INTERVIEW: Fiona Renshaw
- Posted on June 14, 2007 11:11 AM
- 1 comment
A chat with Fiona Renshaw
Interview by Katie Spain
Next time you walk through the streets of London, stop and listen. There’s a voice in the air… a deep, sultry, voice that threatens to shake the music world's fickle foundations. Yep, we're long overdue for a breath of fresh air and Fiona Renshaw sounds as though she's got just what it takes.
When I spoke to this exciting new artist she'd just had a 'prang' in her car. In a display of true professionalism Fiona didn't skip a beat and launched into the interview without a hint of stress in her voice. A bit like her gigs then...
When did you first realize that music was what you wanted to do? Did you start young?
I started listening to my mother’s record collection really… it was Billie Holiday singing ‘Strange Fruit’ that really got to me. I didn’t understand what the song was about but there was something about her voice that absolutely mesmerized and enchanted me.
I've always loved music. The first band I sang with was a Blues band when I was seventeen. I'd always sung but it was never something I'd considered as something I was going to do full time. I started in Manchester when I got up and sang at 'Jazz jams' and things like that. I kind of think that the music chose me, rather than me choosing the music.
I bought myself a keyboard and started to write songs and in the end I gave in and thought “Right, this is clearly what I’m meant to do. Maybe I should just go for it”...
You were born in Australia right? How long was it before you hit the UK?
Dad was over there working and I was born in Melbourne. We were there until I was about two and then we moved back to the UK. I did return… I went to Sydney where I lived and worked for six months and for my sins, did waitressing in Darling Harbor. I absolutely love Australia… it's definitely 'plan B'. 'Plan A' is to be a rock star and ‘plan B’ is to live in Australia by the beach.
You left home at sixteen. It's a character-building process… do you think it gave you the self-sufficient attitude and determination needed in the music industry?
I think so. Things were pretty tough at home left pretty young and kind of got on with it. I think I’ve kind of always been my own person really, and the music industry is certainly a tough business. Particularly as a woman actually… I'm quite resilient though and just love doing what I do. I just am what I am really and I think that’s stood me in pretty good stead.
I don't think you can write about life unless you’ve lived it. I've certainly done a lot of stuff in a very short length of time which has been wonderful. Some of it’s been quite challenging, some of it has been great and some of it not so great - that’s what I write about.
I guess it all helps the audience to relate to your music…
I hope so. Music articulated the way that I felt and for me, it is the commonality of human experience. If I can do that myself it's tremendous and a real privilege to be able to do that. I think ordinary people are extraordinary; most people in their lives have amazing experiences and it really helps to be able to get to that.
You were kicked out of the school choir for too much expression… what was that all about?
For singing too loud! My voice has always been very unusual and I've always had a very strange sound. I've got one of those Marmite voices; you either like or don't like it.
It was just that really. I guess I should have been a lead singer because I don't blend in very well with anyone.
It was probably the best thing that could have happened… you ended up in Manchester!
I was a regular in the Manchester scene. I did all sorts of things… I DJd, I ran clubs, I sang, did a lot of song writing and gigged all over the place. It was a very fertile time creatively for me and for a lot of people in Manchester. I sang with Mr Scruff and a lot of other people around that time. I loved the DIY ethic of it. It was fantastic… you just had get up and do it and Manchester was such a great city because there was such a lot going on and no one was too cool not to get into other people's stuff. It was fantastic for me because it was very eclectic… you know, going out dancing and doing club nights and also doing the live scene and my songwriting and hooking up with other musicians.
I’ve never been to Manchester… is the music scene as thriving as I’ve been told?
It is… it’s fantastic. I mean, it’s been a long time since I’ve been there. I’ve lived in London now for five years or so. Manchester was and still is a fantastic place. The people are great, they’re very up for it, they’re very open minded and you can find your sound, do your thing and find people to work with. It’s a great city.
After all that experience, do the nerves still set in before a gig?
Yes! Absolutely… the day I stop being nervous is the day that I stop because it means I’ve stopped caring. If you get up on the stage or go in to the studio and are like “Whatever” then actually, you’re not putting your heart and soul into it. For me that’s the most important thing.
London is certainly eclectic… I guess no crowd is ever be the same?
