Interviews 2014

[glo32]

There's a new interview with Damien on an Italian newspaper... it has been done in Iceland a few days ago, when he met the press for that showcase of the new record at sundlaugin. I suppose he has done interviews for other newspapers too, in all Europe... so keep an eye on newspapers and websites in your countries!

In the Italian one he basically says he's more willing to do interviews now, that he has a better relationship with fame (or at least it won't get overwhelmed by it now) and that it won't take long for him to start working on album 4, because he has a lot of unfinished songs that he wants to record as soon as possible.

[borneoman]

Al contrario: voglio iniziare a registrare il quarto album prima possibile. Ho già molte canzoni che aspettano solo di essere finite

[eva_arg]

there should also be some radio interviews coming up

A few days ago Kristen Kurtis (program director and host of a radio in Austin)posted

F*** Me Warner Bros just asked if I want to phone interview @DamienRice 10/3 or 10/10 & I can’t because we’ll be broadcasting from ACL :‘(

[Voxi]

Hi glo,

Can you please send me link to that italian interview so I can read it?
Thanks

[glo32]

here it is: https://www.facebook.com/download/50...r-rep-2014.pdf
if it doesn't work, you can find it here https://www.facebook.com/groups/ninecrimes/

[Voxi]

Originally Posted by glo32

here it is: https://www.facebook.com/download/50...r-rep-2014.pdf
if it doesn't work, you can find it here https://www.facebook.com/groups/ninecrimes/

ok, thanks. waiting for pending.
Now I'm gonna be italian Damien Rice fan even though I'm from Croatia

edit: that was quick! I had good time reading the interviews. As I said, he really seems like happier person now.

[DesoleInBoston]

Here's a great article I haven't seen shared here yet. It's not quite an interview, I think the writer was sent canned quotes, but a nice record review:

http://www.standard.co.uk/goingout/m...y-9728421.html

I don't think I've ever been this excited for a new album, ever.

[Shillelagh]

can someone translate?

[glo32]

this is the italian interview in case some of you wants to google-translate it: http://www.repubblica.it/spettacoli/...31/?ref=search

[shakas]

Will take another eight years for the new album?
"No, on the contrary. Want to begin recording their fourth album as soon as possible. Already many songs just waiting to be finished."

(wonky google translation)

[InspirationDestination]

From Google Translation. Would love clarification on some parts, though.

REYKJAVIK - It's been eight years since the last album released and for his big comeback the Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice decided to leave Iceland, a sort of retreat where he wrote the new album, My favorite fantasy faded, leaving the November 4th. "If it was not for this island, probably would not have finished the drive," he says.

Forty years old, born and raised in Celbridge, near Dublin, Rice is one of the rare anomalies of the contemporary music scene, a much loved artist, able to sell three and a half million copies around the world and yet continue to ignore the status of a superstar to the point that rarely gives interviews and fan does not give autographs or photographs, preferring a conversation or a hug.
"Why fame is a bogus thing. Did not exist. If I meet a fan and spend an afternoon with him at the end of the day you will realize that we're just two human beings who have spent a day together."

She hardly gives interviews, ten years does not make it. Because this time he decided to talk about?
"I stopped doing interviews because me uncomfortable. Was afraid of creating a character, another Damien Rice that had nothing to do with me. And then I prefer to have that talk, if I say something I find it much better with a guitar . Once finished recording the album, however, I felt that this time I could live these meetings in a different way, as long as I brought here, in this interview, each side of me. Especially those that can not stand. "

His previous record, 9, was released in 2006 because it took so long to record the new album?
"I think I was rather confused. I started playing at age thirteen, for me the music meant in the first joy, sharing, desire for beauty. But then my first band (the Juniper, ed) signed a major contract with a label and I found myself doing a job. innocent aspect of making music was gone, it was gone., in 1998, I abandoned everything and a few months after I arrived in Italy, in Tuscany, decided to become a farmer. For me it was finished all there. "

But then he changed his mind ...
"After a few months spent in a farm, I thought that I was too young to be a farmer and I felt I had still inside the songs that I had recorded. Went back in Ireland, decided to record an album and end his career. Though I published O, which went very well and I found myself traveling the world playing my songs with a group of people that loved and we were glad of every little step of the way. had recreated the magic intact. "

