Being the Focus: Emma Anderson Interview

Emma Anderson – formerly of Lush and Sing-Sing – generously takes us deep inside the mechanics of making her first solo album

As a distinguished co-leader of both iconic shoegaze legends Lush and somewhat undervalued art-pop duo Sing-Sing, it was perhaps only a matter of time and some strong encouragement from trusted confidants before a solo album appeared from Emma Anderson – especially after the former band’s fleeting 2015-2016 reunion left a strong sense of unfinished creative business.

The resultant Pearlies – released this year via Sonic Cathedral – has proved to be what many would have hoped for in a solo Anderson long-player… and more besides.

Drawing upon the dexterity of previous group positions, her expanded catholic tastes, and the fresh collaborative input of multi-instrumentalist producer James Chapman (Maps) and guesting guitarist Richard Oakes (Suede), Pearlies is a satisfyingly kaleidoscopic and determinedly studio-sculpted statement.

It finds Anderson assuredly shifting through refashioned ethereal echoes of her most soaring pre-Lovelife Lush moments; the giddy chameleonic melodicism of The Joy of Sing-Sing; symphonic space-pop with strong shades of Goldfrapp’s more atmospheric modes; reverberations of onetime 4AD labelmates like the Cocteau Twins, This Mortal Coil and Dead Can Dance; kosmische-infused dreaminess; nods to Jane Birkin’s most sophisticated work with Serge Gainsbourg; and pastoral psychedelia with hints of Espers as well as The Wicker Man soundtrack.

For all of its eclecticism, most striking of all is the fact that Pearlies places Anderson firmly at the centre of her own distinctive songs, as she very belatedly – but wholeheartedly – embraces the role of lead vocalist, after previously deploying her tones around others. Combining all these factors together, Pearlies proves to be one of this year’s boldest and most alluring out-of-the-wilderness returns, that simultaneously reconsolidates Anderson’s career to date and opens more doors to the future.

In between busy rounds of interviews for other publications and day-job duties, Emma Anderson thoughtfully shed considerable light on the lengthy but rewarding genesis of Pearlies, over email.

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Have you been pleasantly surprised by the warm reception to Pearlies so far? Has it dispelled any anxieties you held about stepping out as a solo artist?

Yes, I have been very pleasantly surprised and a little taken aback actually. I wasn’t sure about being a ‘solo artist’, and I still have a bit of a problem with that term, for some reason, but I guess, well, here I am! As I am sure you are aware, I had always been in bands and therefore worked alongside other people before now, so the album just coming out under my name and doing interviews, photos and videos etc. on my own has been a strange experience, but I am settling into it now… and quite enjoying the upsides! Also, writing 100% of songs for an album was a new venture but that was fine in the end too. Hopefully, it won’t take as long next time.

Where did the album title actually come from?

Oh, it was just a word that sprang to mind. I had had a few titles before that – e.g. Turtledove, Super-Mirror – but Pearlies just came into my head one day and I thought, “I like that.” It has an imagery and it’s quite playful, but it doesn’t necessarily mean anything. It isn’t a reference to teeth – unless you want it to be!

What is the chronology for the songs across the record? Had you accumulated quite a stockpile of material before and after the Lush reunion?

The main songs I had before the Lush reunion were the four that came out on the Blind Spot EP in 2016 – and I only wrote the music for those, not the lyrics. During 2016, it is true that I was writing for a new Lush album but I didn’t have masses of songs and actually the very few that I did have, I mainly just ended up discarding. I did keep a couple of parts though for Emma Anderson songs, those being the outros/codas of “I Was Miles Away” and “The Presence”, and actually the rest of “The Presence” I had started working on years before the Lush reunion was even mooted, but in reality most of Pearlies is completely new material that was never earmarked for Lush.

I’ve read that you took some convincing – mainly from Robin Guthrie I understand – to take on the lead vocal duties for these pieces. Are you satisfied with how well it has worked for you?

Yes, I did a little work with Audrey Riley – a cellist and string arranger with whom I had worked when I was in Lush and Sing-Sing – and she was the first one to say that I should sing lead, but I knocked heads with her about it, actually. I basically said it was never going to happen. But then Robin offered to help record some ideas and he suggested the notion as well. Again, I refused but he said, “OK, if you don’t, I am not going to help you.” So that was it really! I thought – “come on, what’s the worst that could happen?” He didn’t in the end as Covid came along so that was that.

Ivo Watts-Russell, former head of 4AD, has heard the album and loves it and he said, “Why did you not ever sing lead before?” Honestly it was confidence. I just didn’t trust my ability not just with my actual singing voice but also being the focus of attention and front person – or only person in this case. I just didn’t have the assuredness.

What drew you towards James Chapman of Maps as your main collaborator in assembling all the parts of Pearlies?

