Martina Topley-Bird – Interview
From her blistering begginings of collaborations with the likes of Tricky and her debut album being Mercury Prize nominated, we’ve seen little of the enigmatic Martina Topley-Bird in the 5 years since her debut, outside of her appearance on the ‘Demon Days’ Gorillaz album. But fear not, the time has come for her triumphant return with her new, Dangermouse produced album ‘The Blue God’. So just where has she been and what is the story behind ‘The Blue God’ I hear you cry! Well, let’s ask her shall we?
noize: Hi Martina, how are you today?
Martina Topley-Bird: Very well, sitting outside a café in Amsterdam.
n: It’s great to have you back with the new album ‘The Blue God’, it’s been 5 years now since your last outing with ‘Quixotic’, so (apart from making the new album of course) what have you been doing during the last five years?
MTB: Collaborating with different people, highlights being with Leila and Terry Hall for tracks that will appear on her forthcoming album Blood, Looms and Blooms and especially working with Roots Manuva and Gorillaz on the Demon Days album and again after in their amazing live shows in Manchester and at the legendary Apollo theatre in New York.
n: You managed to secure the services of probably the hottest producer around at the moment, Dangermouse, for the new album. What was it like working with him and what is it about the way he works with artists and brings to their sound that makes him so sought after do you think?
MTB: I was drawn to the warmth in his production sound and the impression of got of him thru the Grey album that he was this renegade anarchist. He was a joy to work with.
n: What was it specifically he brought to your sound and style and the way you approach making an album?
MTB: I waned to restrict the influences and the way we agreed to do that was to use one musician, Josh Klinghoffer. DM brought in the psychedelics and unconventional dynamics.
n: Considering the big rise you had working with Tricky at the beginning, all the other top artists you collaborated with, and then having your debut album nominated for the Mercury prize. Did you feel there was a lot of pressure and expectation on you when it came to starting to write ‘The Blue God’? Was it a difficult process at first?
MTB: I was lucky enough to write a song pretty much straight after my album came out that I wanted to use as a blueprint for this new record. It was actually much easier in a way because I had such a clear sense of direction. The difficulty was finding the collaborator to realise the vision with.
n: What kind of things were you drawing inspiration from during the writing of the new album, was there anyone or anything that you would say was your muse for this record?
MTB: My original version of Poison was the main point of reference, that is to say a track that’s hooky and kind of meathead simple and a bit obnoxious still with a strong emotional thread. I wanted it to be fun and irreverent too. Out of that we referred to the Shangri Las especially Walking In The Sand cos of it’s bizarre structure and sense of romantic drama
n: What music where you listening to over the last few years while making it, were there any artists or albums you were really hooked on or that were a big inspiration to you?
MTB: I liked The Shins for their sense of melody, I listened to the Beatles a fair bit. Bit of Kate Bush, bit of Prince. Joanna Newsom for the dense lyrics…
n: So can you tell us who or what the ‘Blue God’ is or represents for you?
MTB: Not so much…. ; )
n: There’s that beautiful mix of light and dark to the album, there always seems to be that mix of dark lyrics and uplifting music or vice versa. ‘Pop Noir’ people seem to be calling it. It’s quite Gnarls Barkley in places actually, so was that partly Dangermouse’s input or was that effect something you specifically wanted to achieve yourself?
MTB: I don’t really see the Gnarls comparison but that’s probably cos I’m focused on the melody and songwriting ,it’s not intentional but may be coincidental except in the case of Something To Say. Something To Say has something in common with Gorillaz and Gnarls perhaps with it’s sense of obnoxious fun but it also has something in common with The Creeps and B52s style garage pop. I feel like it sounds like a pretty well realised representation of me and Danger Mouse and introduces Josh as a player in the Beefheart/Ribot style guitar at the end….
n: So what are your plans from here, do you plan to collaborate with some more people again any time soon?
MTB: There’s a few collaborations I’d been putting off til the album was finished and out there so I’m looking forward to investigating those, but I want to make sure they’re really special before I say anything about them …
n: Do you think you’ll want to take your time again to craft the third album when the time comes to think about that or would you want to turn that one around fairly quickly? Did you find it beneficial having a few years to think about and work on an album?
MTB: I hadn’t planned for this record to be released 5 years later, that’s just the way it panned out…I have to have faith that things happen at the right time and I now know better than to promise an album in a year’s time!
n: What plans do you have for live performances do you have, are you going to be playing any of the festivals this summer?
MTB: I’m playing Meltdown and I think I’m playing 3 times at Glastonbury! That’s the magic number!
