Daisy Chapman
9th Annual Cover Song Winner
9th Annual Cover Song Vox Pop Winner
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Genre: Cover Song
Dandyland, Germany
www.myspace.com/daisychapman
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HOMEBASE/COUNTRY OF ORIGIN: UK
ALBUM NOMINATED SONG IS ON: The Green Eyed
ARTISTS ON THIS TRACK: Daisy Chapman
WHERE WAS THIS ALBUM RECORDED? Bristol, UK at Toybox Studios; where PJ Harvey, John Parish and Howe Gelb record.
WHERE IS YOUR MUSIC AVAILABLE? All albums for download – iTunes, Amazon. For physical CDs – www.ohthewoe.com and www.cdbaby.com.
WHICH GENRES BEST DESCRIBE YOUR MUSIC? I guess my music fits between the Anti-Folk and Singer-Songwriter genre. More guts than Acoustic – less Punk than Anti-Folk!
WHY DID YOU CHOOSE TO COVER THIS SONG AND WHY THIS INTREPRETATION? In 2007, I arranged a coffee house tour of coastal California. I travelled completely on my own, and thought it would be a good idea to woo the USA audiences with a cover song by one of their own, especially as the song mentions British weather. A nice break in my melancholy set.
WHY DID YOU SELECT THIS TRACK TO SUBMIT TO THE IMAs? I’ve had a really good reaction to this song every time I’ve played it, so I thought it might be a good one to get internationally recognized. I’m amazed and very proud it’s made it this far.
HOW DO YOU MAKE A COVER TUNE TRULY YOURS? I really enjoy breaking songs down and building them up again. Umbrella had the bones of a really pretty tune once you’ve stripped out the R+B riffs. The chord structure and lyrics made for a really sentimental song, and writing a string quartet arrangement gave it depth and poignancy.
NAME YOUR FAVE COVER TUNES: Beck’s cover of “Everybody’s Gotta Learn Sometime” embodies an intelligent interpretation of a popular dance tune. I also find it amazing that few people realize that Sinead O’Connor covered “Nothing Compares To You.” It was originally written by Prince for The Family. The fact that the cover is more popular than The Family’s original is both a testimony to O’Connor and to Prince for writing such a great song that was open to interpretation by another artist.
DID FANS HELP FUND THIS PROJECT? No. The Green Eyed was a self-run project, but the fans help by supporting the product once it’s out there.
WHO IS SITTING IN YOUR AUDIENCE? Fans of PJ Harvey and Regina Spektor. My lyrics are quite dark, so I don’t tend to appeal to the young college audience so much, which is ironic seeing as the “Umbrella” cover has been so popular in my demographic.
WHAT MAKES YOUR FANS UNIQUE? They are very loyal – returning to gig after gig. I notice they also listen not just to the music but the whole package – lyrics and a musical arrangement, which are two elements I really labour over.
WHAT ARE YOUR FAVORITE PLACES TO PLAY? The Folk House in my hometown of Bristol. I launched the album there with the string quartet that played on the album. It resembles a school hall until you deck it with fairy lights and roll out the grand piano. Another favourite is Objekt 5 in Halle, Germany. It’s a huge atrium space that’s always been well attended and I hope to return to for a third time in 2010.
WHAT HAS BEEN YOUR MOST MEMORABLE ACHIEVEMENT TO DATE? The launch of my album The Green Eyed – a huge night I put on myself. I was overwhelmed with the attendance and the sales of the album that night. The media attention was incredibly flattering, too. This and being nominated for the IMAs!
WHAT’S IN THE WORKS FOR 2010? I’ll be heading back to Germany in February to tour for a couple of weeks, preceded by some UK dates. Hopefully some more shows with the quartet. A massive Europe tour with my other band, Crippled Black Phoenix, and some festival dates in the summer…maybe even an award under my belt, too!
FINISH THIS SENTENCE: THE MUSIC INDUSTRY IS…In trouble, I fear. When more and more artists are self-releasing and independent labels are cropping up all over the place, is there even an ‘industry’ to speak of for artists like myself?
WHAT IS YOUR DEFINITION OF SUCCESS? Not having to work in that damned restaurant in order to pay my bills.
WHAT’S ON YOUR IPOD THAT WOULD SURPRISE YOUR FANS? Rihanna, “Umbrella” – totally unlike everything else on there!
NAME SOME ARTISTS YOU ARE CHAMPIONING: Rykarda Parasol, CA USA. Crippled Black Phoenix, UK. The John E Vistic Experience, UK.