Sia - Interview

We caught up with Australian songbird Sia to find out all about her excellent new album Colour The Small One

She is addicted to TV but her telly-video-combo is at the repair shop. Her record sits at one hundred and eighty in the album charts and she feels ok with that. She doesn’t crave fame and is happy with her current level of success. Sia is a sweet girl with a bubbly personality and the voice of an angel.

You have been in the UK for 6 years now, had you ever visited before you came over to live?

Yes, I have a couple of cousins who live in the UK who I came to visit when I was 17, I got up on stage at the Orange club in London & sang a Bill Withers track when my cousins band played “that was my first UK performance” (laughs).

Is it your plan to settle in the UK?

It used to be. Even up until last year. I went to visit my family and friends in Australia this Christmas and fell in love with a boy who’s family own a vinery (he drives a tractor) one hour outside Adelaide. Although he’s here in London with me at the moment I suppose in the future I need to split my life between here and there.

Your album “Colour The Small One” is a superb piece of work was it a difficult record to make?

Not really the process was quite quick, my childhood friend Dan wrote with me. We’ve not worked together before although we’ve known each other for years. Once we got our chemistry right we pretty much wrote the entire album in a couple of weeks. The recording process was easy too. We recorded all the parts then threw it all onto the computer - then we lovingly mixed the whole thing.

You have some live shows coming up, how does the Sia live show work?

Firstly we employ some clever scheduling, so I can tour with Zero 7 and still do my own little gigs. At the end of this year I’ll hopefully be able to do some bigger gigs too. I have my own band, the band that played on the album. Basically we rehearsed the album for two weeks & then we recorded the album. They then all flew back to their respective countries. They will be returning to do the live shows with me and I am very excited about the live stuff.

So you are scheduling around Zero 7’s tour, are you doing all their dates?

Not all of them but the majority of them, I love working live with Zero 7. The Glastonbury show 2002 & the Big Chill performances…wow. Those shows I will never forget. I was so high on the audience, it was so gratifying ego-wise. It was almost obscene to me.

Does an amazing reaction from a crowd bring out your “popstar” persona?

No it just makes me more real, if the audience gives a great response it just makes my performance heaps more real. On the other hand if it’s a bad gig then I get the fear and turn into something that isn’t the real me.

This year sounds very busy; do you find time for yourself?

It is but that’s how I like things, I am also writing a film at the moment – a screenplay, you know? I’m learning how it all works. I am reading others at the moment so I can learn how to be better at it.

Is your screenplay idea one you have had for a long time?

It is, although I have only recently arrived at the ending. I have spoke to some movie producers who said they may be interested in making the film. So I better get my shit together. The story is based around a young girl with a non-specific autism – basically it’s like a modern day “Rain man”.

We have an area dedicated to unsigned musicians on our website; do you have any advice for young vocalists just starting out?

Just, whenever you can - GET UP and sing - at a gig or jam if you have a chance take it & keep on getting up. Keep going – but not If people boo, ‘cause that’s just mean. I think that could be setting your self for disappointment. If at first you don’t succeed try again, but if you get a bad response often– then maybe it’s just not for you.