James was [Sonic Cathedral owner] Nat’s brilliant and inspired idea. I can use Logic music software a little but no way enough to make a finished record. I had been labouring under the misconception that I needed to have a pretty much finished album before I went to a label but, after asking a few people if they could produce me and it not working out, I thought – “well, I don’t know everyone!” So, I asked Nat if he would be interested in putting out an album by me but one problem – I needed a producer and… boom… he came up with James’s name almost immediately. Nat and James have known each other for some time and James has done some remixes for Nat in the past but never produced a whole album. I think it turned out well!

How did the recording and arranging relationship generally work between you both?

Well, historically James was used to people sending him stems and files so he could work alone on them in his studio but I wasn’t really able to fully do that, plus I do think there is a lot to be said for the old fashioned way of working – i.e. everyone be in the same room so you are able to exchange ideas etc. So, I went up to Northamptonshire for three weeks in the summer last year and we recorded the bulk of the album then.

Without going into it too technically, a couple of the tracks were Logic projects that I had been working on at home and then sent early on in the proceedings, so we had the structures and tempos already for them but we started the others from scratch with James creating some basic tracks for me to sing and play guitar to. Pretty much all the keyboard playing, sounds and ideas were James’s though, as that isn’t really my forte, though a couple of bits and pieces, I did come up with – e.g. the xylophone at the end of “Willow and Mallow”. The basslines were something that I was very much there for and involved with as I do tend to spend some time writing those.

After that, James did do some work alone on them, when I was back at home, and also he obviously mixed them mostly alone too. I would then send comments on Word docs with suggestions as to how they could be changed and improved – in my mind!

But James is a lovely person – really easy to get along with. The whole process was pretty painless and very enjoyable actually!

Did you have any strong ideas about how the songs should be presented from the outset? For instance, quite a few of them are light on or free of regular-sounding drum layers and there is a fair amount of strings-like synth orchestration and keyboards…

All I really knew was that I didn’t want the songs to sound like an indie band had played them but then working with someone like James – it wasn’t going to turn out like that anyway… plus I am not an indie band! And yes, well observed, there are not a lot of ‘regular’ sounding drum sounds or patterns and that was probably pre-determined.

It is pretty much a studio album, which is what I wanted, though obviously there are still elements present of what I have done before in the past. But all the drums that are there and even the bass was all programmed.

One thing I did say to James throughout was “I don’t want it to sound too ‘nice’.” When I did Sing-Sing, we were compared to Saint Etienne quite a lot and I didn’t want this to go the same way – but don’t get me wrong, I love Saint Etienne – so I wanted James to rough it up a little, for want of a better expression.

Richard Oakes from Suede also guests on guitar in places. What dynamic did he bring in, given that you’re a distinctive and adaptable guitarist in your own right? Did it help free you up to take on a wider screen vision?

Funny you ask that. I thought that I would have been asked this question before now, but I haven’t been; this is the first time!

Yes, as you say, I play guitar too but only in my dreams could I be as good at it as Richard, so having someone that is so brilliant and proficient a guitarist play on my album was a real treat and honour.

He brought some techniques and ideas that either I wouldn’t have been able to play myself – e.g. the main acoustic [guitar part] on “Willow and Mallow” – or I wouldn’t have thought of – e.g. some of the parts on “I Was Miles Away” or “Bend the Round”. It was just really refreshing to have another perspective, and a first for me actually. Plus, he is a lovely person; very quiet and unassuming.

The opening track “I Was Miles Away”, could easily be taken as a meta-piece about your comeback. Would that be close to the mark or did it come from another place entirely?

I absolutely did not have any intention of any particular meaning when I wrote those words. I thought musically and structurally the track felt quite ‘epic’, so I wrote some lyrics imagining someone journeying through some fantastical time and space continuum in a possible film setting even but yes, since people have heard the album they have suggested it’s a metaphor for me starting out musically on my own – maybe there was some subconscious process going on, who knows…

“Bend the Round” and “The Presence” seem like the most overt hybridisations of your work within Lush and Sing-Sing. Do you feel content to have found a balance between continuity with your musical past and newer elements in your musical palette?

Oh gosh, if I have done then it’s been a totally natural process. I do think that just the fact that I wrote all the songs on the record means I have been able to showcase all the elements of what I can do for the first time. That’s been something I have quite enjoyed actually. It does feel like a very cohesive album, in my mind.

“Inter Light” and “Willow and Mallow” feel somewhat under the spell of Felt Mountain-era Goldfrapp. Do you acknowledge the influence?

I love Goldfrapp but, funnily enough, my two favourite albums of theirs are Supernature and Tales of Us. I do like Felt Mountain but I would hesitate to say it was an influence. But then – I don’t know! “Inter Light” I actually thought was possibly a bit more Portishead with those kind of 60s, TV detective programme type chords – think John Barry / The Persuaders. But “Willow and Mallow”, if I was going to mention Goldfrapp, I would probably have said was more Seventh Tree-era – i.e. echoed in the more pastoral sounds of say “Clowns”, which I love. But those are my takes!

