Interviews 2014

[conanemily]

Ohhhhhhh Lisa ! come to New York plz!!!

[mattministrator]

And Berlin! Fingers crossed their relationship hasn't run its course after all, professionally or more generally. :-)

[Hannah25]

It would be amazing beyond words to see them perform together, really trying very hard not to get too hopeful!

[InspirationDestination]

Anything could happen... We just have to will it into existence!

[damien lisa]

maybe they will perform Cold water together again when Damo say "turn off the light". Then no one know that Lisa did appear in the show

[verenita]

that´s sweet... but you can´t confuse her voice... especially on cold water, the one she´s missed the most, imho.

[dawno]

Originally Posted by verenita

that´s sweet... but you can´t confuse her voice... especially on cold water, the one she´s missed the most, imho.

Agreed 1 million percent!

[damien lisa]

or he will invite a girl to drink in "cheer darlin' ". The Berlin gig is oct 31st, so she may appear like this

[Shillelagh]

Originally Posted by eva_arg

hmmm... interesting... can you imagine a surprise appearance in one of the London or Dublin shows?

I wish that had been my reaction but with 2 bottles of Pinot Noir in me I think I just said "nooooooope not happening"

[conanemily]

speaking of singing together, how I wish the 10/16 NYC show could happen again a million times... It was amazing to sing along with Damien himself, I actually could hardly hear myself - I tried my best to hear the guitar and him

[Agent99]

There was a moment there at the end of the Warsaw show, after Glen left the stage and Damien played Blowers Daughter to end it all. The second microphone was still there and for a moment I wondered....did Glen talk Lisa into coming?
Hahaha

[verenita]

wasn´t she in london for "songs of the sea" premier that weekend?

[borneoman]

veeeery interesting!!

How Lisa helped Damien's new album despite split

The Kildare man says that her absence played a central role during the creative process behind his first collection of music in eight years.

The pair ended their romantic and professional relationship after the release of 2006 album '9'.

In tomorrow's INSIDER magazine with the Irish Independent, Rice says: "It wasn't even so much missing the voice. It was just missing Lisa. It was missing my partner in the studio."

He admits that he wanted Lisa involved with the new album. "I spoke to her about it and asked her what she thought, and she very beautifully responded saying that she thinks it's best for both of us that we… do our own thing right now.

"The moment I got that response, boom!

"Everything started working. Because I could let go, and I was like, 'Ok, I'm doing this alone'."

Irish Independent

[damien lisa]

Originally Posted by borneoman

veeeery interesting!!

How Lisa helped Damien's new album despite split

The Kildare man says that her absence played a central role during the creative process behind his first collection of music in eight years.

The pair ended their romantic and professional relationship after the release of 2006 album '9'.

In tomorrow's INSIDER magazine with the Irish Independent, Rice says: "It wasn't even so much missing the voice. It was just missing Lisa. It was missing my partner in the studio."

He admits that he wanted Lisa involved with the new album. "I spoke to her about it and asked her what she thought, and she very beautifully responded saying that she thinks it's best for both of us that we… do our own thing right now.

"The moment I got that response, boom!

"Everything started working. Because I could let go, and I was like, 'Ok, I'm doing this alone'."

Irish Independent

http://www.independent.ie/entertainm...-30701403.html

[conanemily]

hmmmmmmmm is there a full version of the article in this magazine?
need a scannnnnnnnnn right now

[Hannah25]

Originally Posted by conanemily

hmmmmmmmm is there a full version of the article in this magazine?
need a scannnnnnnnnn right now

Seconded!

[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

[RenataAQP]

^ thaaank you!!!!!!

[damien lisa]

^
^
tks

[signalfire]

Thank you for sharing the translation! Very interesting stuff.

I seem to be late to the Lisa discussion, but I don't see her ever going back. I'm glad they can repair their friendship. I wonder if extremely drunk wife might have been thinking of a different possible guest and jumped to the conclusion of Lisa.

[glo32]

thank you!

anyway, what about the Insider Mag interview? It is supposed to be out today, right?

