Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: I grew up in a slightly bohemian household, my mom a painter & interior designer, my grandfather & his brother both writers and film/theatre directors, my aunt a costume designer so creativity was never discouraged, likewise individuality, curiosity and an explorer mind-set was kind of the norm. I grew up in a single parent household, my mom married (and divorced) young, so she, my sister & I were extremely close – and the age gap or generational divide never felt so vast between us. We moved around quite a bit between Ireland, where I was born, Italy & London, and we had family living in Spain, the US and France, so I was lucky to be exposed to many cultures and diverse mentalities from a young age. Music was always on loud, whether it be The. Police, Fleetwood Mac or Genisis on my mom’s stereo, Kylie (my first casette) or Marish (my first CD) and later Faithless and Royksopp in my bedroom, or tango, gospel and opera at my grandparents. All of these things had an impact both in my outlook & mentality, self assuredness, and my own diverse genre-blending music.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of The New Citizen Kane in three words?
A: Eclectic. Storytelling. Pop.
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: Currently I try to balance my time online/social media & engage as much as possible, without letting it take over my whole life. Instagram is my most constant platform, and I mix personal and professional content so my followers see a bit more than just my promo, and my actual personality in my posts and shares I hope. In the past I would be on tour at clubs & festivals which was always amazing to connect with people face to face, but the last six months were kind of unplanned and so live shows have not factored into my current schedule. I’ve really just been on creative overdrive writing & recording and putting out teasers & seeing a whole new audience connecting to my music (Thank you SPOTIFY!) and being quite reactive in terms of what I release rather than sticking to a rigid release plan. At the same time it’s been heart warming to see some of the old fans also still there & reconnecting, so loyal & as far away as Japan, considering I haven’t released in over 8 years. I feel really blesses at this stage of my life.
Q: You have just released your new EP, ‘Could Have Been’. Is there a story behind it?
A: I had kind of finished the Album, MORPHEUS, the set list and singles were all planned following on from the unexpected success of Endless Summer. My husband was away on a business trip and these are the times I fall down the creative rabbit hole, so to speak. When I have the house to myself and I can stay up making music all night (the moon brings out my artistic side I think). One night I was feeling romantic/nostalgic and Forget The World just kind of rolled out of me, I wasn’t trying to write a song, it was very organic. And I kind of realised that those more personal storytelling songs, the nostalgic moments were missing from the album – I there were no breakups or heartaches to write about, and often these are the songs people connect to the most. So then Could Have Been came next and it was a mix of imagining a future without my partner and the current life choices we have made, and bumping into each other years down the line – what would that look like, but sprinkled with anecdotes from past relations ships & breakups woven into the story – so it’s part reality / part fiction, but the emotion is very real, and I think very relatable. The “what ifs” and inner voices we assign to someone in our lives, that are really just our own thoughts and doubts and wonderings. Again it came to me so organically that same night, I think I had written both songs and put down the initial beats and demo vocals in 5-6hours. I decided to post a clip of “Could Have Been” to my Instagram and so many messages starting coming in, people resonating with the song, I decided to delay the single I had planned for December and release an EP which would be very honest, introspective and almost like a side project – it’s own little world. Next thing the blogosphere blew up my inbox with requests to review & cover the release (Thank you world, and you too Bored Panda) so Morpheus track listing was adapted so I could include CHB and FTW, and I now have a 20 track magnum opus ready to release at the end of January. I’m finding there’s a sweet spot between sticking to your ideas & plans, the creative vision, and listening to the people who are actually connecting to your music and allowing that creative vision to evolve – nothing in life is fixed, we must bend & flow like water, right?
Q: What is your favorite track from the EP and why?
A: Oufff, this is always the kind of question I find hardest to answer… It’s so hard to pick ONE song. I really love Could Have Been, and obviously it’s the EP title track, I think lyrically it’s really one of my best compositions, it’s honest, poetic, relatable but also a little unique in the phrasing and rhythmic progression. I like those kinds of quirks in a song. Formulaic 4×4 song structures can be so restrictive sometimes. Vocally I also challenged myself with the falsetto, I mean THAT was a stretch to say the least. I’ll be taking the “Adele, Someone Like You” route when performing live and sticking to the main octave, as it took quite a few takes to hit that note, in all honesty.
Chasing The Past is another all-time favourite songs of mine. A version of the song was actually on my “It’s Not Science..” album, I had co-produced it with a friend, but the lyrics were a poem that that been in my notebook for 6 years at that point, which I had written during the break-up of my first BIG love, after 6 years (side note, I wrote the course later and 18 months in vain just sound better than 6 years in vain – a little artistic licence there). I love that version, and it was always one of the crowd favourites in my live shows, but it wasn’t 100% there for me. I wanted the sonic landscape of the song to reflect the inner turmoil conveyed in the lyrics, so I decided to reproduce it completely. This version is kind of a song in 2 parts – the first half gives space to the lyrics, for people to connect to the song, then half way through the songs repeats but with an unsettling cacophony of polyphonic delays on the vocal, which to me really represent that chaos & confusion, the mixed emotions of the breakup. A song I still find hard t sing to this day as the lyrics are really raw and personal, and it takes me back to that moment in time.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the EP, “Could Have Been”?
