| 5 MINUTES
WITH
MARTINA TOPLEY BIRD |
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Former Tricky vocalist returns to beguile ears and Souls with her seductively tough pop. Text: Jody Thompson |
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| So how does
it feel, bringing out your first own solo album?
"It's all very weird. There's about 15 thing going on at once and I'm feeling... weird." Why did you decide to launch a solo career? "The funny thing is, I'd been talking
Why not? "I can't really say. Well, I don't want to talk about my daughter and stuff in the press particularly, but I couldn't balance my other responsibilities while doing it. The more tired I got, the more sensitive I got, especially if anyone else was stressed, like the tour manager or something. Plus, working with Tricky, I didn't have to do any work really. After four albums (Maxinquaye, Nearly God, Pre-Millennium Tension and Angels 'With Dirty Faces) I thought, I'm not really stretching myself. How much has Tricky been helping you out now the tables have turned, so to speak? |
"He worked on guite
a few tracks, one he's co-written and produced. It's been great."
Seeing as you used to be romantic partners, how do you get on nowadays? "Our working relationship is fine, thank you very much." You first met when you were 15, is that right? And he started chatting you up after he saw you waitinq at the bus stop outside his house in Bristol? "No, it was a graveyard up the road, and we were sat on the wall smoking fags. It's a long time ago. Well, 12 years. The thing with working relationships, there's only two people, and sometimes you need to get out of the situation to value it or approach it in a different way." How did you get Queens of the Stone Age's Mark Lanegan and Josh Homme involved? (They feature on 'Need One', Mark singing, Josh playing.) "I've known them for years. Getting them on the album was just convenient because they were is London at the time. I really loved The Screaming Trees, and that's when I met Mark, when he was still in them. He was a Tricky fan, too. And Kyuss were my favourite |
live band, and
I met Josh then. We did a lot of the same circuit as them. I was very sad
when they split up, but Queens are great. It's very bizarre having known
them both for so long, but it's only now we've worked together"
What are your hopes for the album? "I find it really difficult contemplating that kind of thing. I really don't know. It doesn't matter how much success you have, in a way - I haven't seen many examples of people who are really happy because of it. I'm just trying to find out how to make myself happy on a day to day basis. I'm trying to pay bills and school fees and also be fulfilled." Where do you qet your voice from? Do you smoke loads of fags or summat? "No! It's just the way it comes out, the way that makes me feel good. If I tried to sing any other way, I couldn't." What about your name? Do you know loads of people think it's made up? "It's not made up! Holy Moly! It's my stepfather and father's names put together. That's all. It's my name!" The debut single 'Need One' is out May 26, with the album Quixotic following in the summer on Independiente |
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