Sophie Ellis-Bextor has been quiet since the release of her Top 15 hit Heartbreak (Make Me A Dancer) with The Freemasons last year. Her new album Straight To The Heart, which was supposed to be her first Greatest Hits, is due for release in the coming months.
Thankfully Sophie Ellis-Bextor decided a new album was better than a Greatest Hits at this stage in her career and. So you might think that this will be another poppy, happy, feel-good ordeal but truly it isn’t and we really think that after listening to a few tracks and especially the infectious new single Bittersweet (out this week), Sophie Ellis-Bextor is back to her best. EF caught-up with the pop princess and had a chat about the album, single and life in general.
How are you today?
Not too bad thank you.
Your new single Bittersweet is out today. Can you tell us a bit about it?
Bittersweet is a song written by Freemasons and it’s about when you are intoxicated by a new lover that you know might do you harm but it’s too late. A painful pleasure or a pleasurable pain.
You worked with a lot of big dance producers on your new album. How was the experience?
It’s been great! It just kind of happened it wasn’t planed or anything. I think the first three tracks I did with a leftfield dance act called Metronomy then Calvin Harris and Freemasons. So after that I was quite set in a dance area. So it made sense to keep going in that direction and I am glad I did cuz I love the album.
Wasn’t this album supposed to be your Greatest Hits?
Yeah essentially. I started recording songs like Heartbreak and after a while I thought ‘this is a little premature I’m not ready for a Greatest Hits I need to write another album’. So I just decided to keep on that route really.
So is the album going to be mainly dance music?
Yes it’s a very dancy album, with a lot of keyboards and lots of bass.
Is it going to be feel-good like your other albums?
Yeah exactly. Quite positive and quite celebratory.
You’ve been off the music scene for a bit. What have you been up to?
Well I had an album three years ago and toured that album. I had another baby, a little boy last year. I feel like I have been doing a lot, I have been really busy doing gigs. I released a song with Freemasons last year called Heartbreak but this album took about two years to make. I am not really quick with making records (laughs).
Is it cuz you are a perfectionist in the studio?
Well I think it’s more because I am really enthusiastic and I like to keep going until I’m really convinced I am done. So I do a lot of collaborations and work with people around Europe and went to America for a bit. Fill each week with a few writing tricks and keep it interesting and before you know it months have gone by.
Are there a lot of songs that didn’t make it onto the album then?
Yes but the really good ones I’ll put on the album as bonus tracks. It’s not that those songs weren’t as good as the others. When you start painting a picture of what you want to do some songs might not feel quite the right frame work.
So if the Volcano keeps quiet are going to be gigging soon?
Yes I might do a solo tour in autumn and I have a few gigs to promote the new single. I also have a single out with a French DJ called Can’t Fight This Feeling. So I’m keeping busy!
You are quite successful overseas as well. Are there any places you really enjoy going back?
Well there are always fun places to travel back to like Paris where I just been working, such a lovely city. I love Paris! I actually really enjoy going to Russia as I go there quite regularly. You are on a plane for a few hours and you feel like you are in a place that is completely different. I always like to go to Italy because I love Italian culture. Mexico was brilliant…and South America in general.
Is the audience the same or does it change depending on where you are?
Generally people react the same way to the songs. I find this response quite reassuring. You know music is this unifying force really. If we are talking about types of crowds they are quite similar too.
Do you have any favourite tracks on the album (Straight To The Heart)?
At the moment because its new I like all of them, because they are all like shiny new objects. I suppose I like Revolutions because its quite chaotic and a bit different for me. There’s a song called Starlight, which I did with producer Richard X and its really pretty voice full pop, which always makes me happy. There’s a song called Dial My Number, which is really eighties sounding and electro. I like that too.
That’s really in the moment….
Yeah I’m really enjoying the charts at the moment.
What have you been listening to then?
I just got the new Gorillaz album and that’s excellent and I’ve been listening to Phoenix’s album and Goldfrapp’s. I’m also enjoying Vampire Weekend. I think those are my favourite albums at the moment.
Are you planning on doing any festivals this year?
I don’t know yet but I am definitely talking about it. My new album Straight To The Heart is out in August so it would work nicely. I hope so.
Thank you for your time!
Thank you….
'Bittersweet' is out now.
Read our review of 'Bittersweet'
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