A: Ooops, I kind of covered that in the story behind it.. Sorry, my mind goes a million miles an hour and I tend to go off on tangents. I guess I can add, over the last 6 months I recorded about 90 songs, lots of new songs I’ve written over the past 3 years, but also some older songs I either never recorded or recorded but wanted to revisit from a different perspective. Much of my back catalogue was physical so doesn’t exist in this streaming age, so it’s given me some additional artistic freedom in a way to play around with some older songs that still resonate. Tonight, Maybe is one of those songs, I demoed on my old 4-track in my bedroom aged 19, but never did anything with. But it’s a bloody good song, and I’m glad I decided to add it here. Each song is a personal reflection on different stages of relationships, I think as an EP is much more cohesive than Endless Summer Serenade, which was really all about that song, and a few mates tagging along, haha. Talk, my cover of the Coldplay song, was added at the end to add a little joy & euphoria to the mix, some light relief from all the nostalgia. I love that song, and I always try to bring something new to the table when I cover a song, without detracting or insulting the original I hope.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for The New Citizen Kane so far?
A: For sheer size and the vibe that comes with it, either Sonar or Secret Garden Party festivals, but at a personal level I LOOOOVED performing at Borderline. It’s so intimate and so many iconic artists have played there over the years, I was really honoured to get to headline a show there & proud of what I had accomplished at the time.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: It’s always those honest, personal story-telling moments that hold a special place in my heart. From my last album “Chasing The Past” “Hearts Aren’t Made Of Wood” and “Ratbag Joy” are probably the songs I’m proudest of as a songwriter, and people connect to them. I might have re-worked Ratbag Joy & Hearts for a follow up project next summer….. Wink wink. From my latest body of work “Endless Summer” will forever be a favourite I think… I wrote in while walking down a street in Casablanca, Morocco with my then fiance, having celebrated my 40th and really just full of Joy and Love. Its a simple song, I recorded a voice note into my phone, and that was kind of meant to be the end of it… But the tune stuck in my head and it was the first song I recorded when I pulled out my old equipment back in June. Its not my finest production work or mixing, but the song has transcended that, and people have connected to the joy in the song, lyrically and sonically. It’s hard to write a happy love song without sounding like an utter cheese bomb, but Endless Summer is one of those songs I think, and of course I’ll be forever grateful that it brought me back to making music & breathed fresh life into a career I thought was done. Morpheus, is another really personal song about my childhood and I love it. Its folky, but electro… Kind of a Mirwaiz vibe I guess, but lullaby-ish. It is the album closer. It had to be. Could Have Been is up there too I think.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into The New Citizen Kane’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: I now let the songwriting guide the production, every choice is of service to the song & not the other way around. I’ve grown up listening to all genres and those influences pop in here & there, and reflect the multifaceted nature of my (everyone’s) personality. I used to be a lot more cerebral about it all, so worried about what people thought, how it would be received. I now just make music that I love, for the love of it. 90% of the time a lyric or melody pops into my head, usually reflecting something happing in my life or in the life of someone close to me for example. My sister’s divorse & her strength through such a horriible situation kind of made me sit and reflect “in her shoes” so to speak, and I wrote 2 songs from what I felt was her perspective. Sharing them with her was very nerve wrecking, I wasnt sure how she would react, but I think I did her justice. I’m not sure if they will get released, I think she would need to give me the OK, but I just wanted to share an example of personal storytelling that can sometimes be more empathetic, but most songs whether emotional or more fun in nature are actual life experiences.
Earlier on in my career I did work behind the scenes writing in-house for a indie dance label in Milan, and yes I can write that kind of formulaic pastiche, in fact probably my biggest success to date, a very banal (sorry boys) club track by numbers “Don’t Feel No Shame” which was top 10 globally on beatport for 6 months is hands down the worst song I’ve ever written. But I have to own it, it took me far. I just don’t enjoy that kind of writing. For me songwriting has always been more of a journalling/self therapeutic experience.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have for The New Citizen Kane, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: I’m taking each day as it comes right now.. I SO so happy and grateful that my new music is out there & connecting with people, and I have a LOT of material still to release, so as long as people keep enjoying it I will keep releasing it. My aspirations are personal – I want to focus on quality of life, being a good partner, starting our journey as parents together, opening up my own bakery one day. And if I can make music people enjoy all the while so, it’s a bonus that I’m happy to nurture. But at 42, I don’t have that burning ambition or need for recognition anymore, your priorities shift and as you become more comfortable within yourself that need for validation that drove so much of my formative years’ kind of evaporated. I just want to be happy and enjoy my time on this earth with the people that mean so much to me. Maybe not the answer people expect, but I want to move forward in authenticity. And who knows, maybe a mini tour or some live shows next year would be fun too.
