Vashti Bunyan – Interview
One of the forgotten Godmother’s of 60’s folk and free love. Vashti Bunyan had a dream start, Mick & Keith penned her debut single only for it to go sour and she lost faith in the music industry. Continuing via a magical story of leaving it all behind to travel horse and cart to Donovan’s hippie commune and write one of the most stunningly beautiful folk albums possibly ever crafted, but never heard. That was pretty much the end of the story for Vashti until 30 years later, her album re-released to a tidal wave of critical acclaim and it’s title track ‘Just Another Diamond Day’, to feature on a major mobile phone advert! And that’s just the start of it, so we just had to sit down with her and find out more…
noize: Hi Vashti, how are you, what are you doing today?
Vashti Bunyan: Hello.. I'm ok thankyou - just recovering from a trip to London yesterday to see the rough cut of a documentary film that Kieran Evans has been making about my Diamond Day journey. Weird to see my life on a screen.
n: You recently released a compilation of some of your very earliest recordings; apparently you even stumbled across some of them by chance. How exciting was it to be able to let those recordings become widely available again for a new generation of listeners to explore? Were you nervous about releasing music you made during a completely different era of your career?
VB: Exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measure. I hadn't heard those early recordings for 40 something years so it was a bit eerie. Then putting them out for other people to hear was a bit of a risk. Such young songs, such a young soul altogether.. yes it was strange having a CD out with all my earliest musical memories at this time in my life - when everything is so different.
n: Your very first steps into the music industry sound like they were quite a whirlwind, being discovered by the Stone’s manager, Mick and Keith writing your debut single but it was not long after that you became disenchanted with the music industry. Given the reflection you’ve been able to have on those times, what would you say it was about the situation then that meant you needed to leave your musical career behind? And what, if anything, do you think is different now that has re-kindled that spark for music in you and enabled you to write music again?
VB: You say it was not long after - but in fact it was three years from the time I first met Andrew Loog Oldham to when I decided to give up on music the first time.. 1965 to 1968. It felt like an eternity to me. I tried many different avenues but always I came up against the control being in someone else's hands. Also there was never any feedback. I didn't sell records and that was the only yardstick. Now it is different - mainly because of the internet. There is no longer that big blockage between musician and audience.. the big record company holding strings and money. There are ways around. Wonderful.
n: At the time of writing ‘Just Another Diamond Day’ you were living the kind of life that I guess you really only could have in the 60’s. Having left music behind you and you’re boyfriend on a horse and cart for 2 years in search of Donovan’s Isle of Skye based artistic collective. Was this experience really as much of an incredible fairy tale as it sounds? What were your thoughts and experiences of the time that really inspired the writing of such a beautiful and evidently timeless album?
VB: It had its extreme and magical moments. It was also very hard at times to keep going - rain, mud, no money, fast trucks, abuse from police and landowners alike - but also we found great generosity and learned about life in a way we could not have done any other way. And of course the people we learned from are not there any more so it could not be done in the same way now. My songs romanticised it all - but mostly in order to cheer myself along, to keep the dream going. I still love the dream.
n: It must have been quite a surreal experience re-releasing an album 30 years after you wrote it and, quite possibly, you never thought would really be discovered by many people again. For it to be met with such wide-spread critical acclaim and even a used on a television advert, how did that feel?
VB: Surreal! When we re-released the album in 2000 we expected to sell a few hundred maybe so it was a staggering response and I still feel warmed by it. The TV advert.. well it was wonderfully ironic that a song I wrote after feeling so rejected by the commercial world, after leaving London and my family and music behind me and taking off in a horse and cart, after having it all rejected once again when I'd been persuaded back to make and release Diamond Day in 1970 - and THEN 36 years later having Saatchi and Saatchi pick it up to advertise a mobile phone company.. about as commercial as it could be. That felt very good and restored my faith in the musical universe - even if I was sorry it upset the people who had championed Diamond Day for its simple and uncommercial message.
n: There are many new artists today who cite you as a big influence. An exciting young singer / songwriter called Lucy & The Caterpillar told me she regards you as a something of a legend. Many new artists such as Kate Nash and Laura Marling have been compared to you. How exciting and motivating is it to know you’ve inspired new generations of musicians and songwriters?
