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| Bekki, both of your albums have had 'Cultural'
themes to them, i.e., 'Elysian Fields' was based upon Greek Mythology, and 'Shadow
of the Wind' was based upon Arabian folklore. Is there a reason for this? |
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| Not at all. Elysian
Fields was never a 'concept' album, in so much as the tracks, when originally
composed, were never meant to be 'joined' by a single theme. It also took ages to write -
two years! The 'concept' of Greek mythology came later, when David Wright and several
other people commented that the entire album had a 'feel' to it, as an entity, as opposed
to a collection of separate tracks. I always had a 'thing' about Greek mythology and so it
kind of just happened! Conversely, Shadow
of the Wind came to fruition largely due to a commission from BBC Radio Derby's Ashley
Franklin to compose a score for the Valentino silent classic The Son Of The Sheik. Obviously,
that HAD to be thematic and cohesive. It wouldn't have worked for the film had it been a
collection of unrelated pieces of music. |
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| It's been ages since your last album was
released. Why so long? |
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| That's a good one. Actually, it's not taken a particularly
long time in the music field - bear in mind that Elysian Fields took two years to complete,
and Shadow of the Wind took almost as
long. In fact, Elysian Fields was a
culmination of several years' ideas. I have been doing a lot of compilation work and
have also been brushing up on my live flute/sax playing skills in readiness for The Edge of Human. But the main reason
has been the problems I have had setting my studio up for live instruments - it's not just
a case of slapping a microphone in! I've had a lot of problems with this. Actually,
I mentioned to someone that I wanted to use real instruments and they said "but you
can't - you do electronic music!" AARRGGHH! I can tell you right now that if I had
the choice, I would NEVER use a synth again in my life; I would use a full orchestra. But
as that is financially out of the question, I'm making do with second best. On The Edge of Human, as I've already mentioned,
I intend to play live flute and saxophone. Oh yeah - and I'll be playing some keyboards as
well, simply because the London Philharmonic wouldn't take a pint and a kebab as payment!
Finally, I'm not prolific at all. I really envy those people who can churn out ten
albums a year and make them all GOOD albums. Personally, I'd rather spend that extra time
making sure that everything's right. |
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| How does your music fare abroad, and is it well
received? |
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| Yes, I feel that it is, mainly because of AD's continuous
quest for bigger and better distribution. They do a tremendous job! You have to bear in
mind that in this country we have a tendency to 'pigeonhole' different genres of music.
For example, here in the UK, a musician writes either ambient, house, techno, dance, rock,
classical, or whatever. There's no in-between, no middle ground. I agree wholeheartedly
with Robert de Fresnes who maintains that we Brits would be a lot better off if we
accepted good music for what it is - i.e., good music! In my experience, other countries
don't seem so hung up on categorisation. Which is possibly why people working in the same
field as myself have a larger audience abroad than we do over here. On a cynical note I
have to add that I don't see this changing, certainly not in the near future. Let's just
hope instead that everyone on the AD label ends up signing a contract to compose the score
to a major Hollywood Blockbuster... |
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| If you stopped enjoying writing, would you
consider doing anything else? |
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| Well, in my younger days I wanted to be a vet! But no, I
can't imagine doing anything else now. Someone once asked me why I wrote music, and I
responded with a quote from Stephen King by saying "Why do you assume that I have a
choice?" You see, most musicians don't compose for the money. We don't even do
it for recognition. We do it because it's an addiction, just like drugs or alcohol. We do
it because to NOT do it would be a form of mental and creative suicide. |
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| Would you like to release an album with another
artist? |
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| Absolutely - but I would have to get to know them on a
personal basis first to clarify in my own mind that we could in fact work constructively
together. The people who know me know that I'm an extremely down-to-earth, laid-back type
of gal. I have no time whatsoever for anyone - no matter how talented - that has a
'Prima-Donna' attitude. Luckily I haven't met many people like that, but there have been
one or two exceptions. To me, making music should be FUN, with a capital 'F'. When it
ceases to be fun, or even worse, begins to be a chore, then I'm afraid I run a mile. I'd
love to work with some of the 'Greats' - in my eyes, these would include film composers
like Danny Elfman, Jerry Goldsmith and Graham Revelle (and of course, Vangelis!) - but
then again, to me, great also means people like David Wright, Asana, Robert de Fresnes,
and Catalin Marin. I would also love to work with some of the unsung and unsigned talent
that you can find in any city, in any country. |
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| What was the first instrument that you learned
to play, and how old were you? |
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| The recorder, aged 5. I started studying to be a classical
flautist when I was 10 and went on to play in regional orchestras. Later I began learning
the saxophone. Piano - and therefore keyboards - was kind of a 'spur of the moment' thing
when I was about thirteen or fourteen. |
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| When working on an album, if you end up with
extra tracks do you think about using them for future projects? |
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| I never have additional tracks (sigh). I wish I did. It'd be
great to build up a library of 'misfit' tunes for compilation albums, but I always seem to
have just enough stuff to fill an album with! I must admit, I wish I were more
prolific. But having said that, I suppose quality's more important than quantity, and I'd
rather spend that little bit longer getting something right than rushing into lots of
different things at once. |
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| Do you prefer to play concerts in small or
large venues? |
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| Neither! No, that's not true, I love playing live. But I get terrible stage fright, no
matter how small or large the venue. I find that I'm fine after the first three or four
minutes, but for that first few moments it's a struggle between my fingers playing and my
nerves giving way! Actually, I think that's a good thing - I believe that when the
'colliewobbles' stop, so does the adrenaline - and as a result, you play less well and
with less passion and conviction. If I had to choose I would say larger venues. Small
ones are great, as they're more intimate. But at the same time you can see everyone's
faces, whereas in a large crowd all you see are small dots in chairs! My Dad once told me,
when I was at my first concert aged 8, not to be afraid of playing in front of even the
most prestigious of people. He said that even the Queen probably still used Andrex loo
roll the same as me. That made it MUCH better, and I've tried to recall that piece of
advice at every concert I've ever played since! |
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| Do you have any input on the sleeve designs of
your CD's? |
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| I could if I wanted to. But I don't. Everyone has a talent.
And mine is NOT designing CD sleeves. |
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| Thanks for your time, Bekki. |
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| (You can read this interview in its entirety - yes, there's
more! - in Issue 2 of Fanz ADFM. Visit AD Music's web site for more details.) |
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