[carrroline]

In my favourite coffee place





http://www.standaard.be/socialshare/...4c88c7d05b984b

DAMIEN RICE GING DOOR HET DAL EN KOMT ERUIT MET EEN PRACHTPLAAT

‘Ik koester het moment, want er is niets beters’

31 OKTOBER 2014 | Peter Vantyghem

Niemand heeft de orkestrale ballad deze eeuw beter ingekleurd dan Damien Rice. Geen wonder dat fans wereldwijd staan te trappelen voor zijn eerste album in acht jaar.

Damien Rice: ‘Ik wilde ze allemaal samenbrengen voor een goede babbel, al die venten in mij.’

Het moet in het Ierse water zitten, die liefde voor melodieuze ballads en gekwelde gevoelens. Maar terwijl de zangers van de ‘sean-nós’, de prachtige oude folkstijl, hun ballads nog ten dienste stelden van de geschiedenis en de gemeenschap, stelt Damien Rice zijn songs vooral ten dienste van zichzelf.

‘I have tried but I don’t fit into this box I’m living with.’ Rice zingt op zijn eerste album in acht jaar over het onbegrip tussen mannen en vrouwen, zijn gestrande dromen, zijn verlangen, om finaal te besluiten dat het een lange weg is.

De zanger uit Celbridge, een stadje in County Kildare aan de Ierse oostkust, heeft met dat soort songs naam gemaakt. In 2002 verscheen zijn debuut O kleinschalig en zonder grote verwachtingen, maar er gingen dankzij songs als ‘Volcano’ en ‘Amie’ uiteindelijk twee miljoen stuks van weg. Waarna Rice inscheepte in een leven van toeren, opnemen en opnieuw toeren. Hij verdiende er veel geld mee en verloor er zijn lief, Lisa Hannigan, aan.

Dat is het verhaal achter My favourite faded fantasy. Het succes heeft de zanger ontwricht. Hij heeft geleerd dat geld niet gelukkig maakt, hij is meerdere keren gestopt. Twee vluchtheuvels hebben hem gered. Vooreerst IJsland, dat als een onverwachte spiegel fungeerde voor zijn rusteloze ziel. Vervolgens producer Rick Rubin, die hem rechtuit zei niet langer de treurwilg uit te hangen en beval enkele van de honderd songs af te werken die hij had liggen.

Acht songs zijn op de plaat beland, en ze vormen een cyclus die begint en eindigt op dezelfde plaats. Toeval is dat niet, beaamt Rice. ‘Ik heb de neiging om begin en einde van iets te laten samenvallen. Ik probeer mijn songs instinctief op dezelfde manier te laten eindigen als hoe ze beginnen, en zo heb ik de plaat ook georganiseerd. Maar dat gebeurt niet bewust. Wanneer ik zit te kriebelen, staan er altijd cirkels en spiralen op het blad. Ik schrijf zelfs mijn teksten zo. Ik speel gitaar, er komen woorden, ze vormen een thema, daaruit groeit een tweede thema, ze komen samen, en ik keer terug naar het begin.’

Uw erg emotionele muziek is klassiek georkestreerd, waardoor ze tijdloos wordt. Is dat de bedoeling?

‘Ik heb eigenlijk sinds kort het gevoel dat er geen tijd is. Ik ben opgegroeid met een groots concept over toen, nu en later, maar dat is helemaal uiteen gevallen. Het verleden is pijn, de toekomst maakt me bang, ik koester het moment want er is niets beters. Het is verwarrend, ja. Ik weet niet wat ik doe, ik weet niet wat ik moet denken, maar ik voel me goed. Nee, dat is geen escapisme. Ik ben ontwaakt en voel me nu echt tot leven komen, in een soort van uitgerekt heden.’

Vele songs zijn geboren uit het gevoel dat u zichzelf verloor door een leven als rondreizend muzikant. Was u alleen?

‘Ik ben ervan overtuigd dat de mens van nature alleen is. Je mag een lieve vrouw en kinderen hebben, je blijft toch altijd alleen. Mijn probleem was niet die alleenheid, maar erger. Ik heb in die tourneejaren zoveel persoonlijkheden aangenomen om me erdoor te worstelen, dat ik eenmaal thuisgekomen niet meer kon landen. Ik herinnerde me constant wat ik allemaal verkeerd gedaan had. Ik was steeds een versie van mezelf.’

Wilde u daarom weggaan uit Ierland?

