aaamusic | On 16, Sep 2012

AAAmusic: First of all, congratulations on reaching the 25th anniversary of ‘Solitude Standing’, that is a huge benchmark in the music industry! What would you say are the main differences between then and now for you as a musician?

SV: AS A MUSICIAN, NOT A LOT OF DIFFERENCE. THE MAIN DIFFERENCE IS THE LACK OF CORPORATE SUPPORT NOW. I SPEND MORE TIME DOING SOCIAL MEDIA LIKE FACEBOOK.

AAAmusic: You have frequently been involved with the forefront of musical and technological advances, such as the development of mp3s and being one of the first major artists to do a live show via Second Life. Do you feel this has had any impact on your attitudes towards music, your place and role/interaction with it?

SV: I LIKE PLAYING AROUND WITH TECHNOLOGY – I FEEL IT IS A TOOL ULTIMATELY THAT CAN BE USED IN A SOULFUL ARTISTIC WAY.

AAAMusic: Despite this, your sound has remained firmly grounded in a folk-inspired genre. What do you feel about this more “traditional” sound in relation to the amount of technology involved in music these days?

SV: WITH EVERY ALBUM, I HAVE MIXED THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR, WHICH IS THE INSTRUMENT I LOVE, WITH WHATEVER THE CURRENT TECHNOLOGIES ARE. THAT GOES FOR EACH ALBUM FROM THE FIRST ONE TO “BEAUTY AND CRIME”. THE ACOUSTIC GUITAR IS AN ETERNAL INSTRUMENT.

AAAmusic: Your latest series of releases are acoustic re-workings of your material grouped into volumes. What was the thought process behind this?

SV: I ALWAYS LIKED THE IDEA OF REGROUPING THE SONGS BY THEME WHICH IS SOMETHING I DO WHEN I PERFORM LIVE. WHEN I FOUND MYSELF WITHOUT A RECORD DEAL IN 2008 I DECIDED TO RECORD MY SONGS SIMPLY WITHOUT THE PRODUCTION OF THE DIFFERENT DECADES. THIS GIVES ME A WAY OF OWNING A PHYSICAL COPY OF MY LIFE’S WORK, SINCE I DON’T OWN THE ORIGINAL RECORDINGS. THOSE ARE OWNED BY A&M AND BLUE NOTE.

AAAmusic: Are there any songs in particular that have jumped out at you or taken you by surprise during the process of revisiting them?

SV: NOT REALLY. IRONBOUND FROM THE SOLITUDE STANDING ALBUM WAS INTERESTING TO REVISIT AS IT WAS A MOMENT IN TIME WHEN I WAS AVOIDING MARRIAGE.

BUT MOST OF THE SONGS WERE SONGS I WAS VERY FAMILIAR WITH HAVING SUNG THEM FOR YEARS.

AAAmusic: Your songs often have a strong lyrical narrative to them. When writing do you tend to create the words or the music first?

SV: I USUALLY WORK FROM AN IMAGE OR A VISION OF SOME KIND. SOMETIMES THE WORDS COME FIRST AND SOMETIMES THE MUSIC. AS I HAVE GOTTEN OLDER THE SONGS COME ALL DIFFERENT WAYS.

AAAmusic: Another thing about your lyrics is that you are unafraid to tackle serious or dark issues, as well as powerful emotions. Are there any subjects, situations or feelings you find particularly challenging?

SV: LOVE SONGS AND POLITICS ARE HE MOST DIFFICULT SONGS TO WRITE.

AAAmusic: If you were to go back 25 years and tell yourself that you would have got this far and lasted this long, would you have believed it?

Would you tell yourself to do anything differently?

SV: YES I WOULD HAVE BELIEVED IT. I INTENDED TO BE A SONGWRITER MY ENTIRE LIFE AND THAT’S WHAT I HAVE DONE.

AAAmusic: And finally, what future plans do you have?

SV: I WANT TO FINISH THE PLAY ABOUT CARSON MCCULLERS THAT I STARTED LAST YEAR. I WILL COME OUT WITH VOL 4 OF THE CLOSE-UP SERIES. I PLAN TO COME OUT WITH A NEW ALBUM NEXT YEAR. AND ONE DAY I WANT TO WRITE A BIOGRAPHY.

 

Orna Lyons