Emiliana Torrini: Bird from Graceland

This charming young lady, newly signed on Labels, already home to her compatriots Gus Gus, is the new musical sensation from Iceland. Her international pedigree is closely connected with the inner world she very uniquely depicts in her debut album, "Love in the time of science", produced by Roland Orzabal, former Tears for fears. No tears, no fears, the album is brilliant and Brel's cover version, "If you go away", on her second single fully justifies its purchase. Interview with this enthusiastic and lively character, before seeing her on stage in a near future...

- Could you introduce yourself?

- I was born and raised in Iceland, I'm half Italian and it's my first international record. That's it!

- Who made you want to become a singer?

- Everything and nothing influenced me. My granfather was a jazz pianist and my grandmother was also playing the piano, it wasn't necessarily on the radio, it was in the head. I went to the opera school for a few years, I wanted to be an opera singer. I didn't want to write myself, I was very shy, I wanted to start knowing how it worked first. With a friend, we did 2 records, with cover versions, like the Velvet and stuff like that. People were always asking me: "why don't you write your own song?". I said "I don't want to, I'm not ready for that". Besides, opera singers don't have to write music. (Laughs) So many singers have amazing voices and can't write music. For me, music has always been in the head, but I needed a kick in the ass to get it down. It was like a block. Then I came to England and started writing with Eg (Eg White, from Eg and the Lylis).

- Was your participation to the Gus Gus album you first musical experience?

- No. My first experience was when I was 15, in a band. I didn't meet Gus Gus until 2 years later, they were doing a short movie. I was drunk, downtown, and they were also drunk. They asked me if I wanted to be in a movie. I said "Well, I don't know". They said, it's just a short movie, so I said, OK then. Then we decided to do the music for the film and they used it for their first album. We had an offer for a deal and I quit because I didn't want to be in a band. I just wanted to do my own stuff and that's difficult in a band. You have to compromise too much.

- What do you listen to at home?

- I fall in love with music all the time, but a whole record seldom gets me and the new Sneaker Pimps album is amazing. I love when you have to learn to listen to a CD. I also love an Icelandic band called Siguros. I also love Bulgarian choirs, classical music, complicated techno, like Aphex Twin and Chemical Brothers, who have really complicated beats. It's like, "how the hell did they do that? Damn, I wish I had done that." I don't really like simple things. (a surrealistic vocal rendering of moronic dance music and monotonous beats follows) Of course, in every style of music, there's something brilliant.

- You said about your first album that it doesn't depict reality but rather your inner world, your dreams...

- It's both, not necessarily dreams, but what you think is reality. Reality is also inside your head, it's not necessarily what happens in front of you. And also what you're thinking when you wake up or you're at home doing nothing... It just happens more inside the head. It's a love album. I fall in love very easily, but not necessarily with people, with everything! I love observing, it's amazing.

- How did you meet Roland Orzabal?

- Derek was in the company, he liked him a lot and he wanted me to work with him. I don't know the band very much, I've just heard a few songs. I didn't really know his background. A friend of mine introduced us. We started writing together and he was so quick! I was still humming and he had already finished the song! It was quite funny because I'm so slow. He produced the record with his partner Alan Griffith. We worked the demos a lot, they were brilliant and he really liked them, but it was very chaotic, some tapes broke, so we had to do some things all over again! (Laughs) He's very professional.

- Why did you choose to cover Jacques Brel's "If you go away"?

- It's one of my favourite songs ever. I wish I'd written it and I hate him for having written it. (Laughs) I don't know him very well, but this song makes me cry. It's so unbelievably emotional and it's so difficult to write that with beautiful words, without being tacky. It was so straight, so real. I don't know Marc Almond's version, but I love Scott Walker's. We recorded this song in half a day, we had to hurry a lot and that's why the voice sometimes breaks. I'm not very fussy and I like when things go wrong a bit. I was very happy with the outcome, although it's very strange and chaotic.

- What did you like best about this album: singing, writing or recording?

- I find it very difficult to write, Eg had to drag things a bit out of me, I was so shy in the beginning. It was very new and very difficult for me, but it was brilliant. I've always loved singing more than anything and that will always be my life. I'm a slow writer, I don't write a song every day, but it's always in my head.

- Do you find it annoying to be automatically compared to famous Icelandics like Gus Gus or Björk?

- I don't think I have the same voice as her, but it's probably because of the accent. But every country has a musical undertone and people want to alienate us a little bit. We have our culture, that influences our music, it's slow, morbid and also beautiful. People think we're very different because we're so "new". If you listen to English music, with the Beatles influence, it's the same for us, we all grew up with the same music. If people tell me I speak like Björk, I just say it's our accent, it's normal. I love Björk, she's great. But people have to stop making comparisons and start listening to the music.

- Your songs are very poetic and personal. Is this record a step in your life?

- No, I just think it's normal for people to write personal things. I would think it's very weird to do otherwise. It was important for me to get the record down, I did it with my friends and it was beautiful to get something on tape. The work is difficult, but it's so nice when it's finished, you feel better. When you're writing, you're always looking into yourself and there are so many things you have to fix. It's not dramatic, it's fun.

- You father works as a waiter and travels a lot. Would you like to do like him?

- Yes, I'm like a Gypsy, like my father. He must have Gypsy blood or something. I have to have a home in one place, like Iceland, but I also have to fly all over the place, maybe living for one year in some place and then coming home.

- You never sing in Icelandic. Is it a deliberate choice?

- Yes, I think it's easier, but sometimes I write in Icelandic first and then bring it to English.

- Why don't you make 2 versions, like the Sugarcubes did?

- No, I don't see the point. People wouldn't understand it anyway.

- What are your wishes for the future?

- Both make music and have my own farm, with a little boat so I can go fishing...

Interview by Jean-Paul Coillard & Mister X

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