That record remained on the charts for nearly two years and managed to sell over two million copies. If you expect?
"None of us expected anything.'s Why it was wonderful. But after that album, the pressures began to record the follow-up, got back to work-related stress and the group began to disintegrate. And I, that I should be happy, not I was not. Consequently, after that experience, I decided to take all the time that I would need to return to the joy of making music. "

Why did you choose Iceland to share?
"I needed a place where you do not feel pressure, where I could sit at home, invite friends over and play for the fun of it. It took a bit 'of time for everything to come back to be spontaneous, but in the end we are successful. During these years, however, I also changed way of thinking, of living my life. Once I was the victim, I felt the whole hostile world, but now I'm open to any opportunity. know I can be the man most sensitive in the world or the most idiotic. at the same time. And it is a liberation. "

She is loved by many of his colleagues, by Thom Yorke of Radiohead to U2's Bono. Who is your audience?
"Probably Leonard Cohen, a wonderful man. I had the privilege of opening some concerts for him and meet him was a very powerful experience. Him, more than others, taught me how to use the songs to reveal the darker side of me and to live with awareness. I learned a lot from him, from his humanity, by its enormous simplicity. "

Tickets for his only Italian concert, on October 23 in Milan, were sold out in two days. How is the fact to be a star for many people?
"If you had asked me ten years ago, I would have said you have a lot of problems in this regard. Nowadays no, it's something I understand, and deeply. Basically I myself have had this fascination for many singers, with Cohen, for example. But my answer is that it is not me, but my music is to get people. They may believe that it is Damien Rice to do so, but it is not. I'm just through. "

Will take another eight years for the new album?
"No, on the contrary. Want to begin recording their fourth album as soon as possible. Already many songs just waiting to be finished."

[verenita]

Originally Posted by InspirationDestination

From Google Translation. Would love clarification on some parts, though.
They may believe that it is Damien Rice to do so, but it is not. I'm just through. "

i like this
thanks for posting it!

[Voxi]

If you don't understand or you need clarification of some parts, plese c/p in new post so I can translate from italian version

[InspirationDestination]

It must be hard to have people just wanting stuff from you. He just put out album 3, and there's already talk of album 4! Exciting, but so much pressure. Perhaps because I already have so many songs (thanks to the people here), I will be patient and grateful for whatever he shares. I'm finding I like his songs in their imperfect states because they feel authentic.

[Canadianfan]

He is just so grounded and stays so true to his music, and that is what I love about all of his songs, they are genuine, like him.

[Shahar]

Thanks for the translation, great interview!

[Shillelagh]

Here you go. I tried to translate everything as faithfully as possible. I will say I took a few liberties with his responses just to make them sound more natural in English, but I promise I didn't alter the sentiment of what was being said anywhere. Enjoy


REYKJAVIK - It's been eight years since his last published album and for his much anticipated return the Irish singer-songwriter Damien Rice has decided to leave Iceland, the scenic retreat where he has written his new album, My Favorite Faded Fantasy, available November 4. "If it weren't for this island, I probably would have never finished the album," he says.

Born and raised in Celbridge, near Dublin, the forty-year-old Rice is one of the rare anomalies in the contemporary music scene; a much loved artist, capable of selling 3.5 million copies of his albums around the world, and yet continually eschewing celebrity status, to the point that he rarely grants interviews and almost never gives signatures or photographs to his fans, preferring to offer a brief conversation or a warm embrace. "Fame is an artificial thing. It doesn't exist. If I meet a fan and spend the morning with him, the most important thing he will remember at the end of the day is that we were just two people that spent some time with each other."

You rarely give interviews, in fact it's been ten years since you've done one. Why have you decided to speak now?

"I stopped doing interviews because they struck me as rather hazardous. I was afraid of creating some media persona, this other Damien Rice who had nothing to do with who I really was as a person. And also I just prefer to sing than to speak. If there's something I need to say I can usually manage it much better with a guitar in my hands. Prior to recording the album I used to feel that I would conduct these sorts of interviews in many different ways, with many different personalities. In this interview I want to show every side of me, especially the sides I don't necessarily like."

Your previous album, 9, released in 2006. Why did it take so long to record your new album?

