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What category of musician has 4 successful albums, world tours across several continents, formerly signed to a major label, including the uber cool ever reigning Rough Trade Records (the label was walked away from, by the way) And with bold defiance encourages discussion about immigration. Sounds like the description of a socially aware globally successful Rock and Roll band? Well, in fact, this is the description of one of Ireland’s alternative Folk superstars: Cara Dillon.
You did not mis-read the first paragraph; she did walk away from her record label, the indie powerhouse Rough Trade Records, to set up her own label, called Charcoal Records. The album that she released from it triumphed (Her previous album: ‘Hill Of Thieves’ 2009) winning Folk Album of the year and a huge tour. Cara Dillon then took a 4 year break and now returns with her 5th album.
So where did this obviously determined, smart, creatively brilliant and intelligent artist arise from?
Cara Dillon has been collaborating with her musical partner (co-writer/producer) Sam Lakeman on her solo work since 2001, Dillon and Lakeman were previously part of a band called ‘Equation’ consisting of Lakeman’s brothers Sean and Sam Lakeman alongside Kathryn Roberts and Dillon. Both Dillon and Sam soon left and Dillon signed with Rough Trade to begin her solo work. Six years later (2001 – 2007) Dillon and Sam established their own enterprise leading to awards and collaborations with many including Disney movie ‘Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue.’(2010)
Dillon demonstrates an impressive musicality and musical history, alongside a mind for successful business. However if you listen to her albums particularly in sequence, you’ll find music that is timely, soul wrecking and powerful. Filled with true stories of lost love, fearful places and wonder. Forget the term ‘Folk Music’, it’s a blanket term. This is music that is truly soul searching and alive.
Cara Dillon talks to No Cigar about misconceptions, Rough Trade and the power of producing her own music.
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Hi Cara, so you have released 5 solo albums so far, with a 4 year gap since your last album. What has evolved musically within the last 4 years for you?
Well it’s been such a journey to get to this point, because in the past we’ve been saying things to major labels, different labels and to Rough Trade. Sam and loved the experience, of being signed and great things can happen when you are with a label. But we realised after a while that we’d like to have a go at it ourselves. Because we always seemed to be comprising our music and trying to second guess how somebody else might want to hear our music and trying to make an album for someone else. So with the previous album we decided to go at it alone and we decided that we’re going to answer to no one but ourselves. And so we didn’t comprise anything, being signed to a major label showed us how the system works, at the end of the day it’s our product so what better way than to just get on with it yourself and we won Folk album of the year for Hill Of Thieves after doing that. It’s been an incredible journey to realise that what we want to achieve can be achieved within the confines of our own home.
Most if not all of your songs appear to be mini stories and can be described as being musical prayers. How do you describe the hypnotic nature of your music?
It’s interesting that you say that, because the majority of the songs I sing are traditional, songs of the people, so they are songs about immigration and lost love and just from the heart. Some of them have been passed down from one generation to the next and I really feel that they are soul stirring stuff. The very fact that these songs have stood the test of time, for us to be able to put our mark on them and bring them to a new audience, I love the fact that we can breathe new life into these stories. There have been and are terrible hardships with the whole immigration thing, that they would have a wonderful life and would return with wealth and help their families, but the reality was sad, it was desperate and they never returned. And all the families got, were letters that were turned into songs about struggle. And it really hit a nerve with me and I feel very very passionate about it.
The stories you tell are about many subjects, sometimes it is completely clear and sometimes it is complex. So, at what point do you decide to make clarify the theme of a song for it to be abstract.
It’s not something that I would sit down to try and figure out, whatever way it comes is how it will end up usually. Whenever Sam and I write a song together, usually the first two times we sit down to work it out, that’s what usually sticks. So I don’t really think about, as you say, ‘being abstract’ it’s just whatever seems to happen, happens. There’s no rhyme or reason for it. I can’t really describe it.
After having such a lengthy time making music, over 10 years and 5 albums late . How else would you like to experiment within your music?
I’ve been very very open about experimenting with different things actually. So I’ve had the chance to sing the opening song ‘Summer’s Just Begun’ for Disney’s film ‘Tinker Bell and The Great Fairy Rescue’ and we’ve had remixes done of our songs that have been club hits .So that whole thing is very exciting, that more people get to hear your voice and have the chance to get to know more about you. It’d be amazing to have one of our songs in a movie; in the right movie it would melt people’s hearts. But these songs that I sing are meant to be sung for people and with people, so live music is where it’s at for me.
What is the biggest misconception about you as a Folk artist?
Well I’m probably speaking now for a lot of the Folk Artists, when you say the words ‘Folk Music’ a lot of people sort of shrivel back and think ‘Oh my God Morris Dancers’ and just ‘uncool’. But I think recently there’s been a change because you’ve got Mumford and Sons and acoustic has recently become more acceptable, for example Ed Sheeran. Folk Music for such a long time has had a stigma with it. But the one thing that I’d want to educate them about is, when people say that ‘it’s old fashioned music it doesn’t fit in modern contemporary music’ The ironic thing is, these songs are about immigration, unrequited love and lost love, we’ve all been there. Northern Ireland at the moment, half the population are heading to Australia and America because of the economic crisis. So that is the modern day.
【2014.5.20】Interview: Cara Dillon
2014-06-27 15:04:04
来自: twelve_likexin(今天真尴尬)
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