BKLA: Most people became aware of you as one of the vocalist for Zero 7 on their 2000 release “Simple Things”. But you had already made an album and had music around you pretty much all your life. Please tell us about your background.

Well my dad was a guitarist and my mum a bass playing Art historian, so I guess I was born into it. Like the family business, I was making crap CD's from the age of about 17, and I'd been writing atrocious, earnest, political songs from about 13. I just can't seem to stop doing that...

BKLA: How did you become part of Zero 7, and what has the experience of performing as a band taught you personally ?

My then manager played football (soccer) with them, and they got to talk, so we met up and fell in love. Working with them is bliss not just because they are honey drops, but also because I have little or no responsibility when I am part of something else. Playing my own shows makes me want to give birth to my organs, one by one.

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The worst thing about Madonna’s new record, Confessions on a Dance Floor (Maverick) is probably its dubious title, which kept me away from it for a couple of months. Beyond that, this is undoubtedly her finest work since 98’s Ray of Light, and perhaps a milestone in a career that now spans three decades. Because we all know what goes on in Madonna’s existence, from her disdain of the British health establishment to the study of Jewish mysticism, you can tell that she has had her hand in writing the lyrics which feel highly personal, enabling a greater connection with their meaning. Whether singing about hooking up in a club for a one night stand or hooking up with god, her voice has matured and dropped a couple of octaves, discarding her rebellious girl power for a more commanding presence. As always, Madonna knows how to appropriate for herself the latest, hippest sound, conspiring with the most talented producers “du jour.” Mirwais who worked on her last two albums is still in the mix on a few tracks, but the spotlight shines brightest on the talents of Stuart Price (aka Jacques Lu Cont, Thin White Duke, Les Rythmes Digitales and Zoot Woman), whose Midas touch can be heard on many chart toppers like Gwen Stefani, New Order, Depeche Mode, Britney Spears, Missy Elliot, etc. There are no clichés, just clever references to the electro disco of Giorgio Moroder, conjuring up 70’s infectious melodic hooks not heard since Abba. The original tracks sound like remixes, but not everything on here is about clubbing. A clear narrative climaxes at mid point with a rock anthem, and slowly moves towards the spiritual sustained by Middle Eastern arrangements. The spirit of Ofra Haza is invoked in a message of peace, and by this album’s end you’ll be left basking like angels in the loving warmth of a divine light. Then you’ll hit play again on your I-pod until your battery runs out of power. File Under: “Devotional Disco”.

If you were a Cocteau Twins fan in the 80’s, you had to travel great distances to obscure indie record shops, and spend a pretty penny to get your hands on the rare 4 songs EPs released between albums, which often included some of the band’s finest work. Unlike 4AD label mates Dead Can Dance and the many film scores of singer Lisa Gerard, Cocteau Twins remains an AOC for connoisseurs only. Novices may recognize Elizabeth Frazer’s operatic vocals from her Elfish cues in the Lord Of The Rings soundtrack, but the music then was an introspective gothic affair, inspired by Baroque romanticism. Mechanical drum machines duel with Robin Guthrie’s guitar echoes, and violent storms become quiet streams. The gorgeously packaged Lullabies to Violaine: Singles and EPs 1982-1996 (4AD) might take away from the pleasure of record hunting, but the 61 tracks, each a unique gem, remain an exciting discovery.

German producer Ulrich Schnauss undoubtedly has spent a great deal of time listening to Cocteau Twins. After the critical acclaim of last year’s A Strangely Isolated Place, his label Matador decided to reissue his debut Far Away Trains Passing By. Unlike other pro-tooled Ambient work, his rests on instrumentation, not sampling, and arrangements are rich and textured. With electric guitars producing atmospheric effects, the 4AD connection is undeniable, but builds upon it rather than emulating it. Brave enough to embark on a US tour with little more than a laptop and keyboard, the recluse admitted to finding the experience somewhat underwhelming in spite of a warm reception, and promised to return with more stage ammo. Send Ulrich an e-mail and you’re likely to receive the following automated response: “I’ll be away for some time”. Someone, somewhere in a small fishing village on the North Sea could be preparing a mighty comeback.

Also blatantly exploiting the 80s with a remarkable twist is French outfit Nouvelle Vague (V2). Their philosophy is that you can take a song out of its original “New Wave” context, create new Bossa Nova arrangements, and bring out its essence in a way never heard before. This isn’t the muzak you hear in the aisles of your local supermarket, but a very inspired artistic license on classics already stored in your head. The Clash, XTC, Sisters of Mercy, Bauhaus, P.I.L., Joy Division, have escaped the London fog for the Corcovado surf. As long as there are songs to cover, a wave like that could go on forever.

