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KGRL Exclusive Carina Round Interview
Cinespace - 06.05.07
KGRL had a chance to go on a one on one interview with Carina Round. The interview was held in Cinespace - 06.05.07.
Listen to Carina Round's responses in High Quality MP3 Stream using the player below:
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Offered in both High and Low Quality versions.
KGRL: Can you introduce us to who Carina Round is?
Carina Round: I was born in Wolverhampton, England in 1979. I was brought up and lived there in a place called Low Hill. Until I was old enough to leave and I moved to Birmingham because I already knew at that point that I really wanted to do music and I didn't feel much of a music scene around where I was, so I moved to where I knew there was one. I've was doing shows in Birmingham from the age of 17 onwards. Until I moved over to Los Angeles, June... July... maybe August last year.
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KGRL: How would you describe your music and which genre would you classify it?
Carina Round: That's up to you to classify... I don't know (because I think...) although this is my third record I think all of them have been pretty different. I couldn't, without meaning to sound cheesy, really classify myself because I don't see myself as the particular kind of music. In fact I think the record, even this record, travels scope of different kinds of music - different kinds of music, different moods of music. It can vary from jazzy, to rocky, to very rocky, to singer/songwriter-y, to a big noise. (Laughs)
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KGRL: Have you had any formal music education? Or did you just learn music by yourself?
Carina Round: No, I've never had any formal music education. I started singing as soon as I could, to the dismay of my mother. Until I was probably about 15 when... I don't know, I woke up one morning and I went from sounding like a kettle boiling to actually being able to sing properly...
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KGRL: Can you tell us about your current musical influences?
Carina Round: Yeah... I'm really into a girl called Laura Veirs at the moment. She's absolutely incredible. I just saw her at Largo a few nights ago - really blew me away, really beautiful. There's a band supporting her called Lake, who are also very cool. I love Rufus Wainwright, The Arcade Fire, TV on the Radio... Blonde Redhead - I guess they've been around for a while. There are a lot of people that escape me right now but I'm always listening to new music.
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KGRL: We understand that you were in a band before, when you were 15 or so?
Carina Round: I was 15... The first time I joined a band was without a bass player because the guitar player really just wanted an excuse to get on stage and play as many guitar solos as possible, which is fine because he's a great guitar player. We just did covers of songs that have lots of guitar solos... That only lasted for probably six months and then I decided to flee the nest.
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KGRL: Which songs did you use to play back then?
Carina Round: I think one of the covers we did was Riff, but I can't even remember the name of the song. And probably a Jimi Hendrix one - he's turned in his grave at the thought of it, I'm sure of it. I can't remember... (Laughs) Probably a Pearl Jam as well, I mean it was all the stuff we're in to... Stone Temple Pilots... I was that fifteen-year-olds...
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KGRL: When and why did you decide to move to the US?
Carina Round: I moved, well... My first experience of the US was a tour with the Snow Patrol a few years ago and the first place we landed was Atlanta, Georgia. And then we traveled around the US for about a month. Then I came back to record this record called Slow Motion Addict with Glen Ballard in Encino and then in Hollywood, which took a few weeks - probably a couple of months.
Then I decided to test the water from moving here, so I stayed here for a month without doing anything - because my record company is based out here. I thought it would be a good idea to try and expand the fan base particularly for instance in California where it's as big as France. So instead of moving from England to France (Laughs), it seemed a good idea to come over to the US - and LA seems like a good place to start as the record company is based here.
We came out here also to make the movie, which is made to coincide with the record. We spent 10 days doing that. I just decided it was time to move on from the UK. I thought there is a lot more opportunities available to me out here. I think if you come to LA and all really willing to put the work in, it can really pay off for you.
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KGRL: Glen Ballard is a big name... How did you get to work with him?
Carina Round: I had a few dealings with a guy called Dave Stewart, who started the Eurythmics and is still in Eurythmics. He started a record company with Jimmy Iovine, who is the head of Universal Music and Interscope Records. It was a joint venture, which is who I signed to for The Disconnection in the US and also Slow Motion Addict. He (Dave) was very good friends with Glen and he introduced me to him.
