An interview with Border Breakers winner Corinne Bailey Rae
Ann Macpherson talks to Corinne Bailey Rae. Nominated for 3 Brit Awards, Bailey Rae has appeared on Oprah - wooing the US. Her 2006 debut album, called simply after herself, shot directly to UK No 1 – only the fourth time that has been done by a female artist. What an achievement! Her rise from Leeds cloakroom attendant to global, centre stage, soul sensation is astounding. And it certainly didn’t take long for her talent to gain recognition. While in 2005 she was “the next big thing”, in 2006 Bailey Rae had already made it, with her album nearing triple platinum in the UK and over a million records being sold in America. In the US her debut entered the Billboard chart at 17 – the highest ever chart entry for a UK artist’s debut album in the US. Bailey Rae describes her music as “a little bit of everything […] chilled out, acoustic, kooky, atmospheric and soulful” and her alchemy definitely seems to have struck a crowd-winning chord.
A.M. ‘Your album Corinne Bailey Rae just won a "Border Breakers" award. We are used to saying that music has no borders. Is that true for Europe? What difficulties do artists face when trying to be successful in another European market?’ C.B.R. ‘I definitely think that music itself has no borders and that it transcends language. I’ve got lots of Antonio Carlos Jobim records that are in Spanish and I don’t understand the words but you can tell whether they’re sorrowful or a lament or a celebration. I think one difficulty is that you can’t be everywhere all the time, so as much as you try to travel to all the different places sometimes you can’t spend enough time in one place so that people get a good idea of you as a person and an artist, so it’s more do with the way the music is marketed than the music itself.’
A.M. ‘How do you find the audiences around Europe, when on tour for example? Are they the same or different?’ C.B.R. ‘I think audiences all over the world are pretty similar, I guess if people are into what you do. I’ve generally found that people have similar reactions, they really listen and I also think all the audiences I’ve had have been really diverse wherever we happen to be – in terms of age groups, ethnicity and sexuality which I really like, because we haven’t just targeted the record at a particular demographic, it’s just people who like the songs so we have crossed a lot of boundaries.’
A.M. ‘What are your favourite places in Europe?’ C.B.R. ‘I love Paris because of the romance and style of the place, I also like trying out my French. I love Milan, mainly because of the food and people, I’ve enjoyed some really nice meals just sitting with friends and eating the most amazing food. I love the laid back feel of Barcelona and seeing all the Gaudi stuff. I had a really great holiday there once so always like going back.’
A.M. ‘Which other young European artists on the scene at the moment would you recommend? Which European bands or artists are your favourite?’ C.B.R. ‘Air – Moonwalker was a classic album and they really influenced bands like 07. My sound engineer is always trying to get me to listen to Rammstein, but I’m not sure it’s my thing! I’ve had a lifelong love of Bjork and I think she’s one of the true innovators of modern music and I love her voice. I also really like the Cardigans.’ A.M. ‘If you could change the European anthem, which song would you choose?’ C.B.R. ‘You’ve Got A Friend by Carole King – it’s a good unifying song!’
An interview with Border Breakers winner Gabriel Rios
Abigail Acton talks to Puerto Rican born artist Gabriel Rios whose music blends West Indian rhythms with contemporary electronic sounds putting Europe in a trance. Having moved to Ghent in the mid-1990s, Gabriel joined creative forces with Jo Bogaert, of Technotronic fame. This led to the production of Gabriel’s first solo album ‘Ghostboy’ in 2004 - an experimental, irresistible combination of Latino, folk, hip hop and salsa. His single “Broad Daylight” was used as the opening track of the late Theo van Gogh’s 2004 film “06/05”. Urban Rumba at its best – awesome!
A.A. ‘Your album Ghostboy just won a ‘Border Breakers’ award. We are used to saying that music has no borders. Is that true for Europe? What difficulties do artists face when trying to be successful in another European market?’ G.R. ‘Well, I feel that although the European market is more open for different kinds of music than the U.S. there’s still difficulties in breaking into other countries because countries want to protect their own markets. That’s not a bad thing because it poses a challenge for whoever wants to try and make universal music that can be played everywhere.’
A.A. ‘How do you find the audiences around Europe, when on tour for example? Are they the same or different?’ G.R. ‘They are different everywhere. That’s what’s great about playing outside of your own country. Some people are very talkative and interact a lot and others are shy. The best audiences give you all they got if you do the same.’
