As she starts to embark on a tour of independent record stores, Mr Teeth was able to catch up with the lovely Emily Barker for a telephone interview. If you’re local then you can see Emily Barker perform at 6pm in Southsea’s Pie & Vinyl on 31st May 2017.
How’s preparation going for your upcoming in-stores?
“It’s been great, just getting the records ready to bring with me feels really exciting. I’m loving working with Kartel Label Services, they’re amazing. The album is being released under my own label, so I’m very much involved along with my manager. It’s still DIY but with a lot of people behind it.”
Are you playing these dates solo, or will you have anyone with you?
“They’re going to be solo, or a duo with Lukas Drinkwater (bass player) playing stripped down versions of the songs.
Although on the release day, Friday 19th May, we’re playing in Marlborough at Sound Knowledge and the Saturday Rough Trade East in London, both with a full band as they have bigger stages. Most record shops are fairly small, so wouldn’t work with a full line-up.”
Anywhere in particular you’re looking forward to playing?
“I am genuinely looking forward to coming back to Pie & Vinyl, they’re doing a special Memphis Pie for the day, which is very cool. I was there for Record Store Day, but I didn’t get to see people so looking forward to hanging out.
There are so many other places on this tour, about 17 in total, Diverse in Wales I’m quite intrigued about. A lot of them I have been to before though, just not for a while. The ones on the south coast I’ve been at more recently, but enjoy coming back as they’ve become friends and it’s always good to see friends.”
Talking about returning to Pie & Vinyl in Southsea (31st May), what do you make of the place?
“Yeah been loads before, I love it. If I wasn’t doing music, I’d try and get a job there… being surrounded by records and pies, they also do amazing coffee. It’s like my ideal job, I’ve done loads of retail before and as a waitress, so it’s the ideal combination.
When I retire from life on the road, I might just move to Portsmouth and get a job in Pie & Vinyl.”
You mentioned playing the P&V stage on Record Store Day, although you didn’t get to speak to many people how did it go?
“It went really well, so cool that they close off the road and put up a stage with loads of different bands. All the local market stores, I really have a lot of respect for the guys that run it. They do a lot for the community, promotions and their own nights, it just felt like a celebration…. and the weather was great too.”
As both an artist and music lover, what are your thoughts on the concept of Record Store Day?
“I love it, to have that focus on the shops that have stuck it out through the download and streaming era – I have a lot of respect for them and they get to make a decent profit, so totally all for it.
From an artist perspective, it’s the opportunity to do something quirky or a bit different. This year Kate Tempest recorded and released literally one copy of her record. They didn’t say where it would be available so it became a huge treasure hunt. It’s having fun with how we release the physical format, which is still very much a thing despite what some people think.
The only negative is from major labels, they ignored Record Store Day for years before realising they could make some money. It becomes difficult for independent artists, vinyl pressing plants are fully booked up by the bigger labels printing larger quantities. Nothing against that as such, just I love the indie nature of RSD and the community that exists along with that.”
Emily Barker
Speaking of records, you of course have “Sweet Kind of Blue” coming out… how does it compare to previous releases?
“It’s very different, which really excites me. I need to keep it entertaining for myself and the fans, keep exploring and not get tired. It’s also coming back to the reason I make music.
As a teenager, I listened to soul and blues music, there was a festival in my hometown in Australia called Blues in Bridgetown that got a lot of international artists. The town would go from 2000 population to 25,000 people over the weekend, so everybody wanted to perform at that festival.
I got listening to Aretha Franklin, Koko Taylor and all these African American soul women. I’ve never recorded in this style until recently and really enjoyed delving back into the genre.”
Emily Barker “Sweet Kind of Blue” out now
What was it like recording in Memphis – I know it meant a lot to you?
“Amazing, it was the best time of my life, I still can’t get over it, I will probably have a moment where I think wow that actually happened. Working with those musicians, they’ve played with a whole load of music royalty, Al Green, Booker T and people of such high calibre.
I was blown away how humble they were, but I think it’s like that in Memphis, they have that love for playing and getting work as session musicians. They could tell how happy I was, they looked after me.
The studio was another huge story… it was built by Sam Phillips who set up Sun Studios in the late 50’s. It was quite a small studio, but state of the art. Elvis, Jerry Lee Lewis, Johnny Cash have all hung out in the bar upstairs. The office is exactly as Sam Phillips had left it, the dust has just gathered over the years, amazing.”
Any plans to meet up again with the musicians that play on the record?
“Yeah, I’m going to be touring in the US quite a bit and hopefully going to play a free show in Memphis. There’s a huge festival in early Autumn, the weather’s great and we’re playing with the band I recorded with. It’s going to be part of a Memphis launch show.“
That leads me on to one final question, after these in-store dates what else do you have planned for the rest of the year?
“Quite a lot of festivals which include Glastonbury, then a US tour with Mary Chapin Carpenter, Germany, Australia… the US three times in total, pretty busy times. Then a UK tour in November with a full band. So, I will be back with my group of musicians based in Stroud, playing our take on the album.”
Big thanks to Emily for taking time out from packaging up pre-releases of her new album, “Sweet Kind of Blue” which is out now.
Emily Barker
You can catch Emily Barker live at the following venues:
Indie In-Stores
Fri 19 May 10am – Breakfast Signing – Trading Post, Stroud
Fri 19 May, 1pm – Badlands, Cheltenham
Fri 19 May, 7pm – Sound Knowledge (band) Marlborough
Sat 20 May, 1pm – Rough Trade East (band) London
Sat 20 May, 5pm – Music’s Not Dead Bexhill on Sea
Sun 21 May, 3pm – Nottingham Rough Trade
Mon 22 May, 12.15pm – Jumbo, Leeds
Tue 23 May, -7.30pm – David’s, Letchworth
Wed 24 May, 6pm – Bristol Rise
Thu 25 May, 6pm – Oxford Truck
Fri 26 May, 6.30pm – Black Circle Records, Leighton Buzzard
Sat 27 May 1pm Pebble, Eastbourne
Sat 27 May 3pm Union Music Store, Lewes
Tues 30 May, 6pm – Diverse, Newport
Wed 31 May 6pm – Pie & Vinyl, Southsea
Thu 1 Jun, 6pm – Brill, London
Sat 3 Jun 3pm – Hundred Records, Romsey
If you enjoyed this article, check out Mr Teeth interview with Tall Ships here. As for Pie & Vinyl Record Cafe, you can also order vinyl online at www.pieandvinylonline.co.uk.