Glen came to see us live. He loved the record. I recorded a song with him called Gunshot, for the Alfie movie. I really liked the way he worked so we ended up working together. I thought it would be a great challenge and a good experience for me as a human being to actually put myself in that situation of working with a producer that has had great success and is far more famous than I am (Laughs). But yeah, it was a very interesting life experience... It worked out well I think.
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Photo courtesy of Kristin Burns.
KGRL: How do you go about your songwriting process?
Carina Round: It differs. For The Disconnection, I mainly just sat in my room trying to find a way out of the darkness that I put myself in. For Slow Motion Addict, I did that a little bit. A lot of times I started songs and took them to my band because I've spent five years playing with them and have chosen them very very carefully. After playing with them for five years, I finally felt comfortable enough to start writing with them. We did that...
A few songs we just wrote with jamming actually. Downslow was one of them. Ready To Confess was another one. Yeah, I just thought it might be fun... And it worked.
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KGRL: Going further deeper into your songwriting process... How do you do it? Do you start with the lyrics first, humming a tune or something?
Carina Round: That would be telling! (Laughs) Yeah, it's a mystery actually more than a secret. (Laughs)
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KGRL: Did the move to US affect your songwriting process in any way with regards to the crowd you perform to? Is there any difference in the crowd here in the UK and in US?
Carina Round: I think it depends which part of the UK or the US you are in. I think the US crowds tend to be a little more vocal about their appreciation. Although that said, some crowds in LA really aren't like that. (Laughs) I think it's the same in any country, the more industry dominated cities or venues that you play it's much more difficult to get foot tapping or someone wiggling their butt to the music, you know? But on a whole, I think we still manage to kick some ass out here.
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Photo of Slow Motion Addict by Anoushka Fisz
KGRL: How do you decide what to name your CDs? Is there any significance of the album title to the whole CD?
Carina Round: Yeah, I think... I don't know... I feel that the three records that I've had, the titles kind of encapsulate the songs. I don't know... I don't feel like I listen to the album and go "Oh my goodness that's a terrible title, doesn't go with any of the songs."
With this one actually, I stole the name from a self-portrait by an amazing photographer called Anoushka Fisz - really incredible. I was at one of her exhibitions in Los Angeles, probably two years ago. It was an exhibition of self-portraits and every single one seemed to hit me like a train when I saw them. But Slow Motion Addict in particular, I don't know... Something intangible encapsulates me with that photograph and the title. I can't explain but it seemed to illuminate something that I already knew, maybe it makes sense - I don't know... It just moved me. I asked her if I could share the title with her and she was thrilled to let me.
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KGRL: There is a palpable change in style in the three CDs you have so far. The First Blood Mystery is more acoustic and jazzy. The Disconnection is a mix of blues and jazz. Slow Motion Addict is more on the heavy side. Can you tell us if there are any inspirations you drew from in each of your CDs?
Carina Round: Well, the first few songs are, maybe (With regards to Slow Motion Addict being heavier). I don't know, I think there are constant influences that even if I don't listen to them they're there all the time and forever. Like Neil Young, Patti Smith, Tom Waits, or Roxy Music (for me as well).
But then you know, as time goes new music comes into my life and I start to enjoy other things. I mean, I can't say / pinpoint exactly when or where or why or how or who, but I'm influenced by all sorts of things. And my surroundings change for each one of those records so, I'm also heavily influenced by that of course. I don't know...
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KGRL: Do you have any personal favorites from the songs you've written so far?
Carina Round: I don't know I think there are songs from different ones that I particularly enjoy at different times. One that I always enjoy performing is Take The Money - because I get to rock. I also enjoy The Disconnection. I really like The City, it makes me think of snow and fragrance. Maybe Downslow, How Many Times, January Heart (I really like from this new record), and Gravity Lies (I like too). I mean I like all of them but there are favorites I guess. Shoot, Overcome, Monument, and Motel 74 - from the last one. Oh, Sit Tight as well... The songs that are very personal to me as well, like Let It Fall... (KGRL - Oh that's my favorite!) Ah it's your favorite, oh cool!