A.A. ‘What are your favourite places in Europe?’ G.R. ‘I love the south of Spain and Paris but I recently came back from a small tour in Germany and I have to say that I loved the German people and their response to our music was cool. I really enjoyed Köln and Hamburg and of course Berlin.’
A.A. ‘Do you think music contributes to the development of a European identity?’ G.R. ‘Very much so. Even though it crosses over to the realm of mass culture and pop it still is art and it makes people put themselves out there with all that they are, representing something very individual yet colloquial. This is specially true in Europe where such different countries exist in close proximity.’
A.A. ‘Which other young European artists on the scene at the moment would you recommend? Which European bands or artists are your favourite?’ G.R. ‘There are so many! The Streets, Dizze Rascal, Camille, Manu Chao, Bjork, Kings of Convenience, Mew, Artic Monkeys, Baloji, Millionare, Deus, Anne Pierle, The Knife, to name a few.’
A.A. ‘Do you think the EU could do more to help European musicians and culture in general?’ G.R. ‘I think more can always be done. It’s in the interest of every country culturally and economically to do so. People love music more than ever and live music is a collective ritual that is necessary to culture everywhere and it stays very difficult for starting bands to move around, tour and get played on the radio.’
A.A. ‘You have profited from “European Tour support”, one of the EU artist support schemes. Do you think they are useful?’ G.R. ‘Very much so. Touring, even in a small scale, is very expensive and we couldn’t have done half the things we’ve done till now without that sort of support.’
A.A. ‘If you could change the European anthem, which song would you choose? G.R. ‘I don’t know. Although I think a union is necessary and very useful I don’t like anthems. I would probably choose something without words.’
An interview with Border Breakers winner José González
Friederike Endress talks to José González who breaks the typical stereotype of a Swedish rock export. His music explores more subtle notes, simply produced with a crystalline voice accompanied by an eloquently played classical guitar. Likened to Nick Drake, Tim Buckley and Will Oldham, with an exotic touch of flamenco and tango, José’s vocal signature is clearly a success. It sent his debut single straight into the Swedish Top Ten. Even the Dalai Lama is a fan.
F.E. ‘Your album Veneer just won a "Border Breakers" award. We are used to saying that music has no borders. Is that true for Europe? What difficulties do artists face when trying to be successful in another European market?’ J.G. ‘I feel like in one sense that music has as many borders as there are different cultural groups. But the cool thing is when you have a Norwegian and a Croatian teenager listening to the same deathmetal band. I don’t really think in terms of conquering markets, but one thing I’ve noticed while touring is the impact of magazines, radio and blogs on people. If the people ‘behind the scene’ get what you’re doing things go smooth but if they don’t you can carry on touring and releasing albums for a lifetime without reaching success.’
F.E. ‘How do you find the audiences around Europe, when on tour for example? Are they the same or different?’ J.G. ‘I’m amazed how similar the audiences have been. Age, gender mix, style don’t vary that much. Belgians and Swedes tend to be quieter than the Irish or Scottish people. In general there’s more variation between a Tuesday and a Friday night or sitting or standing crowds than between countries.’
F.E. ‘What are your favourite places in Europe?’ J.G. ‘I love my hometown Gothenburg, mainly because I have all my friends there. I’m pretty sure that I could love any other place just as much. Specially if there is sun, good food and nice people.’
F.E. ‘Do you think music contributes to the development of a European identity?’ J.G. ‘Yes, to some extent. People seem to think in more nationalistic terms than in terms of continents. Music is powerful in bridging national and cultural gaps in general.’
F.E. ‘Which other young European artists on the scene at the moment would you recommend? Which European bands or artists are your favourite?’ J.G. ‘Salem al Fakir, Little Dragon, International Noise Conspiracy and others.’
F.E. ‘Do you think the EU could do more to help European musicians and culture in general?’ J.G. ‘Yes – support good independent media. Radio, magazines, TV, web based media. Help bands to reach out. ‘
F.E. ‘You have profited from “European Tour support”, one of the EU artist support schemes. Do you think they are useful?’ J.G. ‘Yes. Playing live is the most direct/honest way of presenting music but unfortunately not profitable if you’re relatively unknown. It’s very well spent money in the long run.’ F.E. ‘If you could change the European anthem, which song would you choose?’ J.G. ‘Don’t know, maybe imagine by John Lennon (if it wasn’t so cheesy). I tend to dislike anthems. I think the emphasis should be to break down barriers and not create new ones.’