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Skunk Anansie Interview
Indie | Thursday 15th December 2011 | Osh
We caught up with the newly reformed Skunk Anansie who are back and bigger than ever!
Are you looking forward to your upcoming tour?
Very much so. We can’t wait to get out there and play the new tracks from Wonderlustre.
How did you know that after 8 years of being apart you would still be a massive hit when you reformed?
We didn’t know anything apart from what we have as a unit is something special. When we’re together we beat with one heart. It all started from a love of each other and for the band and music, the rest has been totally humbling and quite a surprise.
Did being apart and embarking on solo careers contribute to your music when you reformed?
Yes, we grew and learned a lot individually and when we started writing it was evident that we all knew more about what is important in a song. We learned to remove our egos!
How did you come up with the name Skunk Anansie?
Cass came up with The Skunks but there was an Australian band of that name so Skin added Anansie from the Jamaican childrens stories.
Do you have a structure while writing songs?
We have a philosophy of everyone contributes what they want into the pot of ideas. Writing Wonderlustre, we sat in our rehearsal room and had a 6 week brain-storm. You have to be strong character to write like this as ideas are always being thrown away. There’s no whining allowed if your parts don’t get in so it makes us up our game to come up with better and better material. It’s a very healthy way to write.
Tell us about your single, “My Ugly Boy” - what was the inspiration behind that song?
It’s all about that night of ‘fun’ we have all had, where you no it’s wrong but you do it anyway and hope to God that no one finds out. We’ve all been there. You meet someone so beautiful on the outside that it completely masked the truth of them being ugly on the inside.
If you could collaborate with one artist in the world, who would it be and why?
Skream, because I think a mixture of dubstep and rock could be really interesting.
Do you have any funny Skunk Anansie tour stories?
When we supported Lenny Kravitz, on the last day after he had gone on stage, we raided his wardrobe, got dressed up in his clothes, stormed the stage and danced all the way through ‘Are You Gonna Go My Way?’ He wasn’t pleased.
If you could be invisible for a day, what would you do?
I would go round the desperate and lonely and whisper a reassuring ‘I believe in you, you can turn things around’ into their ear. Someone said it to me when I was having a hard time before I got sober and it was the turning point in my life. I think for those without the self esteem to know it themselves, it is an incredible day when someone reaches you like that. 1 positive move turns into another and before you know it you’re a different person.