‘Ik moest weg van alles wat mijn gewoonten voedde, omdat ik niet meer vanuit dezelfde plek wilde creëren. Ik wilde al die destructieve gedachten afschudden van de gesloten geest die je in Ierland kan meekrijgen.’

Daarover gaat ‘Trusty & true’, niet? Over de verloren gelopen mannen van vandaag.

‘De spijker op de kop. De man die ik haat om zijn agressie, en om zijn angst. De man die ik liefheb om zijn medeleven en zijn humor. Ik wilde ze allemaal samenbrengen voor een goede babbel, al die venten in mij. En geleidelijk werd het een song over Engelsen en Ieren, over mannen en vrouwen. Ik kon me op een bepaald moment met iedereen in de wereld identificeren.’

Ik begrijp dat u verward raakte. Bent u daar zelf uit geraakt?

‘Ik ben gaan studeren. Ik heb alle cursussen en lezingen gevolgd die ik kon vinden. Het fascineerde me dat ik tien jaar geleden begonnen was als een gelukkige, jonge, gefocuste man. Dat ik zoveel bereikt had. En dat ik een miserabele, ongelukkige, verloren man was geworden. Het is een groot geluk dat ik nieuwsgierig genoeg was om het allemaal uit te zoeken. Ik heb psychologie gevolgd, en yoga. Alles om maar het volstrekt tegengestelde te vinden van wat ik was.’

En wat is de conclusie?

‘Ik nam mezelf veel te serieus. Ik dacht dat mijn leven, mijn songs, al wat ik deed belang hadden. Ik heb veel mensen ontroerd, ja, maar eigenlijk heeft niets zin.’

Komaan, u hebt een prachtige plaat gemaakt. Is schoonheid dan zinloos?

(lacht) ‘Wel, nee, dat is de conclusie. Ik heb het punt bereikt dat ik dacht: als ik dit wil doen, kan ik maar één goede reden bedenken om het te doen, en dat is dat ik zoveel mogelijk schoonheid wil creëren voor ik sterf. Wat moet je anders? Wat is er anders de moeite waard?’

U kan een revolutie steunen.

‘De echte revolutie zit vanbinnen, en ik heb ze beleefd. Mijn wereld is totaal veranderd. Ik hou van het leven. Elke dag. Ik spreek nu zelfs over mijn werk en daar voel ik me goed bij. Werk is als yoga. Je duwt tegen een weerstand, dat is best hard, maar je voelt je naderhand zoveel beter.’

[DesoleInBoston]

These new interviews are all a delight to read. Here's another, published today in the Irish Times.

http://www.irishtimes.com/culture/mu...1982182?page=1

[glo32]

a delight indeed.

oh and I loved this part, ahah:

Rice had been in Zurich the previous week with his manager when she chastised him for casually telling someone he had a record coming out: “Shut the **** up.” “It doesn’t matter," Rice responded. "No one believes me anyway.”

[Shillelagh]

Is that written by our Una??!

[Joyful]

Self actualized Damien. I dig it.

[radiohead33]

Originally Posted by glo32

a delight indeed.

oh and I loved this part, ahah:

Rice had been in Zurich the previous week with his manager when she chastised him for casually telling someone he had a record coming out: “Shut the **** up.” “It doesn’t matter," Rice responded. "No one believes me anyway.”

Im confused about this part. Was this prior to him announcing a release date? I dont get why a manager would be upset their artist is mentioning and promoting themselves.

[damien lisa]

Originally Posted by Shillelagh

Is that written by our Una??!

u mean una molloy?

Originally Posted by radiohead33

Im confused about this part. Was this prior to him announcing a release date? I dont get why a manager would be upset their artist is mentioning and promoting themselves.

why not? no more secret, no more surprise, and break the plan. He mentioned too soon, the date may change. It's like he press himself

[eva_arg]

Originally Posted by Shillelagh

Is that written by our Una??!

different Una

[ElephantMan]

Originally Posted by glo32

a delight indeed.

oh and I loved this part, ahah:

Rice had been in Zurich the previous week with his manager when she chastised him for casually telling someone he had a record coming out: “Shut the **** up.” “It doesn’t matter," Rice responded. "No one believes me anyway.”

LMAO ,that was a good one....and im one of those who wouldnt/didnt believe him