Rose Elinor Dougal: Very well thank you, despite being a bit cold and hungry...
S: What were you listening to when recording?
RED: Well I'm still in the process of recording; there have been loads of things over the past few months. I've listened to the radio quite a lot, which I guess is sort of passive music listening, but if nothing else it served as a good marker of what I DONT want to do, even though I do like a few things around at the moment. I suppose it’s interesting to try and place what you do in context... Otherwise it’s ranged from early Cocteau Twins, to Steve Reich, Bridget St John, ABBA, Scott Walker, John Barry, the kids outside in the garden....
S: Asides from music, what influences your work?
RED: I guess the musicians I’ve known over the years have taught me a lot. There are a few people in my life, that don't necessarily influence my work, but certainly whose opinions I respect very highly, and I’m sure have played some unconscious part in the way my songs have formed themselves.... Going for walks in the woods or by the sea, sitting on buses,
S: Do you feel any pressure to conform to the current movements in solo female music, say the electronics of La Roux, Little Boots, Lady Gaga etc, or Winehouse-style soul?
RED: I guess it is hard in some ways because there are a lot of solo females out there currently that are getting lumped together, but I do resent 'female artists' being viewed as a genre of music, I think all of these people are doing very different things...I don't really see how my music relates to them very much. I don't really imagine what I do to be particularly trendy or fashionable at any point, I would sort of like to exist outside of all of that crap... I would hope that the fact there are more women being successful in the music industry was a positive thing, not an opportunity for women to be competitive with each other... I'm mainly concerned with focusing on what I do and hopefully my output will find its own little place somewhere...
S: What is the writing process like for you?
RED: Well it generally involves me locking myself up in my room for a couple of days... Sometimes I’ll already have little ideas for melodies or words that I might have come up with whilst waiting for the bus or something, and I’ll try and work out how to fit them into some kind of cohesive structure, otherwise I’ll just mess around on my Casio for a few hours and see if any ideas come out that way. I tend to record everything as I go along, which I never used to do, and build up layers slowly, which helps me explore harmony and rhythm etc... I am tough on myself never to delete anything...
S: How are you finding being the focal point on stage now?
RED: Well it doesn't really feel like that because I’m playing with my band, The Distractions, which stops me from feeling lonely...I suppose its not something I’m totally comfortable with yet, I can't pretend I don't enjoy having more control over everything, but I guess I try not to think about all that stuff too much. In the Pipettes there were choreographed movements and a whole aesthetic to work with which made it much easier in some ways to be on stage, and so now I probably feel slightly more exposed, but also a bit liberated to be more natural..
S: How have your experiences in The Pipettes affected your new direction?
RED: I learnt so much from being in the pipettes, and am really proud to have been involved. This project is far more personal, and there are different priorities. The music I am making now is not so concerned with the idea of writing pop songs, and I think that experience helped me work out how I related to writing songs for myself, in terms of understanding what is important to me and it gave me the confidence to embrace my own musical instincts.
RED: Loads, I would love to be able to play things like dulcimers and bazoukis and things like that. I love cellos too.
S: Do you like Stylophones and would you play mine?
RED: Yes I do, and most certainly. Georgia, our bass player, was given one the other day and we spent hours annoying everyone around us with it. We're gonna try and get it involved on our live set somehow, but they are surprisingly hard to play melodies on...
S: How do you find touring?
RED: I miss it!!!! Me and the new band have had a few little adventures so far, but I can't wait to go on a proper tour again. It is one of the weirdest ways to spend your time, you exist in this mental little bubble for a few weeks, and even when it gets a bit tough, it is just the best thing...
S: When were you happiest?
RED: Blimey, I was pretty happy the other day when I was dancing around my room with some of my friends, hopefully I haven't had the happiest time yet, maybe I have, who knows...
S: Any regrets?
RED: Not yet I don't think... I'm only 22 so I hope I’m too young for that sort of thing, but don't really believe in regretting things...
S: If someone was starting out now on a career in music, do you have any advice?
RED: Haha, probably not! I guess just make sure that you are doing it for the right reasons, and that you are prepared for the long haul, and to try and not to take yourself too seriously...
RED: Vinyl
S:
RED: AAAAHHHHHH I hate these kind of questions. What good would records be without a record player? I think some nice stuff like Percy Faith and his Orchestra would set the tone nicely... haha sorry I know that’s rubbish....
S: What’s your favourite smell?
RED: Someone bought me some hyacinths the other day; I forgot how much I love the smell of them...
S: If you where made the Emperor of Education, which book would you make everyone read? RED: Maybe the dictionary, I find people don't know enough words:(I include myself in that).
S: If you had to go to a fancy dress party and you knew someone at the BBC Costume Dept. What would you go as?
RED: I sort of hate fancy dress parties.
S: Who were you musical heroes as a teenager?
RED: Joni Mitchell, Bjork, Jarvis Cocker. I have to admit I was a bit in love with Damon Albarn when I was 13...
S: Any tips for dealing with the recession? Mine is to wear rose-tinted glasses, as every thing looks better when wearing them.
RED: That sounds like a great plan...San Miguel is a quid in Wetherspoons.
S: Lions, Tigers or Bears?
RED: Tigers.
S: Have you been Rick-rolled?
RED: The Pipettes did it when it was announced that me and Becki had left I think...
S: Do you like Scrabble? If so what’s your best word? I got Anthrax into a game once…
RED: Yes I do, but I’m a bit rubbish...I recall getting Audible on a triple which I was pretty chuffed with...
S: If you had the power to bring stuff back from extinction, would you bring back a Sabre Tooth Tiger or a Woolly Mammoth? Dweebs or Astros?
RED: Woolly Mammoths seem to be a bit friendlier that sabre tooth tigers... Dweebs for sure, but I think I always liked Nerds better...
S: What do you have planned for the year ahead and further afield?
RED: Well to get the record finished, try and find a way of putting it out, hopefully me and the band can play as many gigs as possible and do a few festivals, and then maybe have a sleep, and do it all over again... I think I’m gonna try and make another record as soon as this one is done, me and my producer were drunkenly spouting ideas about it last night...
S: Tell me a joke.
RED: Boris Johnson
Rose Elinor Dougall (ex-Pipettes), Hari and Aino, Soy un Caballo and Silver Gospel Runners @ Clwb Ifor Bach, February 10th doors @ 7.30pm
Big thanks to Liz@Loose, for making the magic happen.
mp3---> Rose Elinor Dougall - Another Version of Pop Song