"I think I was rather lost at the time. I started playing music when I was thirteen. Music for me, first and foremost, means joy, sharing with others, seeking for beauty in the world. My first band (Juniper) signed this huge contract with a label and suddenly I found that I had a job. That innocent side of the music was gone, it wasn't there anymore. So in 1998 I dropped everything and several months later I arrived in Italy, in Tuscany, and decided to become a farmer. For me, everything I loved was gone at that point.

One day, however, something changed...?

"After spending a few months working on a farm, I realized I was too young to be a farmer and I felt myself getting lost again in the songs in my head, songs that I was longing to record. I returned to Ireland and decided to record an album and end my career with that. Well, I released O, which was received very well and suddenly I found myself touring the world and playing my songs with a group of people I truly adored. We were really happy just being together playing music, through thick and thin. The magic, that innocent aspect of the music, was back, just the same as it had been before. Untouched."

That album remained on the charts for nearly two years and went on to sell over two million copies. Were you surprised by its success?

"Well none of us really expected anything, honestly. It was astonishing. But after that album did so well, we started suddenly really feeling the pressure of recording another, the stress of working returned and just like that the group of us started to crumble apart. And myself, who wanted nothing more than to just be happy.... well... I wasn't. So after that experience, I decided to slow down and give myself as much time as I needed to rediscover the joy in making music."

Why did you choose to leave your home again, this time to go to Iceland?

"I felt I needed a place where I could be away from all the pressure, a place I could just be by myself at home, invite over friends and company when I wanted, and just play music for the love of playing it. It took a while to adjust to the new situation and lifestyle there, but in the end everything started to feel normal, comfortable. During those years, I changed the way I thought too, the way I lived my life. I used to play the victim quite often, feeling the world was a harsh and hostile place. Now, instead, I try to open myself up to new opportunities. I realized that it's possible for someone, myself included, to be the most sensitive person in the world but also the most heartless. Sometimes you can do both at the same time. And realizing and accepting that is very liberating."

You are greatly admired by many of your contemporaries, from Thom Yorke to Radiohead, even Bono of U2. Who do you look up to?

"Probably Leonard Cohen, a simply wonderful human being. I had the privilege of opening a few shows for him and meeting him was a very powerful experience. Leonard, more than anyone else, taught me to use msuic to discover even the darkest and most obscure sides of my mind and to live with that newfound awareness of myself. I learned so much from him, from his kindness, from his wonderful openness and simplicity in living."

The tickets for your only concert in Italy, on October 23rd in Milan, sold out in two days. How do you handle knowing that you really are a celebrity to so many people around the world?

"If you had asked me that ten years ago, I would have had a very problematic time dealing with something like that, responding to that sort of question. Today though, it's something that I have come to understand and accept at a very deep level. I've seen this type of adoration for many artists, Cohen included. My response now is that it's not me, it's my music that reaches out and touches all those people. They might believe that it's Damien Rice doing it, but in truth that's not how it is. I am only the channel through which the music flows."

Will it be another eight years before we hear your next album?

"No, actually. I want to start recording my fourth album as soon as possible. I already have several songs that are almost done, just waiting to be finished."

[InspirationDestination]

Originally Posted by Shillelagh

Here you go. I tried to translate everything as faithfully as possible. I will say I took a few liberties with his responses just to make them sound more natural in English, but I promise I didn't alter the sentiment of what was being said anywhere. Enjoy

"I felt I needed a place where I could be away from all the pressure, a place I could just be by myself at home, invite over friends and company when I wanted, and just play music for the love of playing it. It took a while to adjust to the new situation and lifestyle there, but in the end everything started to feel normal, comfortable. During those years, I changed the way I thought too, the way I lived my life. I used to play the victim quite often, feeling the world was a harsh and hostile place. Now, instead, I try to open myself up to new opportunities. I realized that it's possible for someone, myself included, to be the most sensitive person in the world but also the most heartless. Sometimes you can do both at the same time. And realizing and accepting that is very liberating."

You are greatly admired by many of your contemporaries, from Thom Yorke to Radiohead, even Bono of U2. Who do you look up to?