Interview by Martin Kendrick
www.myspace.com/martinatopleybird
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Bookmark and share this page with:noize: Hi Martina, how are you today?
Martina Topley-Bird: Very well, sitting outside a café in Amsterdam.
n: It’s great to have you back with the new album ‘The Blue God’, it’s been 5 years now since your last outing with ‘Quixotic’, so (apart from making the new album of course) what have you been doing during the last five years?
MTB: Collaborating with different people, highlights being with Leila and Terry Hall for tracks that will appear on her forthcoming album Blood, Looms and Blooms and especially working with Roots Manuva and Gorillaz on the Demon Days album and again after in their amazing live shows in Manchester and at the legendary Apollo theatre in New York.
n: You managed to secure the services of probably the hottest producer around at the moment, Dangermouse, for the new album. What was it like working with him and what is it about the way he works with artists and brings to their sound that makes him so sought after do you think?
MTB: I was drawn to the warmth in his production sound and the impression of got of him thru the Grey album that he was this renegade anarchist. He was a joy to work with.
n: What was it specifically he brought to your sound and style and the way you approach making an album?
MTB: I waned to restrict the influences and the way we agreed to do that was to use one musician, Josh Klinghoffer. DM brought in the psychedelics and unconventional dynamics.
n: Considering the big rise you had working with Tricky at the beginning, all the other top artists you collaborated with, and then having your debut album nominated for the Mercury prize. Did you feel there was a lot of pressure and expectation on you when it came to starting to write ‘The Blue God’? Was it a difficult process at first?
MTB: I was lucky enough to write a song pretty much straight after my album came out that I wanted to use as a blueprint for this new record. It was actually much easier in a way because I had such a clear sense of direction. The difficulty was finding the collaborator to realise the vision with.
n: What kind of things were you drawing inspiration from during the writing of the new album, was there anyone or anything that you would say was your muse for this record?
MTB: My original version of Poison was the main point of reference, that is to say a track that’s hooky and kind of meathead simple and a bit obnoxious still with a strong emotional thread. I wanted it to be fun and irreverent too. Out of that we referred to the Shangri Las especially Walking In The Sand cos of it’s bizarre structure and sense of romantic drama
n: What music where you listening to over the last few years while making it, were there any artists or albums you were really hooked on or that were a big inspiration to you?
MTB: I liked The Shins for their sense of melody, I listened to the Beatles a fair bit. Bit of Kate Bush, bit of Prince. Joanna Newsom for the dense lyrics…
n: So can you tell us who or what the ‘Blue God’ is or represents for you?
MTB: Not so much…. ; )
n: There’s that beautiful mix of light and dark to the album, there always seems to be that mix of dark lyrics and uplifting music or vice versa. ‘Pop Noir’ people seem to be calling it. It’s quite Gnarls Barkley in places actually, so was that partly Dangermouse’s input or was that effect something you specifically wanted to achieve yourself?
MTB: I don’t really see the Gnarls comparison but that’s probably cos I’m focused on the melody and songwriting ,it’s not intentional but may be coincidental except in the case of Something To Say. Something To Say has something in common with Gorillaz and Gnarls perhaps with it’s sense of obnoxious fun but it also has something in common with The Creeps and B52s style garage pop. I feel like it sounds like a pretty well realised representation of me and Danger Mouse and introduces Josh as a player in the Beefheart/Ribot style guitar at the end….
n: So what are your plans from here, do you plan to collaborate with some more people again any time soon?
MTB: There’s a few collaborations I’d been putting off til the album was finished and out there so I’m looking forward to investigating those, but I want to make sure they’re really special before I say anything about them …
n: Do you think you’ll want to take your time again to craft the third album when the time comes to think about that or would you want to turn that one around fairly quickly? Did you find it beneficial having a few years to think about and work on an album?
MTB: I hadn’t planned for this record to be released 5 years later, that’s just the way it panned out…I have to have faith that things happen at the right time and I now know better than to promise an album in a year’s time!
n: What plans do you have for live performances do you have, are you going to be playing any of the festivals this summer?
MTB: I’m playing Meltdown and I think I’m playing 3 times at Glastonbury! That’s the magic number!
Interview by Martin Kendrick
www.myspace.com/martinatopleybird
Click here to read more Martina Topley-Bird related news, reviews & interviews!
Buy Martina Topley-Bird CDs & Vinyl
Buy Martina Topley-Bird MP3s
Buy Martina Topley-Bird Tickets
Buy Martina Topley-Bird Merch
