W L INTERVIEW
AN INTERVIEW WITH PALOMA FAITH
From gaining number one album success , through to battling her way to becoming a mother , Paloma Faith ’ s remarkable career continues in setting her sights on a return to the charts with her ambitious new album , reports Neill Barston .
Amid a global pandemic , this year has been one to forget for many , but as Paloma Faith reveals , she feels notably blessed by news of her second child ’ s imminent arrival . After a hugely testing trial of repeated rounds of IVF treatment , the Brit Award winning singer announced the latest addition to her family happily coincides with her latest musical baby in the form of her fifth studio album .
Since her last release , The Architect , achieved coveted number one status , Paloma has featured as a coach on ITV ’ s The Voice Kids , seen herself nominated for a clutch of industry accolades , as well as exploring new territory as an actor in the Batman prequel spin-off , Pennyworth . So , as the coronavirus crisis grimly took hold around the world , the enforced downtime offered her a rare chance to take stock after an intense period of work .
As she admits , inhabiting her line of work can often make you ‘ whimsical in going with the flow ,’ yet reveals that having a toddler to take care of has , by necessity , required greater time management . “ It ’ s ‘ made me go for the jugular more ,” she notes in having to be far more focused . Consequently , being ever creatively restless , material soon flowed while at home completing her latest album , led by its lyrically powerful lead single , Better Than This , a reflection on the fractured state of the world and hopes for the next generation .
It stands proudly paving the way for what is a bold , uncompromising record brimming full of confidence and self-assurance , taking on everything from her trademark soulful pop , through to sweeping orchestral ballads that stem from an artist who is at the top of her creative game .
“ We live in a very volatile world that now seems as if we only get one chance , so I have been lucky that I ’ ve been able to put releases out there and put myself on the map ,” she says of her latest recording .
However , it ’ s been a far from straightforward journey for the half-Spanish East-London born singer , who holds a degree in contemporary dance , and an MA in theatre directing that saw her initially consider other artistic directions . But after early stints in cabaret , bar tending and modelling , she gravitated to singing , and has been doing things her own way ever since . There have been pressures along the route , including offering a ‘ showbiz age ’ several years younger than her actual years for fear of not being given a recording contract , yet she remains very much true to herself .
Despite such moments , her debut album provided plenty of vindication in reaching the top 10 in 2009 , setting the tone for a career to date packed with notable milestones . There have been plenty of highlights beyond the icing on the cake of multi-platinum sales , including her friendship with the late Amy Winehouse , to whom she has been widely compared , who she penned a tribute to on her last album .
To her credit , she has stood firm on other key issues , notably on one of her biggest hits to date , Only Love Can Hurt Like this , which featured a video with an interracial love scene . When US executives asked her to re-shoot it on grounds it ‘ wouldn ’ t sell ’, she refused , and never spoke to them again , even if it might cost her a stateside breakthrough . She says she ’ d rather have success very much on her own terms . As she concedes , her latest recordings , which were self-produced in her basement , allowed her the chance to push herself artistically more than ever before .
“ Well , I think being at home meant I was completely uninhibited with wild abandon , in a way that I am not when sound engineers are looking at me .
“ Also , I wasn ’ t afraid to make mistakes , and sometimes those mistakes land in places that are wonderful , and I wouldn ’ t make them if someone else was there . So , I feel like there ’ s more intimacy in this record , and that there ’ s more truth in the way that I am singing ,” she explains thoughtfully , noting that the album is very much focused on motherhood and the pressures , hopes and expectations that it brings .
While the 39 year-old singer has been frank about the challenges she endured to bring her daughter into the world , a clearly understandable desire to shield her child from media intrusion has been misinterpreted in some quarters as being a conscious decision to raise her as ‘ gender neutral ’. While it ’ s led to an at
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