1. It is possible to describe your style
of music in the same way as your place of origin the Shetlands;
rugged and raw yet beautiful and captivating, plus it will
be around forever. Has where you come from dictated your
style of music or would your music be the same no matter
where you hailed from?
That's nice. Emotionally RAW, for sure?
Rugged....hmmm,sounds abit Bruce(Springsteen)tho' i'm a HUGE
Bruce fan :-).Captivating and beautiful Shetland is all of
these things (I think...)BUT there is still garbage there
too.SO basically I think i'd have written introspective emotional
music if i'd
grown up in an urban environment. I've actually lived in a lot of cities...
oh, and I don't think ANYTHING will be around forever!
2. You have just completed The
Roadworks Tour with Adam Masterson & Boadixa, a tour
that Tom McCrae used to catapult himself to recognition
with. Did you find
it hard playing to people who may have been waiting for Adam
Matserson? What sort of reaction did you evoke from the crowd?
Howimportant are events like The Roadworks tour to artists
like you?
I sold a lot of albums each night, it's
a great sign people liked you! I think Adam was great Bodixa
too...it was actually one of the most fun tours I’ve
done. Everybody was really sweet; Bodixa lent me microphones
, I worked the shop....Roadworks is great it's arts council
funded so you actually get pretty nice treatment and reach
a larger audience than you might at a certain level.
3. You used to be signed with Sony but
have set your label up (Incarnation) for your latest release
'Astrid' has this allowed you greater freedom? What has the
financial impact of this been?
Financially the initial outlay was massive
for me .Buying the back catalogue, pressing 1000 albums getting
a photo done, having a (good) writer do a biography ALL this
costs money...BUT when you start to sell Cd's you get it
back and it feels great! All the decisions have been your
own. Nobody is
breathing down your neck to cut 90 seconds off your favourite song etc.But
it can feel lonely, there is no one telling you you're right.
4. More and more bands are choosing to
self release; [Spunge] have chosen that option for their
latest album 'That should cover it?'. Are artists becoming
more and more distressed at the opressive music industry? Would you advise
aspiring musicians that self release is the way to go?
"The music business is a shallow money
trench, a long plastic hallway where thieves and pimps run
free and good men die like dogs.But it also has its negative
side."Hunter S. Thompson
The music industry was ALWAYS oppressive.I
think you MUST love what you do as a musician
ie.writing, performing, recording(these are the payoffs that get you through
the lean times)...It wont be worth it otherwise. If you're in it for the money...forget
it!!!
5. Your debut solo album 'Boy For You'
was well received in many quarters with the title track and
'World At Your Feet' standing out. What was your mood when
you wrote this? What is the difference between that album
and your latest one?
BFY is a story song where obsession meets
madness.” World..." is a third person narrative
(WHY do we/you/me love the wrong people?)The new album explores
the same themes(less madness and obsession just plain old
despair) but in the first person narrative. No more hiding
behind YOU when I really meant ME.Hope you got that...?The
new album is better crafted musically, the choruses are stronger
I think etc. I personally think BFY was more interesting lyrically, it literally
had more words. Next album probably be more like it?
6. Which of your songs sums up your present
mood and why?
Current mood? Despair, sweetened by financial
reward.No i'm kidding I just tend to write about heartbreak.I
think my voice was built for that kind of expression, you
use the tools you have.All my songs sum up my mood.Do I have
bad relationships in order to write sad songs...I SINCERELY
hope not.If I wrote happy songs than they would sum up my
mood too. I wish I did write happy songs....then again if
I was happy WHY would I be bothered writing songs I'd be
busy being happy, bring on the day!
7. What are your current musical influences?
Umm,The Cure.
8. Do you reflect much on your days with
Goya Dress? If so, what are your thoughts on them?
Happy HAPPY days. I’ll be touring
with Cinerama (Terry de Casto ex. GD) so me and Terry will
be revisiting some of those oldies!
9. Some of your songs are quite angry.
Who or what makes you angry?
Poverty, injustice, torture, child labour....and
of course bad men.
10. What are your plans for the rest of
the year?
I'm recording a new album and I’d
like to put out another album (not mine) on Incarnation.
11. I have read more than one review about
you that says you could be folk's answer to Avril Lavigne.
What are your thoughts on this? Are you flattered? If you
are can hardware companies send T-shirts for you to wear?
Avril's ok.I have taught singing (little
girls mostly)and had to teach Avril(and Kylie and Dido and
Britney and the list is endless...)Do I get to sell 20 million
albums then???Actually,I hate advertising PERIOD it's an
evil machine designed to make us want things we don't need.The
idea of wearing someones advert is offensive.Branding is
crap, ask a cow.
12. What was the last album you purchased?
I think it was 'The Captain' by Kasey Chambers.
The song was featured on an episode of the Sopranos and I
went straight out and bought it. She's a country singer from
Australia. The song is beautiful.
www.astridwilliamson.net
David Adair |
