Rebecca Collins interview

Rebecca Collins Myspace profile. Listen to her music here. http://profile.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=user.viewprofile&friendID=55787979

Rebecca Collins Interview – By John Doyle February 2007.Irish music is in healthy shape these days. Joe Chester, Gemma Hayes, and Fionn Regan to name a few, have all flirted with the mainstream without compromising that certain magic which endears them to, shall we say, more discerning audiences. Recently, John Kelly, now comfortably settled in his Lyric FM slot, took a shine to At Sea, Rebecca Collins’ current E.P., which in the time honoured critical cliché, really does transcend the “Ireland Inc.” pap, the likes of You’re A Star incessantly slops up. Collins threads a similarly endearing path to her contemporaries with a brief, but stunning subterranean collection, showcasing her own fascinating idiosyncrasies, and the instrumental chemistry of a supporting band that gives her liberties to mould a contemporary, yet comfortingly familiar sound. Like the explosion of heroic sentiment that encapsulates the first few seconds of hopping into a hot spring evening bath, something that clings to the psyche is happening in Rebecca Collins’ music, and it would be foolish to ignore it. I caught up with Collins on-line to discuss her views on the Myspace phenomenon, critical recognition, and what the future holds for one of Ireland’s “great white hopes”. We began discussing her latest developments, and her reaction to support from a certain cult DJ. “I was just over in Brooklyn in January recording a new album with some friends of mine from a group called Red Rocket and some other great musicians. Most of it was recorded live in the studio and the songs in general are a bit more free form than the E.P; so hopefully this album will have a nice free feel to it. It will be out in the summer”. So any chance our future professors and doctors might have of catching her in concert soon? “I’m going to start gigging again in March and hopefully will gig around the country a bit”. She adds that “I’m also doing a live session with my band for John Kelly at the end of February which I’m really looking forward to”. Collins' influences range from Gillian Welch to Elysian Fields, and Tom Waits, amongst others. She describes the impact they’ve had on her, and how she sees the unique direction of her own music. “They all wrote great music. I suppose that’s basically it. I’m drawn to honest to god musicality, whatever genre it comes through. As for my own songs, I suppose they are just the result of my musical tastes filtered through my personality! In general, I like things to be quite soulful. I’m influenced by a lot of the musicians I know and play with also, and they are mostly jazz musicians, so that has definitely brought something to my music. It’s exciting to give your charts to such talented people and see how they interpret them. The last record (Tether’s End 2005) was done in pretty much the same vein. That said, I have a group of other songs that are much more arranged, in a sort of pop way (Rebecca was listening to a lot of Steely Dan at the time) so that will hopefully be in the next project”. Recognition can be a double edged sword, where “cult”performers often dabble precariously between underground kudos, and the stodgy, formulaic, playlists of Tabloid radio stations, like Dublin’s FM104, and Cork’s Red FM. Collins is well aware of the pros and cons of such scenarios and explains how she would deal with such a development. “So far, the reaction has been really great, which is encouraging. I don’t really mind which radio stations play my music, although it made my day when I heard John Kelly playing At Sea, because he’s one of my favourite DJs. To be honest, I don’t think I need worry about more commercial stations wanting to brainwash the nation with my songs or anything like that, but if they want to, they can go ahead. Besides, that sounds more like a cult to me, don’t you think?! I don’t really feel artistic integrity can be compromised at that stage, I make music my way, and the more people who want to listen to it, the better”. The enigma that is Myspace was another area highlighted, with Rebecca’s own site sharing webspace with acts more akin to shining Simon Cowell’s shoes. “I was living in Paris last year when Myspace became huge, so for me, the immediate benefit was just being able to keep in touch with my friends and all their musical goings on really easily. I don’t think it has been tainted as such. It’s there for everybody to take advantage of if they want to, and all those sorts of things take the corporate road in the end, it seems. I haven’t seen any manufactured bands on it, but I haven’t been looking for them, and on the other hand, I’ve discovered some fantastic music. To be honest though, I don’t think I’d miss Myspace, I have a love/hate relationship with technological phenomena”. One listen to the unnerving I Bit A Tear, instantly summons flashbacks of Seattle in its most edgy days, while Can’t Be Tough recalls Nellie Hooper’s trademark productions with unorthodox quirky drums, and slow burning keyboards. With such an eclectic pulse driving her musical statements, surely certain events and muse(s) must be at the back of her mind when she goes into creative top gear. “In general, I suppose, I’m inspired by human nature. I have a strange love for the way people struggle with the ugly side of themselves, and try to be good and beautiful, I find that in itself to be really beautiful. Life is tragi-comic in my view and I guess that’s the angle I’m usually coming from when I write lyrics. Music itself has so much to offer though, it can make you want to dance, it can be so sexy, it can be a source of huge comfort. I wouldn’t say I’ve one particular muse, I listened to everything for the past few years, I’ve been working on the best musical instinct I can, because I’ve tried compromising in an intellectual way and I hated the results. These days I just sort of let things stew, and when something feels right, I drop everything else and follow it to its conclusion. I have a similar approach to producing the music". Some of the critical plaudits previously mentioned Irish performers have received, intrigues Rebecca. “Hmm… “Critical acclaim” sounds nice alright… and it certainly would be nice to give up the day job! I think I’m fairly realistic about what sort of market there is for my music, but I’m what I like to call a “Hopeless optimist”, who knows, maybe if I build it, they will come…” Being so difficult to tag, and a writer of abundant variety, there must be at least one song Collins wishes she had written, similarly, which song of her own creation does she cherish the most? "Favourite song of all time is a difficult one to answer. I do wish I had written I’m The One by Anette Peacock. Someday I might have the balls to cover it, maybe. As for my own songs, at the moment, my fave is probably one called Chiaroscuro, we recorded it in New York last month, so it will be on the next record. Chiaroscuro is an artistic term that refers to the interaction of light and dark. Needless to say, I thought it was a good analogy for the human condition”.