Every time the Drum and Bass scene seems on the brink of extinction, a new player rises and picks up the torch. High Contrast is a British producer with a steady pulse, a lot of soul, and a vision extending beyond the jitter and rolling bass to make Hip Hop, R&B or Dancehall classics. Fabric Live 25 (Studio), the latest installment in the famed UK DJ showcase series, focuses on his mixing style in one of few Dance music subgenres to have remained underground. The high energy mix featuring D&B heavies like Blame, London Electricity, Klute and Adam F. is a tribute to his peers served with an authentic urban flavor, avoiding commercial trappings and redundancy. Wonder why die hard fans everywhere have pledged their unwavering support to this beat? Here’s a good place to start and raise both your temperature and heart rate.

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Putumayo releases great World and Roots themed records with such consistency that one wonders how they got it right for so long while other labels have struggled in vain to escape New Age gift stores. “Lounge” is a series dedicated to the fusion of electronic downtempo with the traditional musical heritage of a continent. Asian Lounge travels on foot from China to India via Indonesia without regards for borders, sampling every exotic sound encountered on the journey, weaving them into ethereal ambient textures. A portion of the proceeds from the sale of this album will be donated to Oxfam America (www.oxfamamerica.org) and Novib/Oxfam Netherlands in support of their development efforts in Asia.

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You used to be able to say of a record like Spoon’s latest Gimme Fiction (Merge Records) that it is “A great Rock’n’Roll record.” But in a review, you’d have to bring up the fact that the band is enjoying the ride winking here and there at Bowie, Lou Reed, Lennon and the Stones with some refined pre-Punk Glam posturing. That their music reaks of sex, booze and cigarettes. Then you’d talk about their hometown of Austin, host to the most progressive music scene anywhere. You could talk about a lot of things, but in the end, you’d just end up with a great rock album.

Broadcast toys with Lo-Fi the way the French New Wave directors made movies in Super 8: using a downgraded medium to record a patchwork of very complex elements. The process feels immediate, unfiltered and raw, and demands that you meet it half way. With every dissonance created intentionally, Tender Buttons (Warp) can’t escape its Art School pretense; it is also as bare boned as a gritty guitar sound and a demure female voice, with a little keyboard fuzz for garnish. Restraint and simplicity sometimes make the strongest statement.

On their second collection of remixes covering 2002-2005 (Sonar Kollectiv), Jazzanova does again what it does best: syncopated Fusion Jazz reworks of choice pieces by artists with Acid Jazz tendencies. For sophisticated aficionados in search of intelligent grooves, this is as good as it gets. On the novelty tip, with your purchase you get a blank CD and a code to download and burn an exclusive mix from the Jazzanova website. A fun gimmick, even if somewhat pointless.

Block Party and Franz Ferdinand fans can give their CD players a rest. They can now add The Rakes to their 80’s revisionists collection. Capture/Release (Dim Mak Records) is a supersized platter of Post Punk Pogo Disco with a “Kids Fresh Out of Dad’s Garage” attitude. The kids are alright, and grazing the surface of the most basic form of existentialism (“everything is temporary these days” or “I need a drink, I need a cigarette”) with 3 chord choruses is a good reminder that getting your angst out and not giving a f* is a good motto when you play Rock and Roll.

For questions or submissions email mgoldstein@thebookla.com

BKLA - Following the success and your involvement with Zero 7, we really didn’t hear much from you. Was it challenging to switch back to being a solo artist ?
Not really. I just wasn't very successful at it. I had my head up my arse and did no press, and therefore the fruits of my labor were rewarded with poor album sales. Now I’m doing it all. I am so incredibly bored of myself right now, but I’ll say yes to frickin’ Gardeners Bimonthly now. Woohoo! Go promo!

BKLA: How did you approach making your new album “Color the Small One” in comparison to any prior work ? What does this album mean to you ?
It was the first real album I ever made with instruments, and a band. It was so deeply satisfying, and such an incredible learning experience, it left me having recurring dreams/nightmares about one knob and a single held tone. I guess it was the first album I really cared deeply about. It was a difficult time and it got me through it.

BKLA: You’ve been spending some time in Los Angeles lately. What brings you here, what is your impression of this city, and where do you call home these days?
I love and hate Los Angeles, for every opportunistic, desperate, trying to make it wacko, there's a fantastic, kind, clever and funny fellow. I like the café society, it reminds me of my first home Adelaide. I guess my home now is England. It’s been 8 years now, and I just can't seem to kick it. I’d seriously consider moving here though for the beautiful hikes and the Kmart underpants in a heartbeat if helicopters didn't make me feel like I’m in a war zone.

BKLA: People who listen to your songs seem to really connect with your lyrics because you don’t filter your emotions, happy or sad. You also have been quoted as saying that you are the same way in real life. Does living with such raw honesty leave you feeling vulnerable ?
Of course. It's terrifying telling the truth all the time. But living any other way is totally unsatisfying, and inevitably just causes drama.