"Probably Leonard Cohen, a simply wonderful human being. I had the privilege of opening a few shows for him and meeting him was a very powerful experience. Leonard, more than anyone else, taught me to use msuic to discover even the darkest and most obscure sides of my mind and to live with that newfound awareness of myself. I learned so much from him, from his kindness, from his wonderful openness and simplicity in living."

The tickets for your only concert in Italy, on October 23rd in Milan, sold out in two days. How do you handle knowing that you really are a celebrity to so many people around the world?

"If you had asked me that ten years ago, I would have had a very problematic time dealing with something like that, responding to that sort of question. Today though, it's something that I have come to understand and accept at a very deep level. I've seen this type of adoration for many artists, Cohen included. My response now is that it's not me, it's my music that reaches out and touches all those people. They might believe that it's Damien Rice doing it, but in truth that's not how it is. I am only the channel through which the music flows."

Thank you for the true translation. It's beautiful! This was the clarification I was looking for! Such amazing insights into himself.

[Shillelagh]

From luminousnz or /r/DamienRice

[DesoleInBoston]

There was a new interview in The Guardian today. I don't think Damien was too keen on the writer, it seems like he was messing with him a bit . And revisiting the whole Lisa thing in every story is becoming so tired to me...

http://www.theguardian.com/music/201...-faded-fantasy

[InspirationDestination]

Another great read! Thanks! The writer doesn't seem to get him, but he is complicated.

[conanemily]

all I noticed was "new album next year" haha☆*:.｡. o(≧▽≦)o .｡.:*☆

[citlali]

Thanks for the links and the translations!

[glo32]

just saw this interview - but google translate isn't helping much in some parts:
http://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/dami...6860f095535b66

[carrroline]

Originally Posted by glo32

just saw this interview - but google translate isn't helping much in some parts:
http://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/dami...6860f095535b66

I would help you, but I can't access the article.

[Shillelagh]

Originally Posted by glo32

just saw this interview - but google translate isn't helping much in some parts:
http://www.volkskrant.nl/muziek/dami...6860f095535b66

Damien Rice is back: “I’m coming from dark times”.

For the first time in eight years, Damien Rice speaks to the press. In his new home Reykjavik, the folk-singer recorded his long awaited album My Favourite Faded Fantasy.

‘Welcome to Iceland’, says Damien Rice (40) with the naturalness of a pensioned volcano tour guide. He speaks about the place where he recorded a major part of his new album like he has been living there for his entire life. For eight years he didn’t publish any new music but next week Rice is releasing his long awaited 3rd album: My Favourite Faded Fantasy.
Reykjavik is his new home. Honestly it’s an ugly town, with 120.000 people about the size of Maastricht. Between the colorful Norse wooden houses, crude barracks, dated grey hotels. There are no hotdog-stands here, in Reykjavik the people sell lobster sandwiches with garlic sauce.
Outside the city the special beauty of the island shines. A black volcanic area with a brownish layer of moss. Not a tree in sight.

HONESTY

It was not the volcano’s or glaciers, not the whispering waves or the loneliness that drew Damien Rice to Iceland. It were the friendly Vikings and elfish girls from the Icelandic capital that inspired him to make music again. Between the Icelandic youth, Rice felt safe enough to work on his new project.
Rice, who sang to the broken hearts of millions of youths on his albums O (2001) and 9 (2006), had his big break about ten years ago. With his melancholic folksongs about unrequited love and unattainable women he sold millions of albums. He silenced the biggest concert venues, singing with a sincerity that made the critics take him seriously, while people like James Blunt or James Morrison were cast aside as fake romantics.
The periode before My Favourite Faded Fantasy looks like the time before his debut album O. When his band Juniper signed a record deal at the Polygram label, but right before they started recording Rice decided to seek isolation from the outside world. He left for Tuscany, where he worked as a farmer and later as a street musician. As a troubadour he traveled through Europe with his guitar, and returned to Ireland in 2001.

