kagablog

Singer/song-writer Josie Field has been making a name for herself off the back of some great radio play ( a number 1 on 5FM) and a persistent live gigging presence. She is young beautiful and new to the scene. So, being the old grouch that I am, I decided to have a wee look and see what it is all about. This Q&A with Josie is the result. Enjoy!

1) Josie, you’re a well known name suddenly thanks to tonnes of great airplay off your debut album. Where on earth did you come from?

I’ve lived in Joburg all my life. Started playing guitar early high school, started writing songs as a kind of diary entry, had a few guitar and vocal lessons. Grew a collection of songs that finally became Mercury only because I’d met the right manager and producer, I’d been reaching for, for three years. But it didn’t happen overnight, I’d done loads of demos before that I wasn’t happy with and when I found this team, we recorded, Gallo loved it, and that’s how things started.

2) Right now, you easily fall into that category of singer / song writer. Are you happy with that label or does it chaff? How do YOU define what you do?

That is exactly how I’d describe what I do. I like the idea of fitting into a ‘song-writers’ box because I think it’s the only real thing that differentiates me from other female singers, I guess I feel I’m a songwriter above everything else. I also quite like the idea of being in the “Chapman/Dylan/Morisson club”

3) With your deeper voice and less-than-blonde looks you are far from being a typical female POP star. What affected your decisions to take the angle you have with your debut album and the start of your music career?

I always had a very definite idea of who I wanted to be and with whom I wanted to be associated. I guess my persistence and the lack of wanting to be swayed from where I knew I wanted to end up, helped me meet people who believed in my mission, things just fell into place. There were times of desperation when I thought I might have to compromise myself to get where I wanted – I’m just glad I refused those temptations and waited for the right people to come along who understood my art enough to appreciate it for what it was.

4) You’ve had management with you all the way, unlike many new artists in South Africa. How much of you success do you attribute to the help, advice, knowledge and contacts that this relationship has brought to the party?

I owe my complete career to Adrian King who manages me - I don’t think he will ever know how grateful I am for saving me. However, having said that, we also needed a product to sell and that’s where Kevin from Darkstar Studio came in – Adrian introduced us - without a record we wouldn’t have been able to go very far and Kevin was the producer I’d been looking for – he understood my music and where I wanted to go with it. I owe everything to these two wonderful men.

5) With a recent trip to Germany in your head, how do you see your future?

Bright. It was a great trip and a wonderful experience and I hope some good things will come out of it, but I am pleased to be home and able to get on with my career here. I still have a lot to achieve in South Africa and I’m excited to get cracking, whatever comes out of overseas trips are just bonus’s as far as I’m concerned.

6) Do you find that the amount of radio play you are receiving helps with feet through the door at shows? I mean, is there a noticeable spike in attendance when you get a new single on air? Or are more traditional live marketing methods more reliable?

I think everything helps. There is no doubt that having air play increase awareness drastically and I am very grateful I’ve got that but I think you just have to keep on pushing from every angle. Its not as if the day my songs went to radio the gigs were packed, it’s just a slow steady increase, which is fantastic.

7) Despite being a live music performer, your off-stage demeanour seems pretty demure. Is it an effort for you to put on live shows or are you able to switch between the real live Josie and the onstage one?

I think I have two people living inside me so its not too hard. I live for live shows as well as studio work and sitting by myself at home writing song in my pyjamas. This job for me is an emotional rollercoaster and quite draining sometimes but I wouldn’t change it for anything.

8) As a songwriter, your actual life clearly provides plenty of fodder for songs. As you grow more successful does this worry you, sharing your heart like this?

I’m surprised at how often this question gets asked and I always wonder why being honest and truthful in songs should bother me. I write songs because I feel strongly about something, if I didn’t feel strongly about something, why would I bother writing about it? But at the same time I do see that this ‘sharing my heart’ thing might poison me, complicate relationships, embarrass me or make people hate me – I just don’t know how to write any other way right now.

9) You have managed to get going at a pretty young age, and should you pursue music for a while, you’ve now got a great base to work from. Was music always your plan A, or did it just happen?

I think it just happened but I did often think about how cool it would be, I just didn’t know how it was going to happen, I guess that’s why I started recording demos and looking for people to work with when I was still in high school.

10) As an instrumentalist, how fussy are you about what you play? Do you have a preference for certain guitars? Acoustic or electric?

Well I play an acoustic guitar on stage because that’s what I play off stage, I guess I’ll experiment with different things in time. I would really love to own a 12 string, bass and a cello one day.

11) What does Josie Field think about when she is on stage? The next song? The next riff? Or do you go where the songs are from, reliving memories etc? Is live a pleasure for you or perhaps an emotional crucible?

I love singing my songs and replaying my emotions in my head. I think about what I’m trying to get across in each particular song and I hope that an audience can see that.

12) Who would you really like to collaborate wit in the SA music scene right now? By which I mean write a really cool duet with?

I’ve never really written a song with someone before so I don’t know how it would work but some of the bands I really enjoy at the moment are Jim Neversink, Arno Castens, The Hellphones, Voodoo Child, Lark, Cassette, Harris Tweed etc…

13) Tomorrow you have the power to take over the world. What would you do first?
What does ‘take over the world’ mean? Does it mean fame and fortune? (because I’ve learned those two don’t always go hand in hand) does it mean having a powerful presidential type role? (because I’ve learned that you may or may not having the backing of your people) This question is too big for me, oh stuff it! I’d buy a Ferrari!

this interview first appeared on thechiz.co.za