Cathy Davey Interview

After playing some warm-up shows around Ireland, Cathy Davey is preparing to release her new album, a long awaited follow-up to 2004's wonderful but underloved Something Ilk. This is good news, since all we've had to consist on for the last year is the excellent 'Sing for your Supper' - in demo form. So pay attention! This could be the best Irish album of the year.

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How are you? How did the Cork and Galway gigs go?

I'm in great form thank you! The gigs were better than I had hoped for, I've been putting a new band together this year, so the shows were our first bonding session really. I didn't want to be playing guitar on every song this time around because I find it quite inhibiting. So these shows were the first time I could look around me and feel like I'm part of the show... I have lots of good things to say about it all...

What have you been doing since you finished playing Something Ilk?

I've been writing since I stopped touring the last album. I have a house full of drums and old instruments and I recorded my heart out. When I look back on the last two years I divide it into two definitive categories: manic writing and head-bashing writer's block. I appreciate the normality of this in most artist's lives but I still find unproductive periods unbearable.

How do you deal with writer's block?

I didn't find a remedy for it I'm afraid. But I knew it would pass, that relieves some of the pressure.

Please reveal everything about your new album.

It's called Tales of Silversleeve. It will be out in the summer.

What does it sound like? Are you happy with it?

Well... to me it sounds like music I'd like to dance to. And not serious dancing. Just child-like, please don't catch me on camera kinda happy dancing. I wrote half of the album on drums instead of piano or guitar because I really wanted to make music that would keep me lifted through the whole proccess... The subject matter is quite sinister and at times macabre, so the music had to counter that if I was to enjoy it, and I wanted to let moments have their own full charge... Not be embarrassed by them. Big feelings in little packages.

How is the subject matter sinister?

I had a head full of skeletons and if I wrote songs for them they danced.

What happened to your bike? It sounded nice.

Oh my bike! It makes me sad to think about it... I had a major love affair with this bike for one summer. It ended in robbery. The police gave up the search long ago but I still live in hope.

Some of the new songs have built on the mellower side of Something Ilk into something different ('Sing for your Supper', 'Piece of the Pie') - but others like 'Harmony' and 'Hoochie' take up the other side. What dominates this album?

'Piece of the Pie' was a b-side for a single from the last album (can't remember which one). That's hard to answer... I reckon everyone feels like they've distanced themselves from previous albums, but to others the similarities are obvious. I dont think I'm capable of making an album that sounds completely cohesive, like a theme or musical thread running through them because I dont build them up with a band. The freedom is too great when you're left to your own devices. So this album is again (to me) quite disjointed. In a good way though!

What has your experience of a major label been?

The last few years have been a learning curve for many things to do with the music industry. I think the key is that whether it be major or indie, make sure you come with developed ideas and excitement. Otherwise it's labourious for anyone involved. I thought that being signed to a major would make it easier to have my concepts come to fruition but, at the end of the day, they just didn't know what I was on about.

Do you have a favourite song on the new album?

I do. I will always love 'Sing for your Supper' because it's honest from tip to tail.

What made you share your demos as you recorded, and what kind of reactions did you get?

The same reason people release albums. It feels good to share something that you made and without getting too metaphysical about it all, it feels like you're building extensions onto yourself... the more people that hear it, the more room there is in you to make more music. Something like that... The reaction was wonderful and it gave me a good idea as to what people want to hear. I don't know what's going on in the charts, so any help is welcome.

Will you do the artwork for this album too?

My notebooks go hand in hand with every song I wrote for this album. There is no separating them and I would rather burn the master tapes than have someone else's interpretation of two and a half year's work. I would have lost my marbles completely if I didn't draw, so it's an important part of the album. The last cover was a compromised version of something important to me, so this time I'm a little more than adamant!

How is your newer material different from what you've recorded?

For the last album I reworked my home demos with other musicians. This time I recorded the demos to a higher standard so I didn't have to re-record with anyone else if I didn't want to. The new material is a hybrid of home demo and studio which I'm more comfortable with.

Which do you prefer: writing, recording or playing your music?

My favourite stage is having just finished writing the skeleton of a song and now I get to flesh it out... The next few hours are a big blissful blank. You just get carried away on instinct. It's one of the few times I get to be impulsive so I cherish it.

What music/books have you been enjoying lately?

Books have always had a bigger influence on me than music. Not always in a favorable way. When I went to Australia for a holiday, I read Rebecca (Daphne du Maurier) and spent the whole trip feeling disoriented and quite haunted. Now when I think of Australia I get the creeps.. I love Haruki Murakami because every book introduces you to new food and music. Virginia Woolf, John Steinbeck, Janet Frame, Saul Bellow... Books are easy, I'd be hard pushed to name as many bands.

What did you learn from your first album and tour?

The most profound thing I learned (which I'm sure is obvious to those with more experience) was that I must allow myself to enjoy everything that comes with making music. It's nothing to be scared of!

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Sing for your Supper (demo)
Clean and Neat (video)
Hear more on MySpace.