RELAXED

This time it wasn’t Tuscany, but Iceland. During the months he spend here in 2013 he found himself again, Rice tells us. Iceland, the land of world famous acts like Björk and Sigur Rós, and of Ásgeir, Of Monsters and Men and Ólafur Arnalds. Even foreign creatives feel attracted to the island. Folksinger John Grant lives there, Damon Albarn (Blur, Gorillaz) owns a bar there. The American chess player Bobby Fischer died as an Icelander.
In the attic of an old theatre in Reykjavik, Damien takes a seat on a bench [not sure how to translate this part, but it’s not very important to the story]. He is giving his first official interview in eight years. He does not look like the frustrated songwriter that we saw ten years ago. He is no longer the petulant, insecure musician infamous for his dislike of the press. Something has changed him.
Rice laughs a lot, takes a sip of his bright green fruit juice and and whistles when he thinks about a question. He looks boyish. The reason for him being so relaxed is partially caused by the Island, he says. What is it about that remote island? Is there something in the Salmon? Or is it the sulfur-like air?
“It’s the people here”, says Rice. “Everything is possible on this island. People allow themselves to be different, to have strange hobby’s. Everyone knows everyone and everyone knows someone with a special skill or talent. Everything is possible”.


NEIGHBOR

“Let me give an example. I work with vintage microphones, but in one of the first weeks my antique U47 microphone broke down. That’s not a problem when you’re in Los Angeles, but when you’re in London there is a big chance that you’ll have to send it to Germany and get it fixed there. However, around the corner there lived a 19-year old boy who tinkered with microphones like that for fun. I had it back within 2 days”.
“A melody that popped in my head, had to be played by a horn. But where do you find a hornist in such a small town? That was no problem either. Within half an hour a friend of my cellist came by, an hour later everything was recorded”. [I’m not sure if hornist is a word, but you get the idea]
He looks at the raindrops ticking against the window. “It’s just like Ireland here sometimes. A lot of rain, a lot of loneliness at times. But I never would have managed to do this there”.

DEPRESSED

“Ireland is still my home, but my house there is a mess. Boxes full of demos, ideas and machinery. Every box has stickers that say: you should sort this, you should look into this. It’s metaphoric for my mental condition a few years ago. Here in Iceland I live out of a suitcase; cleaned and without needless weight”.
Rice didn’t release new music, only performed a couple of times. Most of the time he stayed under the radar. He didn’t want anything to do with the press. What did he do in the last couple of years? “I really couldn’t tell you. I come from a dark time. If I was depressed? I’m not sure, I was mostly angry. There was so much pain in the world and I took it all personal. I was angry at journalists, angry at my music, and most importantly: angry at myself. I ruined everything.”
“In the O. period I was mostly busy making people happy without stopping and thinking about myself. In the beginning it was mostly having fun. A lot of gigs, traveling the world, but after that came the management, the opinions of the band, money.”

LOVESICK

He sighs. “It’s hard to stay focused. It all comes down to the fact that you can’t make people happy if you are not happy yourself. The tensions rose to the point that the band collapsed. To make the whole disaster complete, my relationship ended.”
His girlfriend was Lisa Hannigan. It’s noteworthy that he talks about it, because for a long time she was seen as the main reason of his hermit existence. Besides being his love, she was also the voice that gave colour to hits like 9 Crimes and I Remember. Her leaving in 2006 was shrouded in mystery. A short pressrelease appeared on his website: “Damien has decided to end his professional relationship woth Lisa Hannigan. As a result, Lisa will not be present at future live concerts. She will work on her own artistic projects and they do not have the intention of working together in the future.”
This led to heavy speculation amongst the press and fans. The lovesickness was supposed to be too much for him. Rumours said that Rice was depressed and desperate. In a story in Hot Press he said that he would give up his musical career for renewed contact with Hannigan. Confronted with this quote he said: “That was completely out of context. I have even called Lisa after that and right now we still talk.”
Right now, Rice is touring without a band. Partially to prevent new disappointments, he says. Last year was the last time he was in the Netherlands, at the Best Kept Secret festival where he was a headliner. A daring choice, playing solo on the main stage without new music. It turned out well, his two albums were not yet past their due date and the festival was completely quiet during his well-known songs.
But still, where was his new album? Why is it taking so long? The fans started to lose hope. Warner, his label, started to lose faith too. Even Rice seemed to have lost hope.
“In my first years as a musician I had a hate-love relationship with my own music. Slowly it was mostly hate that remained. After losing the band in 2006 I fell into a black hole. For five years I could not stand my own music and the pressure to make a new album kept growing.”
“Sometime in 2011 the turning point came. I decided not to worry about new music anymore, the new album was not coming anyway, I told myself. It was a bizarre paradox, from the moment I decided to lose the idea of a new record, my creativity started growing. Every day felt like making new music even more.”

