GBH Features: An Interview With Lady Sovereign

An Interview with Lady Sovereign
by Nell Alk; pictures by Nicky Digital

Bet you didn't hear about it, but Lady Sovereign performed in New York City last week. Down at the tiny Lower East Side spot Pianos, Sov made the first in a miniseries of exclusive North American appearances (first New York, second Chicago, last L.A.). She did a ten-song set for a rowdy crowd, and commanded their attention throughout.

We haven’t heard from Sov in quite some time, but she’s back in town for a reason. A brand spankin’ new album, Jigsaw, is due in April, and though it promises mischief and attitude similar to the stuff that sparked Public Warning, there's a twist. Songs range from the catchy and addictive booty-movin’“I Got You Dancing,” the music video for which is the lovechild of Michael Jackson’s “Bad” and “Thriller,” to “So Human,” her very own rendition of The Cure’s “Close to Me.”

GBH had the pleasure of cozying up to the self-proclaimed midget, and though she tells it like it is, Lady Sovereign maintains a respectable, albeit intriguing (and thus frustrating) level of privacy. Don’t mistake this silence for modesty, though; as LS says, she’s “…fucking Lady Sovereign!”

You said last night was your first concert in a year and a half; in New York or in general?
In general.

Had to be done. So why small venues first?
Just to stick my head in the door, like, “Hi, I’m back.” There’s no point in coming back massively. It just feels right to go back to those intimate shows. It made me feel better. I was really nervous beforehand and that doesn’t happen normally to me.

You were nervous?!
I was nervous two days before I flew out. I was laying in bed and I was thinking about shit, like, “I don’t wanna go.” I was completely nervous. But, it worked out fine.

I was going to ask if you ever get stage fright. Did you get that last night at all?
When I was sober, yeah, but then I had a drink.

You went up there sober?
No! Of course I didn’t. No way would I go onstage sober. I would, don’t misunderstand. I could, but it’d be the same sort of thing. Gotta calm my nerves a little bit. It’s not stage fright; it’s more [that] I just want things to go well. I wanna enjoy it. I want people to enjoy it. Fucking anxiety.

So, what’s your biggest priority this year? The album dropping? The tour? Well, actually, right now it’s just a tiny tour. Do you have a major tour lined up with multiple cities?
Yeah. It’s not fully confirmed yet, but at the end of May I should be having a tour in America and in the UK as well. Still tryin’ to sort that out. I dunno. Putting Midget Records on the map. You know, I’m gonna sign some people this year to my label.

Do the people who attend your shows respond to your music differently from one another? Is there a different aura you pick up from different audiences, depending on the place you’re performing?
All my fans have one thing in common and that’s [that] they all like me. So, they all have these traits about them. Obviously, if they’re coming to my shows, they’re gonna have a certain energy that I feed off [of] and I give to them. It’s really weird when you perform in Japan because they literally wait for you to finish the song. They’re quiet throughout the whole thing, and then it’s like, [imitation of polite applause].

There’s no "Whoo!"ing?
The odd rebellious ones, yeah. I’d like to fly
out there more, see what it’s really about, because I’ve only done, like, two shows there. It’s a really weird experience, though.

What do you think is the biggest difference between this album and Public Warning?
Ten tracks on this one?

A number!
There’s a few differences. I get a bit more personal in this album, rather than making fun of people and ripping the shit out of people. I sing a little bit on this album. There’s a lot more live instruments on it.

A lot of synth. “I Got You Dancing.”
Oh yeah. That has got some mad synth. It’s similar to the first album, but it’s all different genres really. I don’t like repeating myself in music, or repeating myself in general.

Going through interviews you have to do that a lot. You got the answers lined up.
Oh yeah. But not really.

It’s the nature of the beast. So, does the album involve the same producers? Medasyn?
Medasyn and Dr. Luke.

Dr. Luke?
Dr. Luke did “Love Me or Hate Me.” Tons of stuff with Pink, Kelly Clarkson and all that stuff.

So, what do you feel like is the biggest difference between you now as a person and then?
I’ve grown up a little bit. I’m quite the same person. Actually, no, I’m just the same. I just don’t have a side ponytail –

And you shave your armpits now.
There’ll be those weeks, like, “Oh, shit. I actually forgot.”

[Laughs] So, you feel like you are exactly the same?
Well, no. I dunno. Yeah. Just to make my life easier, yeah. I’m exactly the same. But, not really.

You don’t like to hear that term.
No, ’cause I’m not a grime artist. I got pushed into that whole thing. That’s what the media wanted.

People love to compartmentalize.
Now it’s something that always gets brought up, like, [hysterical imitation of a adult British male voice]: “Hey, how does it feel comin’ up through the grime scene?” It’s just like, “What the fuck?”

