Weekly > Interviews
Sia
Sia is a well respected solo artist who has also enjoyed success in writing with and performing live with the band Zero 7. Live she puts on a real performance, engaging the audience and bringing a visual spectacle to her gigs, sitting alongside a really fine voice.
Her recent album Some People Have Real Problems is one of her most successful to date and easily one of her best, I was lucky enough to see her live recently and then caught up with her for a brief chat the following week.
I caught your show at The Cockpit in Leeds last Sunday, are you pleased with how this tour is going?
Yes it’s been smashing!
I don’t think I’ve ever seen an artist look as happy as when they are on stage as you do, be it on your own or with Zero 7, that really comes across to the crowd and seems to be genuine, would you say you prefer live performances to recording in the studio?
Well I think they are two very different experiences. One is very personal,and the other is about community and I value both equally. I do love being part of a community though and I think that is why I light up during shows.
Audience interaction seems to be a major part of your live shows, you read out notes, deal with hecklers, tell stories is that something that you have always done?
Not always. I had to get comfortable. As part of Zero 7 I wasn’t really in a position to delay the show by fartarsing about, but when the circumstances changed and the show was mine and it was only myself I was delaying, I got into being more inclusive and spontaneous. Really it was born from the frustration of doing the same show every night and it keeps it fun for me, to be present with whatever the audience brings to the party!
The opening track in Leeds was fantastic with the visuals (masks, gloves, luminous strips), what inspired that and is that something you’d like to build on in the live area?
Yes absolutely. The idea came to me when I was sitting on the sofa, then it expanded when I was in a prius.
Now you have a fair back catalogue behind you, does it get harder to narrow down a set list for the gigs and their songs that you don’t want to go back to now?
Yes definitely, fans make requests and it’s hard to please everybody. Totally there are songs I am tired of, but it’s my job!
Weblinks
Add to favouritesI have to say my favourite on the album is Academia, how hard was that to put together and is it one of the more difficult tracks to perform live?
Me too! Yay! Yyes it’s hard because I had to learn where to breathe because I think if I remember rightly I recorded the original vocal on 2 tracks, verse on one, chorus on the other, also I forgot the words repeatedly for the first few weeks we toured this album. Ooops!
You played a couple of your Zero 7 tracks when I saw you live, are there any plans to work with them again in the future?
No plans, but I never say never.
How did you actually hook up with them in the first place?
My first manager used to play soccer with them on tuesdays.
Final question! Despite a lot of critical acclaim and a dedicated fanbase, you’ve not had the major commercial success of a lot of female singers, does that frustrate you at all or are you quite happy with how things have gone, as obviously not everything goes on record sales alone to measure success?
Happy! Happy! Happy!
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