The difference between London and Manchester for me is that London has quite specific scenes, you know, there’s the Indie guys and the Jazz guys… it’s quite compartmentalized here whereas in Manchester you go to a Drum ’n’ Bass night and then a Jazz night and all sorts of different musicians work with each other all the time. You do get that creative cross pollination that doesn’t always happen in London. It’s so much about being ‘cool’ and part of a scene… but I didn’t feel that in Manchester.
Do you have any festival performances coming up?
I hope to! At the moment we’re trying to sort out a booking agent for me and festivals would be my idea of heaven. I’m a big festival-goer myself anyway (as a punter) and if I got to ‘do’ Glastonbury I would be as pleased as… well, punch.
‘4 Letter Word’ packs a punch that almost launched me out of my office chair. ‘Easier’ gave me chills… amazing stuff. You write, record and produce your own music – do you have a special place you like to write or a special way you go about it?
The thing that I enjoy most of all is co-writing. I really like meeting and working with other creative people because I think that you bring what you bring and they bring what they bring and it becomes more than what either of you anticipated because the music is a conversation.
I have a studio at home – so I do some recording here, I go off and write with other people at their houses, obviously we rehearse. It comes in spurts. There are times when you’re not so busy and then it’s a bit like buses… all three come at once! It all goes a bit mental for awhile, then quiet, then mental again… which is great! As far as a special place to write, pretty much anything will kick me off creatively. I write on the piano (I’m a pretty rubbish piano player) but chords suggest colours and suggest melodies. I’m constantly open to being creatively influenced.
Do you take special measures to preserve your voice? Any special tips?
I should do but I don’t! I don’t drink or do drugs - those kinds of things. I am in the process of trying to give up smoking (again) and I always warm up before a gig. I don’t eat that much dairy, I don’t drink milk. I try to do scales and some singing practise on a daily basis… it’s a very technical thing. I have had a few singing lessons to help me with my breathing and supporting the vocal and that kind of thing. It pretty much ‘is as it is’ with me… in the raw as it were.
Each to their own… I guess the likes of Amy Winehouse doesn’t hold back on the booze.
Or anything else love! Whatever works for you really.
Speaking of Amy, comparisons to other artists happen… are you okay with all that?
Yeah, I think it's a tremendous compliment! I loved her last album – I think she's got an amazing voice and I love the fact that she doesn’t give a shit. It's very complimentary that people compare me with other artists who are admired. I just think it’s normal – people are going to try to get a handle on who you are and try to put you in some kind of genre or what have you. That's just a normal thing. I think one of the things with me is that I straddle the fuse on this – ( I don't make pastiche) I’m a little bit of Jazz, a little bit of Rock, a little bit of Soul, a little bit of old and a little bit of new. You know, the type of stuff that reflects who I am as a woman.
There's only good music and bad music and even that's subjective.
You’re working on a new album – your PR speel says you're "taking your music to new dimensions" – sounds exciting… what dimensions exactly?
(Laughs)… Oh, the PR speel…
Yeah, for me the last album was quite jazzy, quite textural and I think this time it's quite atmospheric actually… I’ve tried to simplify and strengthen the production and make sure that the songs are very direct. I like narrative songs – songs that mean and say something. Yeah, I am trying to just make it a little bit less obtuse and more straight forward. I’m trying to get a combination of live and programmed instrumentation in there as well. It’s exciting; it's a voyage of discovery really… I love to do what I do.
You've had tracks used in Indie films in the US, co-written two tracks for the new Kubb album, worked with some absolute legends and featured on a dance track by Bright Lights (as a vocalist!)…
I don't mind… I’m not a snob! My first ever release was a Deep House record… I just love to sing. I have a particular thing that I do which is 'my thing'. I just love to write – I'm a slag, what can I say!
Have you seen Fiona live? Have you got a message for the lady with 'the voice'. Hit the comment section with your messages and reviews.
Fiona Renshaw's “Blood Sweat and Tears EP” is released on Virago Records on June 18th 2007. (you can still buy the album"Love in a Bubble" here on Amazon)
Comments (1)
Ron
Hi, Fiona.
Your open mind to music will surely help you find the niche that will one day achieve the success you deserve. While Australia may be your second focus in the current life plan, I hope you take the long way back - via the international music scene and a few top albums. Looking forward to your jazz album so that I can review it for Australian JazzScene! Anyone influenced by Billie Holiday will surely know how to put emotion into lyrics.
Nice interview, Katie; some indepth stuff that others often miss.
Posted on June 24, 2007 11:30 PM
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