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interview - Daisy Chapman
Eleven o’clock may not seem particularly early in the real world, but when you’re on festival time it might as well be the crack of dawn - especially when you’re on stage performing. This is the predicament that Bristol’s Daisy Chapman finds herself in at the Wychwood Festival on Cheltenham Racecourse. “I’ve never played a set this early,” she tells her audience as she gets on the stage. “Except if it’s in the shower.”
Daisy Chapman is one of 28 bands and artists that have been selected by a panel of judges to appear on the BBC Introducing stage this year. “I didn’t even know I had been nominated,” Daisy explains to me after her set. “Toby Field from BBC Bristol Introducing told me I’d been picked when I was in Slovenia - so it was a big surprise.”
Slovenia? “Yeah. I play keyboard with a prog rock band called Crippled Black Phoenix. We get to play some really big venues in continental Europe.”
Loops of Daisys:
Back at Wychwood on what is no doubt a smaller stage, Daisy Chapman’s music is far from Prog Rock. The opening song is an enchanting vocal piece in which she uses a loop machine to sing over her own voice, piling harmonious line upon harmonious line until a whole choir of Chapmans can be heard ringing through the BBC Introducing tent. It is utterly beguiling and, despite the lack of words, incredibly poignant.
From there, songs proceed to cover themes as diverse as gin drinking in eighteenth century London, insects on summer days and the predictable routines of upstairs neighbours. There is also a “cover of a song by an American girl that I don’t really like - so I’ve Daisy-ed it up at bit,” Daisy explains before singing a very sensitive interpretation of Rhianna’s “Umbrella”.
Virtuoso:
It is in these songs that we see Chapman’s skills as a pianist come to the fore. There are lots of rolling passages of instrumental that recall Russian masters such as Rachmaninov.
Later, she tells me that she considers Michael Nyman to be one of her musical heroes. This becomes apparent in a song from her set list, “Piano”, a song which recalls elements of “The Heart Asks Pleasure First”, Nyman’s theme to the film The Piano.
Green Eyes:
I ask Daisy what drives her to write songs. “It’s mainly real life stuff - like the song about the upstairs neighbour,” Daisy tells me. “But there’s always a dark slant to it. I don’t do happy clappy stuff. That’s why my album’s called Green Eyed. There’s a lot of songs on there about jealousy.”
“One song, for example is “Does She Know What I Know” which is about what happens when you find out your ex has a new relationship.”
Chapman is clearly very proud of her new album. “It was a real dream of mine to do it,” she explains. “I used a string quartet for the recordings and scored all the parts myself, so it’s a very personal record.” The pride is well deserved. The album is a masterpiece, both musically and lyrically, drawing on the darkest of emotions to produce a very powerful collection of songs.
Plans:
I ask Daisy what her plans are for the future. “There’s plenty of stuff going on with the band, so that’ll keep me busy,” she say. “Plus there’s loads of my solo albums to sell. My home’s looking a bit like a warehouse at the moment!”
“I recently spent a couple of weeks in Germany where I’m signed to a small label and I’m going to be touring the UK soon as well.”
So that is plenty to keep anyone busy. In the meantime though, maybe it’s time to get some rest after a (relatively) early morning’s singing.
Related links:
Daisy Chapman on Myspace
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