TMC Interviews k.d lang : on mindfulness and mac ‘n’ cheese.

by Fairy Cake

The rather pointless preamble is thus :

k.d lang is quite possibly the most famous lesbian musician in the world.  With a career stretching over 20 years, she has morphed from Stetson-festooned country smash, to studly sex symbol, to international pop star.  She has won 4 Grammys, worked with Tony Bennett and Roy Orbison, sung at the Winter Olympics, and famously been straddled by Cindy Crawford on the cover of Vanity Fair.

Though you probably knew this.  Because k.d lang is quite possibly the most famous lesbian musician in the world.

It’s not something that strikes you when you first meet her, though.  The intimidating, expensive loom of the Berkley Hotel seemed jarringly opulent against k.d’s neighbourly demeanour and lazy shirt and jeans.  Everything about her is overwhelmingly zen; not least those buttery vocal tones that she is so noted for.  Her words are considered and slow, her answers honest and rather profound.  She is, as she freely admits, quite the open book.

In April, k.d released ‘Sing It Loud‘; her first LP recorded with a band since her work with the Reclines back in 1989.   This time around, she’s assembled the Siss Boom Bang, a motley crew of musicians who breath life into her eclectic stylings.  ’Sing It Loud’ manages to bypass a lot of country music’s less palatable tropes; k.d has written a slow-burning love letter to the Deep South that is in equal parts, both traditional and wonderfully refreshing.

On an too-hot press morning, both of us sat down over some pricey bottled water and talked faith, gayspoiltation, and the politics of being a queer musician.

It’s at times like these that I wish I owned a video camera.  So much of what k.d actually says isn’t in her words, it’s in a scrunch of her nose, or in her eyes.  But alas, ability and poverty restrict me to the written word.  Let’s hope they suffice.

You’ve achieved almost everything there is to achieve as a musician… travelling all over the world, winning Grammys, performing at the Olympics … how do you manage to challenge yourself at this stage in your career?

Ahh, well.  The music is always challenging.  It’s always inspirational and challenging at the same time.  I think if it wasn’t, I wouldn’t do it.  I always, I guess, assume the bottom rung every time I put out a record.  I just start from zero…it’s always an uphill battle.  I always feel like I’m swimming upstream.

You’ve spoken a lot about your contentment and happiness in recent years.   I think a lot of people equate sadness and anguish in art with brilliance … is it possible to be content and still be inspired?

Absolutely.  I think that’s a common misconception amongst artists and writers.  I think it is perhaps easier to write songs that are about pain…it’s more accessible.  To write about contentment is quite difficult, but it really is just a decision you make, about how you’re going to relate to your music and to your creative process.

Do you feel that your decision to turn to faith helped you reach that contentedness?

I mean, Buddhism has affected me tremendously, immeasurably in fact.  It’s given me …. you don’t take things as seriously, because you’re relationship to those things has changed.   It’s basically rearranging your philosophical approach to life.  Your relationship to other beings, you monitor yourself and what you do and say.  It’s including mindfulness in your every day life.  There’s a daily practice that we do.  So really it’s just about just watching yourself and how you interact with life and people, and using it as a tool to move closer to contentment and a greater understanding.  It’s just given me a new place to come from … a new perspective.

With your new record, you’ve taken a real turn back to a traditional style…was that a conscious decision?

Yeah, definitely.  I think it’s the structure and formula of country music and of Americana that I feel comfortable in.  I like the constraint of the form, because it gives you lots of fodder to work with inside.  Also, I think, as a vocalist, the structure of it is really fun.  I feel comfortable there, I feel inspired by it.

You don’t find the rules of the genre a bit frustrating at times?

Well, I like making it new in small increments.  I like to add one spice to it that is slightly different.  I think there’s something about country music and Americana that is very comforting, very grounding.  I always use the metaphor of food, just ’cause it’s something I understand – but you know, there’s fusion, which can go horribly wrong, but then there’s traditional food with really good ingredients and just a slight twist of another flavour which puts it in a contemporary format…

So you’re making really good steak and kidney pie, right?

Yeah … or mac ‘n’ cheese! *laughs*

It’s been a while since you’ve worked with a band.  Was it weird to go back to that format – handing your new songs over to a bunch of other people, not having as much control over the final product?

No, it’s not difficult for me if they’re good players, and if they’re feeling passionate about the music.  I think that’s the number one ingredient.  See, I’m a very collaborative person, I love it.  In this band it’s absolute equanimity .. I am the leader, but when we’re recording we’re on equal footing.  We’re just communicating… that’s the ultimate for music.

No ego issues…?

We haven’t experienced that … but we have a tour to go – so maybe ask me at the other end! *laughs*

There are aspects of country music culture that you’ve been at odds with throughout your career.  Do you still feel a tension when you go back home?

