We Become Hybrids: The Heather Nova Interview

On her sixth Album South Heather Nova discovers Soul music.

Robert Pally: Is there a relation between "I am no Angel" from your current album South and Maybe an Angel from Oyster (1994)?

Heather Nova: No (smiles) "I am No Angel" is about someone who makes mistakes.

RP: "I am No Angel" is different from the rest because it is up-tempo and pretty much a Power Pop song.

HN: It sticks also out because it was the only song I did not write alone. Bernhard Butler from Suede helped me. It was a mix of our two ideas. When I went over to him I had the chorus already written. That stayed. But I had it slower and a kind of moody. It was Bernhard's idea to speed it up and make it more a kind of a poppy thing.

RP: Will "I am no Angel" be the single?

HN: Yes, it will be the first single.

RP: That will make it more difficult for the listener because the rest on South sounds different!

HN: Yes, I agree. I didn't want it to be the single.

RP: So, the record company decided it?

HN: Yes, but not the one in Germany or Switzerland. It's V2, my label in England that I am signed to originally. They make these decisions. I know its the most obvious song but I would choose a different song to represent the record.

RP: Which one?

HN: I would chose "Wasted Day" or "If I Saw You in a Movie"

RP: Well, you are not free!!!

HN: (laughs) Not totally!

RP: I guess there are worse things!

HN: Exactly. I have total freedom when I make the record. I don't have that with marketing decisions.

RP: A couple of the songs on South have an R 'n B / soul feeling to it. What inspired you to that?

HN: After I wrote the songs they felt like they needed a kind of a soully arrangement. I was listening a lot to Al Green and Marvin Gaye. They put out such beautiful records with great moods. And with a simplicity to it. I wanted to get some of that on my record and make it less of a rock album.

RP: I appreciate that you have chosen the old masters and not what they call Soul / R 'n B today.

HN: What I find disappointing about R'n'B today is that it is less about Soul. It's so materialistic. It's all about my cell phone and my credit card. That's really disgusting. People get freedom confused with materialism.

RP: Soul in the sixties wasn't about being perfect it was about emotions.

HN: Yes, it was real.

RP: Now it's about being perfect and having money. Which is sad!

RP: Is "Virus of the Mind" based on your own experience?

HN: Yes, but it is also an observation.

RP: Do people think that you are a freak?

HN: Yes, of course. Because I have chosen a lifestyle that is outside of the society. That happens to a lot of people. The songs say that you don't have to feel like a loser because you don't wear trendy clothes, drive the right car or chose the right lifestyle. Just listen to your own visions and your own instincts. That is always the right thing to do.

RP: That is kind of hard in these days!

HN: Of course it's hard but it is still important.

RP: Was there a special reason why you spoke the verse in "Virus of the Mind"?

HN: That's just how I wrote the song. It came to me like this. But I am really interested in mixing more spoken word in my music. Because I like to write a lot of poetry and stuff. And I like to mix that with my music. The last on song on South is a bit like that too.

RP: Musically, what is important for you today compared to when you started?

HN: It is important that I write songs that have a lot of meaning to me. I am trying to get down to more of an essence when I write songs. To be able to say it in less words. The soul records we were talking about, I think they are like that. You get so much from these records but its very sparse. What makes you keep going is you wanna write a better song.

RP: Have the dancy beats in some songs ("If I Saw You in a Movie", "Talk to Me", "When Somebody Turns You On") to do with "Bassy" Bob Brockman, who works mostly for Hip Hop artists?

HN: No, he just mixed it. The recording was done before him. I am interested in trying to find some purity in the arrangement. That can be an acoustic guitar or it can be an electronic beat. They both are very pure elements.

RP: One could say that the dancy beats will also help to sell more records.

HN: Sure! Beats are trendy. Yes, maybe it will help me to sell more. You take influences from everything that is around you. It's like we become hybrids. The boundaries between countries and cultures are all going down. In the music as well. I take something from an old Soul record; a Hip Hop beat from now; a kind of Neil Young guitar feeling and mix it all up. That is exciting to me. Its not only because it might help me to sell more records.

RP: If you do that I think it is important that you submit the beats to your own sound. Don't let them rule your music.

HN: Exactly! If you put an electrical guitar in your sound, let it not become the main feature. They are all tools to make the music better. Modern technology is okay as long as you don't become a slave of it.

RP: South has 3 sides to it. An R 'n B/soul side, a folky one and the poppy "I am No Angel".

HN: It's not a big concept thing. You just make the tracks feel right. I recorded some stuff with different people and at different places. I sort of hoped that there would be continuity through the record although there are different styles going on. Maybe you don't think so?

RP: No. South is in my opinion different to your other albums.

HN: The song order is so crucial, when you put an album together.

I don't know if I got it right. You take the listener on a journey through the album. I try to make it like a rise and fall.

RP: In the press kit I read that songs sometimes happen between dream and reality. What do you mean by that?

HN: Sometimes songs just come to me. It's an amazing feeling. You write the whole piece in one go. It's like a gift that has been given to you. It's amazing when it happens but it doesn't always.

RP: Which song did you write like this?

HN: Actually "Like Lovers Do" (thinks.) "Waste the Day", "Help me be Good to You" and "Tested".

RP: What is the perfect scenario for you to write songs?

HN: Couldn't be here right now. I need space. I couldn't write a song when I have done interviews all day. I don't try when I am on the road. I go somewhere where I am connected with the nature.

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