing. What was the thinking behind that?

"You're right! That was because I wasn't trying to make a purist Latin record. If I had wanted to do that I would have gone somewhere to work with a Latin producer. In fact I chose two old work partners of mine Pete Glenister and Dave Ruffle and Pete's got a studio in Bermondsey. It was always intended as a 'Kirsty' album but with an injection of Latin rhythms and sounds. The songs are still Kirsty pop songs I think."

Did Pete Glenister and Dave Ruffle's lack of experience in recording Latin music matter?

"Well no. I wanted to work with them because they didn't. I was the only one bringing knowledge of Latin music. That's why I think it works - it's a hybrid. No-one is going to mistake it for Buena Vista Social Club. We weren't trying to do that. Anyone who is expecting that is going to miss the point entirely."

With songs like England 2 Colombia 0 you've furthered your reputation as someone who doesn't mince their words. Do you ever have to face the people you write so vividly about?

"Well I doubt if I'll bump into him again! That song was autobiographical and - well you know when you wake up in the morning and you know you've been had - or not as the case may be! It's just a way of getting it off my chest."

Do you find expressing yourself on your records comes easily?

"I don't think my songs would be very interesting if I didn't express myself through them. If I was writing 'Ooh baby I love your way' I doubt my friends would be too impressed."

What's your favourite track on the album?

"It really depends on what time of day it is and what kind of mood I am in. I really feel that every track stands out well in its own right but In My Shoes is one I would mention. That sounds like an immediate single (it's out on 13th March) and is great live as well - it's a lot of fun to do. But if it's late at night, listening to Head, which is the last track of the album, is really good as it's a kind straight jazz number. I put it at the end of the album as I thought after all that dancing you want to come down slowly."

Finally, do you have any plans to return to Latin America to promote the album or play live?

"It would be fantastic. We've got this great band of eight musicians and the more gigs we do the tighter we get. I'd love to do it but whether or not we do is another matter. It's an expensive thing take a band on the road and also I think quite a lot of the appeal of the album is going to come from the lyrics and if you can't understand them then you're missing out a big chunk of what makes it fun."

Promotion of other albums - Kite - Electric Landlady - Titanic Days

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Titanic Days : Promotion : Videotech Interview

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