VB: It's funny really to think of myself as an influence when I haven't yet got used to the idea of anyone knowing anything about me. Thankyou Lucy! Kate Nash and Laura Marling are both (in different ways) so very like I was when I started out - but they have a lot more confidence - and also maybe confidence and connection with their audiences. I had no audience that I knew of and felt isolated and frustrated. I wish them all the good things they deserve.
n: So how much does new music of today inspire you? You’ve worked with artists who are very much of the moment, such as Animal Collective. Do you enjoy new music today as much as you always did when you first started making music yourself? Are there any artists today that stir your love for music as much as the artists you listened to in the 60’s did?
VB: New music is so new, so exciting, so unpredictable and I am bowled over by alot of it. I do enjoy making music now – and especially I love playing with other musicians as I so rarely did when I was young. There are so many good new people, new bands - so I sometimes feel overwhelmed by how many hours in the day would be needed to hear everyone. I am just very happy to be in it this time and not on the outside as much as I always was.
n: So looking to the future now, I hear you’re in the process of writing a new album. How is it taking shape, and what do you find yourself writing about and being inspired by at the moment?
VB. I am still at the beginning really, fragmented songs, bits of ideas here and there. Empty head - then next minute so many ideas colliding - hopefully I will sort it out. Shape.. no not yet. That's the bit I like about albums.. they tend to make their own shape whether you like it or not - and generally not till the end.
n: Do you still enjoy playing live? Do you plan any more live appearances or a tour at any time soon? Possibly some festival appearances this summer?
VB: I am amazed how much I love playing live now after the initial terror of the first few performances. I never did play live much when I was young so I wasn't sure I could do it. However I do find that live performance and writing don't mix - can't explain it - so I have decided not to do much live this year apart from the Brighton Festival in May which I agreed to a while back. I want to take time to write and record.
n: And lastly, what goals if any do you still have as a musician and artist? Are there things you still want to achieve or are you simply enjoying the opportunity to be back writing and performing and happy to see where it takes you?
VB: I'm keen to explore musical arranging more, and maybe some slightly longer songs than my usual 2.4 minutes. But then I also want to avoid being self-conscious about the songs - and yes just see where it all leads. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do this. It is different though.. knowing that there is a record label waiting and willing to put out an album. Before whenever I wrote something I never knew if anyone would hear it. Now I know they will and I have to trick myself into forgetting all that and just get on with the songs.
Interview by Martin Kendrick
http://www.anotherday.co.uk/
Bookmark and share this page with:noize: Hi Vashti, how are you, what are you doing today?
Vashti Bunyan: Hello.. I'm ok thankyou - just recovering from a trip to London yesterday to see the rough cut of a documentary film that Kieran Evans has been making about my Diamond Day journey. Weird to see my life on a screen.
n: You recently released a compilation of some of your very earliest recordings; apparently you even stumbled across some of them by chance. How exciting was it to be able to let those recordings become widely available again for a new generation of listeners to explore? Were you nervous about releasing music you made during a completely different era of your career?
VB: Exciting and nerve-wracking in equal measure. I hadn't heard those early recordings for 40 something years so it was a bit eerie. Then putting them out for other people to hear was a bit of a risk. Such young songs, such a young soul altogether.. yes it was strange having a CD out with all my earliest musical memories at this time in my life - when everything is so different.
n: Your very first steps into the music industry sound like they were quite a whirlwind, being discovered by the Stone’s manager, Mick and Keith writing your debut single but it was not long after that you became disenchanted with the music industry. Given the reflection you’ve been able to have on those times, what would you say it was about the situation then that meant you needed to leave your musical career behind? And what, if anything, do you think is different now that has re-kindled that spark for music in you and enabled you to write music again?
VB: You say it was not long after - but in fact it was three years from the time I first met Andrew Loog Oldham to when I decided to give up on music the first time.. 1965 to 1968. It felt like an eternity to me. I tried many different avenues but always I came up against the control being in someone else's hands. Also there was never any feedback. I didn't sell records and that was the only yardstick. Now it is different - mainly because of the internet. There is no longer that big blockage between musician and audience.. the big record company holding strings and money. There are ways around. Wonderful.
n: At the time of writing ‘Just Another Diamond Day’ you were living the kind of life that I guess you really only could have in the 60’s. Having left music behind you and you’re boyfriend on a horse and cart for 2 years in search of Donovan’s Isle of Skye based artistic collective. Was this experience really as much of an incredible fairy tale as it sounds? What were your thoughts and experiences of the time that really inspired the writing of such a beautiful and evidently timeless album?