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Photo courtesy of Kristin Burns.
KGRL: How does listening to your old records make you feel?
Carina Round: I don't listen to them. If I want to listen to them, I'll just play them live in my room. Although there's too many, I can't remember.
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KGRL: Which are you most comfortable in, acoustic or electric performance?
Carina Round: Either. I always play acoustic if I'm playing solo and electric obviously if I'm with a band. But I love either - both light and shade... very opposite ends... very different.
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KGRL: You've played Acoustic Trio in your recent shows...
Carina Round: I toured with an Acoustic guitar for The Disconnection and Let It Fall, but nothing really on this one... Although tonight, I'm playing Acoustic on one track, a new track (a song currently titled "Backseat" - check it out on the streamed video exclusive).
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Photo courtesy of Kristin Burns.
KGRL: Which is your best experience performing live so far?
Carina Round: My most surreal experience was supporting James Brown in the UK. That was very very strange indeed. I don't know how I ended up on that gig, but I worked that. Everybody wanted to dance. Everybody wanted to shake their ass and I was caught standing there. I think I was 18 or 19 years old, maybe I was a little older, with an acoustic guitar on my own - like rolled up socks. Very surreal and I just thought "How am I gonna do this?" I just started to cut my hands and sing the songs acapella... but it was all downhill from there.
And there was the Viper Room show, where Jack Nicholson turned up - that really was fun. And oh my God, Lou Reed came to one of the shows in New York, I was so freaked out. Luckily for the Viper Room show, we played the hell out of that show and it was really really good. I just love playing live. It's hard to say which is my favorite show, there are different things about shows.
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KGRL: How did you come up with making an episodic movie as a companion to your current CD?
Carina Round: I thought it would be fun and interesting. Oh, we chose Jesse Davey to make the movie - who is really really creative - kind of genius person... The things that happen to me in this movie, I can't even explain. We made the whole movie for $50,000. If you imagine, most music videos these days cost more than $50,000 for three minutes and this is a 50 minute movie in the first cut. It's pretty incredible.
At one point, I throw myself up from the top of a building. I don't know if I can explain... Actually, the episodes are being put on my website and I'm going to post a little blog to explain all Jesse's secrets and how he did it... And you'll find out!
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KGRL: So that's the mode of release for the movie? Through your website? Or is it going to be incorporated into your shows?
Carina Round: Oh no, it's just going to be episodes on the internet. Tonight is just a taste of some of the scenes from the whole movie.
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KGRL: Are you into song writing collaboration?
Carina Round: I only usually write with people I've known for a long time. I'm not into that "Hi, I'm Carina. Hi, I'm so and so... Ok, which key do you sing in?" I'm not into that at all, at the moment. I don't feel comfortable in that situation because people don't understand you.
As a singer, I hated part of that being a female and all that bullshit because it's really not my thing. When you walk into it and situation called, and you're a singer/songwriter... I mean, where does somebody start? Because they don't know who you are, I could be anything from Patty Smith to Britney Spears. They may not know where to come from. It's not a situation I'd like to put myself into.
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KGRL: One of your strengths is live performance. How do you keep up with being intense and quirky on stage?
Carina Round: Well, thank you! It was never really "Ah ok, I have to be intense and quirky on stage." It's not really a conscious thing, I just go up there and do whatever. But I think the performances that I have been moved by in my years of going to live shows have always been of the intense kind. I guess quirkiness... Intense and quirky is probably a good way of explaining my personality so I think that just comes out on-stage as well.
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KGRL: What do we expect from you for the rest of 2007?
Carina Round: Well... I'm constantly doing shows around Los Angeles because that's where I live. But we've just secured some dates starting on the 1st of September and ending on the 12th of September with The Cinematics up and down the East Coast, which is really exciting for us in the band because we love to play. We're still working on getting shows after that..
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Special thanks goes to Carina Round and Melissa Aubert.
Carina Round Links:
Official Website: http://www.carinaround.com
MySpace Page: http://www.myspace.com/carinaround
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