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 Finding common ground by talking about Tears For Fears, MITCH ALEXANDER has the distinct pleasure of talking to his favourite Icelandic songstress, a very snoozy EMILIANA TORRINI. That’s right, favourite!
Ok, let me explain, before I’m ripped limb from limb by diehard Björk fans. I was introduced to the world of Emiliana Torrini through Sunny Road, the second single from 2005’s Fisherman’s Woman. A luscious three minutes of pastoral folk that combined subtle acoustic guitars and her soothing, ethereal voice, it was one of those frustrating songs that you hear on the radio for many weeks without knowing the source. When finally enlightened by a friend as to the originator of such a bright yet melancholy tune, a fan was born. In comparison, the first time I heard about Björk was when she beat up a photographer in 1996. You know what they say about first impressions…
Beginning the interview with a huge yawn, Emiliana reflects on her last visit to Australia in 2005. In case I wasn’t entirely certain that Torrini wasn’t an adorable human being, this particular oxygen inhalation concluded with an impish yelp. Awwwww…
“Yeah, it was beautiful in Australia, I ended up having a holiday there,” she says, replicating a sentiment shared by many touring artists. We have no fear of a recession; international musicians are keeping our economy alive. “People sang a lot with the lyrics in songs, it was great.”
As surreal as it must be to have your words sang back to you by seas of perfect strangers, it could not compete with hearing your songs in the most subversive of mediums: television. With her songs featured in American dramas such as Grey’s Anatomy (you know, the kind of seamless dramatic device where they chuck a heartfelt and emotional song into a scene to make up for tepidly clichéd dialogue), it’s a feeling that Torrini is yet to experience.
“Oh, I don’t have a television,” she answers with a giggle, completely squashing my conversation starter. “But it’s happened with [songs on] radio, so that’s very weird when it happens”
Me & Armini is Emiliana’s third album to receive an international release, and it’s the second album that was borne out of collaboration with Dan Carey, a songwriter and producer whose credits also include Franz Ferdinand. Torrini believes a lot of distance has been covered since 1999’s Love In The Time Of Science (produced by Tears For Fears dictator Roland Orzabal). While we agreed upon the consummate genius inherent in Tears For Fears (predominantly on their singles … those jazz trip-outs can piss right off), Torrini adores Carey’s relaxed yet methodical ways.
“Roland’s brilliant, but he works at a much slower pace … with Dan and I, we have the microphones ready and the ideas come very fast,” she recalls. “We were getting ideas as we were recording, more spontaneity and more freedom is how we write records. I don’t like deciding anything, sounds or song styles or instruments; I think I should be allowed to do anything I want when writing”
This boundless attitude seems to be proven time and time again in Torrini’s work, whether it’s writing a dancefloor hit for Kylie Minogue or the ska-infused title track to her latest album in a whiskey-fueled fervour and consequently forgetting about it, only to recall it weeks later. Just stay away from landing blows on the paparazzi and I’ll be a fan for years to come.
EMILIANA TORRINI plays the Brisbane Powerhouse on Sunday Nov 16. ME & ARMINI is out now through Rough Trade/Remote Control. For more information check out www.emilianatorrini.com
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