patti smith is my home girl

I'm sure many readers know Dee from her last band, An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump. Sadly, they broke up last year but, luckily for us, Dee continued on with a new project, Blue On Blue, with Billy Steiger. A little while ago Dee very kindly agreed to an email interview, and here it is! Thanks, Dee!

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Blue on Blue have an EP, Vision Imaginary, coming out very soon. Can you tell me a bit about some of the processes leading up to its completion?

The writing for the EP was very quick, intense and exploratory in nature. This EP was different from our debut in sense that it all came from the same place. These 3 new EP songs really epitomise who we are and where we are headed.

'Silent Walls' is a song Billy wrote which deals with being very isolated both mentally and physically and deeply questions why we are here and what's the point of things. 'The Machinery Link of Heart and Soul' is our first ever instrumental piece. I wrote the original melody when I knew someone close to me had betrayed me so it was like a death knell to the end of trust in a relationship. Betrayal is the worst emotion ever - it is anger, regret, guilt, sadness, paranoia, insecurity and hate all in one, everlasting emotion. Knowing the person you love doesn't respect you or want you and is capable of throwing it all away for just one night of lust and desire for someone else shatters the very core of your being.

When we developed the melody and played it out as a band, it turned into a sad symphony tribute for my friend, Joel Dever from Battant who tragically died last year. It is interesting how songs can form different shapes and emotions and frame vastly fluctuating events in your life. The final song on the EP is 'Night Terrors' and I wrote this about the paranoia and insomnia that can keep you awake at night. Again, this was a direct result of a betrayal. I couldn't trust that person after it had happened and would lie awake at night with all these nightmares about what he was getting up to and so I would try and keep my eyes open for as long as I could so I wouldn't have to see these things I never wanted to see. It felt like depriving myself of sleep was the only way of getting through my emotional upheaval as when your paranoia manifests itself into your nightmares, that is even worse. The EP came out on Robot Elephant Records digitally in May and on vinyl at the end of July so it's available right now!

Last year you announced the breakup of An Experiment On A Bird In The Air Pump, and you mentioned you'd be moving on with your new project, Blue On Blue. How do you think the end of your previous band influenced the music you were making with your new one, if at all? Was there a transition period?

I've actually never thought about that until now. When BoB first started the audience was sharply divided -there were staunch Bird fans who were devastated by the break-up and didn't pay any attention or support to the new project (a lot of "good" friends who turned out to be mere acquaintances were in this camp), there were those fans who continued to support my new project and those who hadn't heard of either band but liked Blue On Blue! So I had quite a varied response which was good.

Personally, Blue On Blue started in the last 6 months of The Birds. I developed swine flu, was bedridden and we cancelled a whole load of Bird shows and I couldn't do anything for 8 weeks apart from waste away in bed. I mustered the strength to pick up my bass and wrote 2 songs - Summer Daze and Fallen. They just fell out of me. They made me think and I didn't know where to put them. They couldn't just slip back in and be forgotten. So what originally started out as bedroom music eventually became a band, started touring, writing and recording….The instrumentation and song structures are very different to The Birds however the lyrics are still deeply personal and confessional.

Has playing live changed for you at all since starting Blue On Blue?

Yes it is completely different. Playing live with The Birds was a completely physical experience -the core instrument-swapping nature of the band made it a real physical and mental challenge. With Blue On Blue, there isn't so much a physical element despite us using lots of instruments however being the main singer is cathartic at times but can leaving you feeling very exposed. It's completely different to hiding behind a drum kit which is how I started my musical career….Sometimes, I really miss that.

Tim Burgess has recorded a couple of songs for Blue On Blue – how would you describe your relationship with him? Is the Charlatans an influence of yours?

We recorded 2 songs with him a couple of years ago however while waiting to release them on his label, we changed our sound dramatically and parted with our drummer. We wanted to re-record with him but Tim was very keen to release the original songs and we felt that as our first ever release, it wouldn't be right to release 2 songs that didn't sound anything like our new sound and that new sound was truly and definitively us.

It was a tough decision but one that we haven't lived to regret. Our core belief is making and releasing genuine, honest expressive music. Those songs we recorded didn't represent us in that form or how we now are as a band and to relinquish our artistic integrity we just had to walk away. When we released our debut EP on Tip Top Records, the EP was entirely self-produced and we were so proud as it sounded and represented us perfectly. It was the right decision all the way.

Tim is an animated and passionate soul, a real driving force to be around and I think a lot of London bands would agree. He immerses himself in all kinds of music, particularly new music coming out of London and that is very inspiring.

In an interview with i-D, you talk about how you approach lyric writing in a self-focused way and that it's important to write with an audience of one in mind. What influence do you think the internet has on this type of creativity, now that almost everything is part of a global conversation involving an audience of thousands?

For me, the internet has had no effect in the creation of my creativity but I definitely use it as a tool after I have written a song. I, like millions of others, originally used MySpace to promote my music. The instantaneous way of connecting to friends and strangers around the globe felt like a solitary experience until you got a comment or a like and then it did become a global conversation. I'm all for it. Yes it's much harder to make money as a musician but that's always been the case with this kind of underground music. Only the very, very few have made millions from it.

Back in 2009 you wrote that you felt something exciting was happening in the London music scene. Three years later, what are your thoughts?

All the bands that made me excited about music e.g. Factory Floor and Teeth of the Sea have gone on to the next level now. It was fun being a promoter and in a band in 2009 and it's been great watching the rise of some of the bands I have played with and hung out with. As for current music, there is very little I am excited about in 2012. I love Dogfeet - I think the band is doing something extremely original and relevant. Singer Jimmy has this unique charisma and his lyrics are honest and amazing. He means it and you can tell that he is a truly genuine artist. Outside of London, I really like Willis Earl Beale; he's doing modern days blues but definitely in a punk way. He's very cool.

It seems like feminism has always been an important part of your music, do you have any comments about the role of feminism today, particularly in music? Do you feel like things are heading in a positive direction?

I think a lot of times, issues like diversity and feminism are completely relative to where you are in the world. Yes, I am a woman and have been largely inspired by female musicians and my music is written from a female perspective because my lyrics are confessional. However, I am nowhere near the chaos that surrounds a band like Pussy Riot. Their international plight is definitely making a statement and their music will inspire a whole new generation in Russia and elsewhere. It has brought the role of women in politics, as musicians and as activists to the front pages of the media across the globe. That really is an incredible thing.

It’s easy to see where Pussy Riot’s musical influences have come from e.g the whole 90s riot grrrl movement, however they have taken the ethos behind the thinking and applied it to a very real political situation. To me that is true progression; not copying your influences but channeling your influences to create something original and new. That to me is what most artists and musicians find extremely difficult.