Again, that’s a question that requires a bigger answer.  I really think a lot of it has to do with what you project.  I think if I want to feel tension, if I want to feel singled-out, if I want to feel like people are judging me, then I’ll definitely feel that…  *laughs* …but if I just realise, pretty much everyone feels weird, and everyone feels like they don’t belong, even normal straight conservative Christian men feel weird, then I just think that’s we’re a bunch of freaks living amongst each other.  I think it’s really just about finding the confidence inside yourself to deal with what’s going on…y’know, understand that’s we’re all in the same boat, no matter who you are.  When I go back to Nashville, certainly when I first went there, I definitely had a chip on my shoulder and I felt like ‘I’m gay, fuck you’, but now, when I go back, I realise that’s it’s not necessarily easy for people to accept the fact that I’m gay, just like I can’t accept the fact that some people are … whatever they are.  You just have to operate from a place of empathy, compassion, and understanding.  You have to go “I know.  It’s hard….but, hey!” *smiles*

Your albums have always featured quite a lot of cover versions.  Is there an emotional difference between singing somebody else’s words, as opposed to singing your own?

Well, I’ve always, since the beginning, loved to do both  I think interpretation is a legitimate and necessary artform as a vocalist.  You have to have the capacity to interpret.  I also think songwriting is a great art form…and to me they definitely feed each other.  There’s an emotional umbilical chord between singer and song.  Interpretive work is the complete opposite; you have an open palette to create whatever narrative you need to.  So doing both, I feel they definitely enhance my ability as a vocalist, to perform.

Live, your vocal performances are pretty epic.  Is  it all free-flowing natural gift, or do you have to really think about what you’re doing to get it to sound like that?

It depends how I’m applying it.  Obviously when I’m singing with Tony Bennett, I’m very focused on shadowing Tony and morphing into what I need to be for his material.  What I’m doing with the Siss Boom Bang is a little more abandoned.  Erm, a little more…raw, a little more stylised.  It’s really about having a good, symbiotic connection with the music.  Being able to shift into what  is required.

So, now I’m going to talk about queers a bit…

That’s what you do, right? *laughs*

You once said you felt that you had a “responsibility” to come out.  Do you think all artists have an obligation to be out and proud?

No, I don’t.  Because I think human sexuality is extremely complex, and no one can tell you what to do with it.  It’s a very individual thing.  I think it’s really about finding a relationship with yourself and your sexuality, and what you do in your public life, is completely on an individual basis.  If people don’t feel like they need to come out then they shoudn’t come out.  If people feel like they need to come out because the gay community’s pressuring them, that’s the wrong reason.  They need to have the confidence to be themselves.  I can’t stress enough that’s it’s really about your own relationship to your sexuality.

Things kinda blew up for you when you came out, but you appear to have avoided that horrible pigeon hole of ‘gay music’.  You seem to be recognised as an artist first, and a lesbian second … as opposed to the other way round.  How easy was that to negotiate?

That’s taken work.  It’s patience and openness.  I really understood that when I came out in 1992, obviously the focus was  going to be on my sexuality.  I maybe didn’t realise that it would be like that for close to 20 years *laughs*, but I think in the last 7 years things have started to shift back to the music.  But that’s a good sign in terms of wider society, and in terms of my musical career.  I think just having that perseverance, and openness, and to always always always answer the question that I’m asked…just live completely honestly.  There’s been some negative stuff, there’s maybe been less success.   But at the same time, things have been better in other areas…it all counterbalances.

So your advice to young artists wanting to keep that stuff separate…

It’s not separate.  Your sexuality is your whole being…it’s naturally a part of your music too.  But I think you have to make the decision, if music’s more important to you than your sexuality, in terms of what you want to portray.  I wouldn’t give any advice, because again, what works for me, might not work for you.

You apparently get mistaken for a man quite often!  Do you revel in it, or do you hate having to explain yourself?

I revel in it, yeah *giggles*.  If I hated it, I’d probably dress more feminine… grow my hair *laughs*.  I like it….well, let’s put it this way; I find it interesting.  Sometimes I really like it, sometimes it kinda bugs, but I’m always amused by it …

There’s been a massive trend for marketing queer sexuality in music in recent years (Katy Perry, Rihanna, et al).  Do you think this a good thing for queer visibility?

Yeah, I do.  Although I think in the immediacy you may think of it as ‘gaysploitation’.  Patronising, maybe.  But anyways, people may have an issue with it, “Katy Perry’s all gay in the video but then she goes on about her boyfriend”, “Rihanna’s not a lesbian” … though she probably is *laughs*.  But I think in the long run, it’s good – the more it’s in the press, the more it’s exercised, the more it’s talked about, the more normal it becomes.  Which I’m not even sure we want, ’cause y’know, I’m an old school queer that loves the cryptic nature of being gay.  So, the marriage thing, being completely accepted into society, it’s not something I … I mean obviously I’m not stupid enough to say “well, we don’t want it”, but I’m quite happy with being alternative.

Controversial?

Yeah … maybe *laughs*

And finally, in two sentences, why should we buy Sing It Loud?

You should just get it.  Just…get it. *smiles*

***

k.d’s Sing It Loud is out on Nonesuch records now.  You can get hold of it here.  k.d and the Siss Boom Bang are performing at London’s Festival Hall in the 2nd of June.  If you’ve never seen her live, do try and get tickets…she is a mind-blowing performer.  I also realise I totally forgot to ask her about cake.  Sorry about that.