MENTOR

In that period, Rice contacted the American producer Rick Rubin. Rubin the legend, responsible for the American Recordings of Johnny Cash and the Red Hot Chili Peppers’ Blood Sugar Sex Magik. And more recent: Adele’s 21 and Yeezus by Kanye West. Rubin was not just a musical support for Rice, but some kind of mentor too. Together with Rubin, Rice crawled out of the hole he was in for so many years.
“I wrote dozens of songs. Some where almost finished, some were just a couple of chords and an idea. It was Rubin who let me look at these songs in a structured way. We just started, and suddenly we recorded the first song. On to the next one, Rubin would say. The more songs we recorded together and the more we talked about my emotions, the more the insecurity I had faded.”
Eight songs after eight years. That brings a lot of pressure, you would think. Rice: “Pressure? I don’t really care what people think about my music anymore. It became clear what I had to do: Just make music I like, with the people I love.”

KNOTS

Don’t expect any feel good guitarsongs on My Favourite Faded Fantasy. The tone is still quite heavy and still seem to have lovesickess and desire as the most important subjects. Seems, because Rice sees it differently: “In the most songs I sing in a metaphorical mirror. The old Damien is like an ex who made my life hell for years.”
That Rice really changed became apparent during the evening at a concert in the Sundlauginstudio, a former swimming pool about half an hour away from Reykjavik, that was transformed into a studio by members of Sigur Ros. Rice became friends with the Icelandic band and recorded a lot of the instruments for his album in that studio.
At the door, Rice and his Icelandic friends smoke a cigarette. The slender Irishman looks slightly out of place between the large men with beards and knotted hair. They all had something to do with the album. One played the trombone, the other the pass. A couple songs were recorded at the home of one of the guys.

CONTRAST

Inside, the hip Reykjavik youth gathers around the carpet where Rice is standing in a spotlight, starting his acoustic set. He stands still at his Icelandic period and takes his time thanking everybody.
A great contrast with the introverted Rice from ten years ago. Back then he acted like there was no audience he was playing for, now, he seems to have a lot more fun between his songs than playing them.
When he strikes the first chord of The Blowers Daughter he starts singing “And so it is…”, he suddenly stops. “I took myself very serious back then, didn’t I?”, Rice jokes. “Can’t take my eyes off you?! That was just a lie.”
The ‘family-feeling’ Rice uses to describe his Icelandic friends, reaches it’s high point when during the last song, about twenty people join him. On the trombone, drum or contrabass. The rest as a mighty backing choir. After the last chord, everybody falls into each others arms.

He wants to say a last few words to his fans, who were waiting for eight years for his new album. He is not planning to take this long again to record his next one. “The studio for the new recordings has already been booked”.


translated by MrBrodin on www.reddit.com/r/DamienRice Thank you

[borneoman]

you have to register first!

last sentence: the studio to record the new album is already booked (sure )

[conanemily]

Originally Posted by borneoman

you have to register first!

last sentence: the studio to record the new album is already booked (sure )

The best news ever!

[borneoman]

he also says that those headlines for Hotpress (I would give up everything to have Lisa back in my life) were taken out of context, and that they´ve been in contact again <3 <3 <3 at least, that´s what I understand in my rusty Dutch

[Shillelagh]

Originally Posted by borneoman

he also says that those headlines for Hotpress (I would give up everything to have Lisa back in my life) were taken out of context, and that they´ve been in contact again <3 <3 <3 at least, that´s what I understand in my rusty Dutch

Take this with a massive grain of salt but it kinda confirms what I heard from someone I met at the Chicago show. His wife was drunk and she was saying that her husband "has a contact high up at Rolling Stone" who told him they've been texting and talking and that they discussed them touring together again. And said that Lisa was considering coming in for that chicago show but damien told her not to since he was getting sick. I brushed it off as drunken bullshïtting. I still find it hard to believe. But now I'm also a bit intrigued. Maybe it was a slip of the tongue. Her husband did seem uncomfortable that she was telling us this. I assumed it was because she was shïtfaced.