VB: It had its extreme and magical moments. It was also very hard at times to keep going - rain, mud, no money, fast trucks, abuse from police and landowners alike - but also we found great generosity and learned about life in a way we could not have done any other way. And of course the people we learned from are not there any more so it could not be done in the same way now. My songs romanticised it all - but mostly in order to cheer myself along, to keep the dream going. I still love the dream.
n: It must have been quite a surreal experience re-releasing an album 30 years after you wrote it and, quite possibly, you never thought would really be discovered by many people again. For it to be met with such wide-spread critical acclaim and even a used on a television advert, how did that feel?
VB: Surreal! When we re-released the album in 2000 we expected to sell a few hundred maybe so it was a staggering response and I still feel warmed by it. The TV advert.. well it was wonderfully ironic that a song I wrote after feeling so rejected by the commercial world, after leaving London and my family and music behind me and taking off in a horse and cart, after having it all rejected once again when I'd been persuaded back to make and release Diamond Day in 1970 - and THEN 36 years later having Saatchi and Saatchi pick it up to advertise a mobile phone company.. about as commercial as it could be. That felt very good and restored my faith in the musical universe - even if I was sorry it upset the people who had championed Diamond Day for its simple and uncommercial message.
n: There are many new artists today who cite you as a big influence. An exciting young singer / songwriter called Lucy & The Caterpillar told me she regards you as a something of a legend. Many new artists such as Kate Nash and Laura Marling have been compared to you. How exciting and motivating is it to know you’ve inspired new generations of musicians and songwriters?
VB: It's funny really to think of myself as an influence when I haven't yet got used to the idea of anyone knowing anything about me. Thankyou Lucy! Kate Nash and Laura Marling are both (in different ways) so very like I was when I started out - but they have a lot more confidence - and also maybe confidence and connection with their audiences. I had no audience that I knew of and felt isolated and frustrated. I wish them all the good things they deserve.
n: So how much does new music of today inspire you? You’ve worked with artists who are very much of the moment, such as Animal Collective. Do you enjoy new music today as much as you always did when you first started making music yourself? Are there any artists today that stir your love for music as much as the artists you listened to in the 60’s did?
VB: New music is so new, so exciting, so unpredictable and I am bowled over by alot of it. I do enjoy making music now – and especially I love playing with other musicians as I so rarely did when I was young. There are so many good new people, new bands - so I sometimes feel overwhelmed by how many hours in the day would be needed to hear everyone. I am just very happy to be in it this time and not on the outside as much as I always was.
n: So looking to the future now, I hear you’re in the process of writing a new album. How is it taking shape, and what do you find yourself writing about and being inspired by at the moment?
VB. I am still at the beginning really, fragmented songs, bits of ideas here and there. Empty head - then next minute so many ideas colliding - hopefully I will sort it out. Shape.. no not yet. That's the bit I like about albums.. they tend to make their own shape whether you like it or not - and generally not till the end.
n: Do you still enjoy playing live? Do you plan any more live appearances or a tour at any time soon? Possibly some festival appearances this summer?
VB: I am amazed how much I love playing live now after the initial terror of the first few performances. I never did play live much when I was young so I wasn't sure I could do it. However I do find that live performance and writing don't mix - can't explain it - so I have decided not to do much live this year apart from the Brighton Festival in May which I agreed to a while back. I want to take time to write and record.
n: And lastly, what goals if any do you still have as a musician and artist? Are there things you still want to achieve or are you simply enjoying the opportunity to be back writing and performing and happy to see where it takes you?
VB: I'm keen to explore musical arranging more, and maybe some slightly longer songs than my usual 2.4 minutes. But then I also want to avoid being self-conscious about the songs - and yes just see where it all leads. I feel very lucky to have the opportunity to do this. It is different though.. knowing that there is a record label waiting and willing to put out an album. Before whenever I wrote something I never knew if anyone would hear it. Now I know they will and I have to trick myself into forgetting all that and just get on with the songs.
Interview by Martin Kendrick
http://www.anotherday.co.uk/
