Heather Nova: Coming Out
By Yasmin Tabi
Why should you care about Heather Nova?
Because,
after 10 years in the music business, six albums and a healthy
following in Europe, she's (finally) poised to make it big in the U.S.
with the release of her seventh album, South, this summer. Heather has
the goods to cause even uber-talented artists like Sheryl Crow to take
a step back and make room on the stage for this gifted guitarist,
lyricist and pop/folk singer/songwriter.
Why are we talking about her?
Because it's time Heather gets the fan base she deserves here in the good ol' U.S. After a decade in the (continued below)
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business,
well-known producers such as Bernard Butler (of Aimee Mann and Manic
Street Preachers fame) and Felix Tod (who has worked with Dogstar,
Keanu Reeves's band) have given her the respect she needs for a big
uprising in the States. So don't be surprised if you hear a lot of buzz
about her. In fact, you might have already heard Heather's memorable
voice on the soundtrack of the Michelle Pfeiffer/Sean Penn film I Am
Sam, belting out her rendition of the Beatles hit "We Can Work It Out"
next to other big names such as Eddie Vedder, Sheryl Crow and Sarah
McLaughlin.
What else you should know about her:
Heather
Nova was born Heather Frith on July 6, 1968, in Bermuda. Her family on
her father's side is one of the oldest on the island, with a history
going back 200 years, while her mother is of Canadian origin.
Although
she now lives in London, the high seas were Heather's home growing up.
Raised until she was 15 on a 40-foot sailboat built by her parents,
Heather spent her formative years learning to play the guitar and
violin and listening to the Beatles, Jimmy Cliff and Neil Young on a
tape deck powered by a wind generator. Clearly a garage band would've
been out of the question at the time!
At 16, her family moved to
the U.S., and Heather later enrolled in the Rhode Island School of
Performing Arts. Although she closely studied visual arts and film, it
was at this time that she discovered she wanted to be a musician.
After
school, she moved to London and released her first EP (short-length
album), Heather Frith, in 1990. She chose Nova, a surname from her
mother's side of the family, shortly after the release of this EP
because she felt it suited her better. Heather's first collection of
songs led to the production of her first full-length album, Glowstar,
in 1993. Things started snowballing from there. She did a world tour in
1995 and 1996 to promote her next album, Oyster, and then came her
first stateside release, Siren, in 1998.
Heather's lyrics focus
mostly on love and everyday life experiences, and her music has been
described as "soft and sexually charged" by RollingStone.com. She's one
of the few artists left who talks about love as if it were a good thing
(think Trent Reznor on a good day), but she does so in a manner that is
neither overwhelmingly sentimental nor gut-wrenchingly irritating
(think Celine Dion). In a recent phone interview while on a promotional
tour for South, Heather talked about her band's history, her
songwriting process and how music can erase geographical boundaries.
How did your band meet?
I
met all my bandmates in London while I was living there. There's a
large community of musicians there, and we met by word of mouth. When I
first started out, I used to audition musicians, and that's really
difficult.
Can you define your writing process?
It depends.
Sometimes I sit down and a song comes in one sitting and it's just a
gift from the stars. Other times I sit and work on a song for weeks.
Usually the lyrics and melody come together simultaneously. I feel that
they are and should be very connected, so I don't tend to write a whole
melody and then work on lyrics to fit.
How has the reception been internationally vs. nationally?
Since
I live in London and have toured Europe for the past nine years, I have
more of a fan base there. I haven't really had the opportunity to tour
here [the U.S.] as much, so I'm not as well known. But the nice thing
about music and playing live is that music breaks those location
barriers. You play a gig, the lights go down, it doesn't matter what
country you're in -- it becomes about what we, artist and audience,
have in common more than how we're different. It becomes about music,
the depth of feeling that music facilitates and that nice state which
music enables us to be in. When you play live, the music has the power
to connect people on an emotional level, and that's a fulfilling thing
to share.
I hear you're releasing a book of poetry. What inspired you to put it together?
The
book is titled The Sorrowjoy and is currently being sold at my
concerts, although it will be for sale on the Internet shortly.
I
consider poetry a very different form from writing songs. A lyric has
never been a poem, and a poem can never become a lyric. They're very
separate. The reason I do it is that it's coming from a different part
of my brain. A poem has to start on its own, and it's more intimate in
that it's something written down that you have to read to yourself from
a book, while a song is something that is just hanging out there for
the listeners. My songs are very intimate, but a poem is even more so,
somehow.
It's clear you like to write from your own
experience. So why choose to perform "Gloomy Sunday" [music and lyrics
composed by Rezso Seress, 1935]? The lyrics are a total departure from
your happier music.
"Gloomy Sunday" was recorded as part of a movie
soundtrack [also titled Gloomy Sunday]. The actual movie was about the
writing of that song, and the producers chose me to sing it.
Numerous artists have dabbled with that song -- Billie Holiday, Louis Armstrong, Elvis Costello?
And Frank Sinatra, too. It's such an amazing and powerful story and such a beautiful song that it's easy to see why.
Your guitarist, Berit Fridahl, is coming out with a solo album. Have you heard it yet? How do you feel about her solo efforts?
I
haven't heard it yet, but I'm very excited. I'm sure it's going to be
great because she's very talented. There's no tension because we all
have our own, separate lives, and I would never resent anyone for doing
their own projects. I'm very supportive of anything my bandmates do.
There are numerous fan sites out there. Do you ever browse them?
I find it really touching that people take the time to create a Website. Some sites have been really well done.
Do you spend a lot of time online?
I
really like going online. It's a nice distraction when you're on tour
to get to your hotel room and write. I don't know how people on tour
ever did without it! It's really great to be able to keep in touch with
my friends, my husband and my family. My favorite site is Salon because
there's always such a variety of stuff.
What do you think of your success since your debut? Are you where you wanted to be, musically and professionally?
I
didn't set out to be really famous. My initial goal was just to make
one album. But naturally, once you make one album, you want to make
another one. I guess I feel very fortunate that I've been able to stay
in the business this long, to be able to keep making records. It seems
like it's getting harder and harder to do that these days with the
record companies having short attention spans.
Are you already planning your next album?
No
-- right now I'm just trying to focus on what's happening right now.
There are three stages to producing an album, and I like to spend time
and concentrate on these steps. The first step is writing, which, for
me, is quite reclusive. I go away somewhere on my own, unplug the phone
and just write. The second step, recording, is collaborative but still
hard work. Finally comes promoting and working on reaching a lot of
people, putting yourself out there and touring. It's an exhausting and
fulfilling experience at the same time, because it really feels like
you're contributing something.
Discography:
Glowstar: 1993
Blow: 1993
Oyster: 1995
Live From The Milky Way, Live Album of Oyster: 1995
Siren: 1998
Wonderlust: 2000
South: 2001 (Europe)
Article reprinted on this website courtesy of http://www.women.com
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