Always. You’re a minority; you’re white, you’re a chick.
Yeah, I am. All that stuff.

Who do you consider to be your biggest competition out there?
I don’t look at it like that. I don’t try to compete with anyone. I make music, concentrate on what I’ve gotta do. People think music is a competitive thing, but I don’t see it [that way]. Why should it be? I do what I do and there’s no one else who can do it like me, so....

[Laughs] True, true. So, when are you going to collaborate with Eminem?
Oh, gosh, his new song makes me laugh. Very catchy. The one where he talks about rubbers in it. Funny! It’s a good song. It’s really catchy. I forgot what it’s called. Anyway, why are we talking about Eminem?

I dunno. I’d read articles about you where they talk about your similarities. I’m not trying to pigeonhole, just thought I would drop his name and see if you had any thoughts on that. So, what do you listen to?
Everything.

Even country?
No. Not country. That’s the one thing I don’t listen to, actually.

Symphony?
Sometimes. Everything apart from country. Literally everything apart from country. Or really, really poppy stuff. I don’t like to listen to all that.

Kelly Clarkson?
Kelly Clarkson I don’t mind. Just one song, though. That’s a guilty pleasure, isn’t it? Damn. But, I listen to everything. Literally. I’m compulsive with music. I can’t just listen to one album. Just leave it on shuffle. I listen to too much.

There’s no such thing as too much music.
Yeah, I know. I haven’t even really got all that many songs on iTunes. I’ve got nearly 4,000, but some people are, like, “Well, I’ve got 9,000.” I’m, like…

[Laughs] Where is your favorite place to tour? I know these are all, like, generic questions. I’d get deeper but I don’t know quite how to penetrate.
Oh gosh! That was brilliant. That was fuckin’ brilliant! That was brilliant, that was brilliant. You should quote yourself on that shit. That was amazing.

And where are you living now?
I live in London. I’m actually living at my dad’s house with my dad and my brother. Just until I figure out where I actually want to live, you know?

What do they think about your lifestyle and your career?
I’m the only one in my whole family that’s seen the world. I’m on TV and all that sort of stuff, you know what I mean? Sometimes they don’t know what to say to me. They’re proud of me and they’re like “Okay, well done,” and all that business, but we don’t really speak about it that much.

They keep it normal. You keep it normal.
I try to keep to myself sometimes. Not always. I’m not some emo who locks herself in her bedroom. I feel like I’m braggin’ and boastin’ if I talk about what I’ve been up to. Some people get the wrong idea.

Are you into the fame thing? It must be exhilarating. Do you like the celebrity that comes with it?
I wouldn’t classify myself as [a] celebrity. Obviously people know who I am and all that. But the term “celebrity” is a totally different thing. I’ve kept myself way out of tabloid shit and all that business. Maybe I’m not all that interesting. [Laughs]

[Laughs] Bollocks!
I’m stuck now. There’s no turning back now, you know what I mean?

Next year it’ll be another album.
No, I’ll take another year and a half off.

What have you been doing?
Not much. Just gettin’ mad wasted, goin’ out, spending money. Just catching up.

Buying Nooka watches? [Noting her timepiece]
Oh yeah. Pretty much. And leaving the wrong time on it. [Laughs] But, I also led a normal life. I shut myself off from everything. You know? Until I figured, “Okay, now I need to make an album.” Pretty much all I did last year is not much at all. I thought about taking up soccer again and trying to pursue that. But then it’s like, “Oh God, I love music too much. I’m fucking Lady Sovereign.”

Maybe that’s what prompted the hiatus.
I really don’t know where it is. But, I don’t even wear it that much now anyway. I am Lady Sovereign now. I don’t need to wear the ring to prove my point.

So, how old were you when you got into this? How did this become something that appealed to you?
I was, like, 14, when I started staying home instead of going to school.

Badass.
Oh yeah. Right rebel, I was. [Laughs] No one was in the house. I had the time when no one could hear me. I was rappin’ in front of the mirror or whatever. I get a bit self-conscious sometimes. Or shy. More shy than self-conscious. So, it was my opportunity to make beats. No one [could] disturb me. It’s all I’ve been doing since 14 up until now. It’s, like, music, music, music. It just kinda happened really. I don’t know what triggered it. I just realized I was really good at it.

At writing lyrics?
Yeah. I’d been listening to a lot of pirate radio and all that, and I’m listening to the emcees on there and stuff, and I’m like, “I’m better than this.” I was bloody good, so I started to live [and] breathe making music.

Lady Sovereign's North American mini-tour concluded on Friday with a date in Los Angeles. Jigsaw, the follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut, Public Warning, will be released by Midget Records, in partnership with EMI, on April 7, 2009.