“Taste the Air” and “Clusters” make me imagine a blend of Spooky-era Lush and mid-period Cocteau Twins, would you concur at all?

Oh gosh, maybe – if they are then none of it was pre-planned. When I write, it’s just what’s in my head that comes out but if people can see connections like that then I find it really interesting and totally valid.

The wordless but still vocalised “Xanthe” is one of my favourite tracks, reminding me of This Mortal Coil records as well as Piano Magic’s Artists’ Rifles. What went into the baroque-like mix there, from your own perspective?

Well, within the music itself I tried to base the song on what I consider kind of Eastern European or perhaps even Greek, hence “Xanthe”, chord progressions – lots of minor chords together and an Eastern European folk-like vocal-melody over the top. That was it really.

“Xanthe” aside, the lyrics across the album seem as crucial to you as the music, perhaps more so than they have appeared to be in the past. Is that a fair observation? And do you lean towards being a ‘words first’ songwriter these days?

You know what – I have been thinking a bit about this and I think you are right when you say the lyrics now perhaps seem as or even more important than songs on my records with previous acts, but again it wasn’t something that was planned from the outset. When I write lyrics, I sit with a blank piece of paper – and it is still paper, not a computer – and write and see what comes out. Sometimes I have subject matter but sometimes I do not and it’s interesting to see what appears on the page!

I think the reason for this ‘change’ has come from just being older. I can look back on events and people that have been in my life with more of a wry viewpoint perhaps. I think age brings more subject matter and reflection. As for ‘lyrics first, music second’, no – not at that stage yet, but you never know.

Overall, Pearlies makes me think – in a good way – that it could only have come from someone affiliated to the 4AD family tree. What has been the long-lasting importance of being championed and supported in your formative years by the likes of Ivo Watts-Russell, Robin Guthrie et al.? Might it have been dramatically different had you signed up to another indie enterprise way back when, like say Creation? This is something you can perhaps gauge from a particularly informed standpoint, having been on Alan McGee’s Poptones with Sing-Sing…

It’s funny you should ask that as, yes, being on 4AD amongst such a glittering array of great artists – not just the Cocteau Twins but Dead Can Dance, Pixies, Throwing Muses and even lesser-known ones from the earlier eras like Dif Juz and AR Kane, etc., and especially with Vaughan Oliver and Chris Bigg’s artwork, was truly amazing. Ivo was a brilliant A&R man and his choices of producers and mixers for us were usually spot on. Robin actually was the one he wasn’t keen on at the time – especially for Spooky. So, I count myself very lucky that I had the chance to be on such a brilliant label for all those years. I doubt if we had signed to another, especially a major, we would have had such a career as we might have been dropped as we never sold that many records. Ivo was very loyal though and was more concerned with artistry than sales figures.

But talking of Creation, when I was sending demo tapes out to the likes of 4AD and Rough Trade etc. in early 1989, I was actually working for Jeff Barrett – now of Heavenly Records – who was a PR but we were based in the Creation offices. This might sound odd but, perhaps because I was working at Creation, I didn’t want to be on the label and McGee even said, “I don’t want to sign your band, Emma” – but I was fine with that. He and I knew that it wouldn’t have worked.

But then, as you say, years later I found myself on McGee’s subsequent label, Poptones, with Sing-Sing, but the reason for that that was that actually we had made the album whilst signed to Sanctuary Records; they had paid for it all and we even mixed it in their in-house studio, Nomis, but after the first two singles came out, the company was bought out by another so we were dropped and they just let gave us the album to do what we wanted with. I went to Bella Union and then 4AD but they both passed on it, so McGee said he would put it out, but that is all Poptones did – they didn’t really support it and, apart from the Mike Alway designed sleeve, we didn’t really feel like we were part of any ‘family’ but hey, whatever.

But that first Sing-Sing album is a really good record and I hope to get both albums remastered and cut onto vinyl next year.

Obviously, 4AD is quite a different beast these days, and you now find yourself in good company alongside some of your early-90s peers, like Andy Bell and Dot Allison, on Sonic Cathedral. What steered you to working with the label?

I approached Nat purely because I knew him. I had DJ’d at some Sonic Cathedral nights in the past so I think it was natural for me to consider Sonic Cathedral as a home for me.

And yes, it is really great being back on a label with such brilliant labelmates. There isn’t just Andy and Dot but also Mark Peters, Lorelle Meets the Obsolete, deary, Whitelands – the list goes on. As I said before, I didn’t really have that in Sing-Sing so it’s really lovely, after all these years, to be back in excellent company on a label with such a strong identity and of course, that identity is the result of Nat’s vision and hard work.

Is Pearlies just the start of a new chapter for you, that might be followed by an EP and/or another album, sooner rather than later?

I very much hope so and I think it’s a little overdue!

soniccathedral.co.uk

Main feature photo credit: Jeff Pitcher