BKLA: You’ve been writing and performing with Beck, and occasionally borrowed his band mates for your own performance. How did you two connect and how did you come to collaborate together ?
We met at Coachella years ago and then a year later he asked me to duet with him for a KCRW fundraiser show. I was gobsmacked that he had me, a nobody, follow his duets with Beth Orton and Nora Jones, with a folk rendition of the Grease song “You’re the One That I Want”. An unforgettable moment, totally fucking terrifying, yet so satisfying. We embarked on a friendship which culminated in an afternoon of song writing. Tada!.

BKLA: Artists like Fiona Apple have helped create a certain perception associated with being a female singer/songwriter. Do you make a distinction between being a woman and an artist, or are both just part of the same package?
I never think of myself as separate to anything or from anything so I have no perception of myself as an artist or a woman, just a human being trying to make a living and have love and healthy relationships. Does that make sense? I’d quite like to be a chap though, just in terms of being able to be a bit of a porker and still be really successful. I guess the only pressure as a woman in this industry is the pressure to be thin, and as a female artist I’m acutely aware of that. Fuck. Now where did I put my fucking mung bean sprout.

BKLA: Your song “Breathe Me” brought a lot of intensity to the dramatic finale of the HBO series “Six Feet Under”, sending people running for their Kleenex, then to buy the soundtrack. Directors and producers have a vision for the music they want to use to complement the narrative. But using a reverse POV, what did you think of these images accompanying your song ?
I’m such a huge fan of the show, and I’m yet to see the whole last series. I’ am holding off until I can watch the whole thing from start to finish.

BKLA: Are there any artists that have definitely influenced you? Any current I-pod addictions ? Any guilty pleasures you secretly sing in the shower ?
The usual suspects: Stevie Wonder, Aretha Franklin, Jeff Buckley, Chrissie Hynde, David Bowie. The songs I sing in the shower are inevitably awesome pop songs by Tatu, the Russian 'Lesbian' duo. The albums I just keep reaching for at the moment are the new Strokes album, and Inara George's debut. Lovely...

Clockwise: Sia with Beck at Sounds Eclectic Evening (02), with Nic Harcourt and Zero 7 band mates Tina Dico and Sophie Barker (04), with Gary Calamar and Thomas Golubic at the Hotel Café (06), On stage with Zero 7 at Universal (02) and the John Anson Ford Theater (04)

BKLA: Gary Calamar and Thomas Golubic, KCRW DJs and music supervisors, share with us the thought process behind choosing an artist and song for the soundtrack of 6 Feet Under
Gary and I first came across Sia's voice on the first Zero 7 album 'Simple Things' when she did guest vocals on "Distractions", a track we ended up including on the first 'Six Feet Under' soundtrack album. Really struck by her voice and delivery, we chased down her first album "Healing is Difficult", which was an Australian import. Personally speaking, I wasn't overwhelmed by it, but was excited about what was to come from her. We caught an early advance of her second album "Colour The Small One" and jumped on it, pitched several songs for 'Six Feet Under' episodes, and finally getting "Don't Bring Me Down" into the first episode of season 4.

When it came time to finding music for the promo for the 5th (and final) season of 'Six Feet Under', we knew we needed to find a really special song. Nina Simone's "Feeling Good" had been incredibly well received for the season 4 'grocery store' promo, and Coldplay's "A Rush of Blood to the Head" for season 3 and Lamb's "Heaven" for season 2 before it. Six Feet Under promos are always very thoughtfully designed, elegantly filmed, and feature carefully chosen music to establish the tone, direction and themes of the season to come. We pitched Sia's "Breathe Me" for the final season promo among others and it came out as the one. That promo began airing in May 2005.

Alan Ball was writing the final episode and knew he had an incredibly ambitious closing montage that would need music. He was thoroughly taken by the song and wrote the final sequence with Sia's "Breathe Me" in mind. After the scene had been shot and edited, we struggled to take the 4:13 song and extend it to the length of the final montage which clocked in at over 6 minutes. We took an instrumental version of the song and interwove it with the vocal version to make it fit perfectly into the montage. In the end, we think it's a pretty stunning montage and lovely use of the song. Well worth all the effort. From the reactions we've received we aren't alone.

As we were assembling volume 2 of the soundtrack album, "Six Feet Under: Everything Ends", we knew we would be including that song on the album along with songs from Coldplay, Radiohead, and exclusive tracks that we had commissioned from The Arcade Fire and Interpol for the show. The "Six Feet Under: Everything Ends" album has just been nominated for a Grammy Award for "Best Soundtrack Album", as was "Six Feet Under" soundtrack volume 1. The Arcade Fire's song "Cold Wind" written for the show and included on the soundtrack album was nominated as "Best Original Song".


Words and photos: Marc Goldstein (www.myspace.com/mar©). Make Up: Michelle Morgan. Style: Jamie Crowley. Shot on location at Jack’s Place”. Special thanks: Lawrence Petty and Alison Tarnovski at Astralwerks. See photos of Sia’s first ever American solo performance, on January 11th 2006, at the Hotel Café in Hollywood, in our special event section.

Sia online:
www.siamusic.net

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