There are artists that completely capture the attention of country and Americana fans in the UK but Brandy Clark really is someone that this audience has really connected when she has regularly visited these shores. The multi-Grammy nominated singer-songwriter has released her self-titled, fourth studio album in May (available HERE) and continued her commitment to performing in the UK with an appearance at Black Deer Festival in Kent on June 18th where we were able to sit down with Brandy to talk about the festival and the new record.
Well thank you so much for the hang, really appreciate it for you taking the time to chat with us today, but how’s Black Deer been for you? “I love it. I mean any time that I play over here, I feel like I’m playing in my home town because the fans are just so amazing. They know every word to every song which is not always the case so that’s a really cool thing for me.”
How does this festival feel compared to others over here? You have completed the circuit in the UK now really, as you have done C2C and you were at The long Road last year so Black Deer completes the set for you. “This one reminds me a lot of Long Road and I love that festival but I love all the festivals over here because you guys know how to do the live music part of this.” At a festival, there are likely people that don’t know who you are at all, then some that will know “Stripes” and “Hold My Hand” maybe plus you have this magical back catalogue of things that other people have cut, so do you have a different process with putting together a setlist compared to at your own shows? “Honestly, here I find that most people know my stuff. I just had a new record come out less than a month ago and people knew every word to every song. When I usually do a festival, I just do an up-tempo set but here I can get away with doing more ballads.”
You mentioned the record which recently came out, which you worked with the other Brandi (Carlile) on this time, where the last two records you put out, the wonderful wizard that is Jay Joyce sat in the producers chair. Did you find the process very different with working with Brandi compared to how Jay puts things together? “Well, Brandi is every bit as creative as Jay and that is a huge compliment because Jay Joyce is the most creative person that I have ever known. Her instrument is different because it is her voice so the vocals were a lot of focus and I’ve never worked with a producer whose main instrument is their voice so that was different. Working with Brandi was working with an artist and what I found was that she really wanted to get down to the heart of who I am as an artist in a different way because she is an artist and is coming at it from a different spot.”
This record is an eponymous record but “Brandy Clark” is the fourth record that you have released, so why did you decide to self-title album number four? “Well, I originally had the idea to call it “Northwest” because when Brandi had approached me about working together, she said I see it as your return to the North West so I was going to name it after that but people would say to me ‘you do realise that is what Kim and Kanye named their kid right?’ That didn’t detour me but as it went on it felt like North West was too small of a section of it so the only thing that I could title it was “Brandy Clark”. Brandi joined you to duet on “Dear Insecurity”, had you always planned for that to be a duet and how did the two of you decide for it to be her featuring on this track? “It wasn’t written as a duet but when we started in the studio, she asked how would I feel about making it one? I told her I would love that and she suggested that she had Lucinda Williams in mind to be the duet partner. She sung the scratch and at first, she even tried to sing like Lucinda, then we both got lost in it. I went home and listened to the board mix and thought shit, I want Brandi to be the other voice on this. She had been pretty adamant that she didn’t want to feature on it but I went in the next day and said Brandi, I really can’t imagine anyone else singing it, where she said neither can I.”
What is it that keeps you wanting to head back over here? You had said when you were on stage earlier about how people know the words to every song that you play and I think that it comes in part through the difference in radio and how the audience discovers music in a way that a really deep cut will be the big single in the eyes of someone in the crowd. “Yeah, people here love singer-songwriters and that you love to devour a whole record so I think that is what it is. I also think that because you guys don’t have as many stations as we do over there which is a good and a bad thing at home but here if you get played on the BBC, it’s amazing to be on something that penetrates the way that the BBC does so when Bob Harris played me early on, I had all of these fans as a result of it.”
This has been the first time that I have been able to speak with you and whilst we have been talking about the album that you have just put out but to me as well as being an incredible artist in your own right, you have also written some of my favourite songs which other people have recorded. Going through that catalogue we can start with “Mama’s Broken Heart” which is a song that the audience here has a real connection to because we have not just seen Miranda (Lambert) doing her full-band rendition on the huge stages but also you performed it at C2C, Kacey (Musgraves) has pretty much always had that in her sets and Shane McAnally did it at the CMA Songwriters show too. Does the songwriter in you at times sometimes think about changing things up and putting some of those older songs into your shows? I know that “Better Dig Two” has been one that you have done from time to time, then even some songs that weren’t radio singles like “Dandelion” and “Late to the Party” from Kacey’s records ore even “Ten Year Town” which you wrote with Hailey (Whitters) and is one of my absolute favourites so do you ever get tempted to treat us to some of those over here? “You know, and this might not be the answer that you’re going to want but I feel like I don’t have to here because people do know my deep cuts so well and if I pull out a song like that it’s just because I’m having a good time and want to play it. Where as some crowds, I might have to play “Mama’s Broken Heart” to get them to pay attention to me and listen to something that I’ve put out as an artist but over here I don’t have that hurdle.”
Just rounding off, like we said before, this is a great festival which is an Americana festival compared to the other festivals we mentioned over here which brands more as country. Do feel that here with the UK market that the lines are really close together? “I do and I also feel that my music has gradually moved more into the Americana lane but over here I definitely feel that country and Americana are in sync and I love that.”
This has been an absolute pleasure, I’m very grateful for your time and hope you keep coming back to see us.
The self-titled fourth studio album from Brandy Clark is out now and available HERE. Brandy has recently announced US tour dates for October and November, which you can find full details and ticket information on her WEBSITE whilst you can keep up to date her socially through INSTAGRAMTWITTER or FACEBOOK. Black Deer Festival will return to Eridge Park in 2023 on 14th, 15th and 16th June with very limited Early Bird tickets available HERE whilst you can find all the latest on next year’s festival by checking out their WEBSITE or getting social on INSTAGRAMTWITTER or FACEBOOK.