Sianed Q&A
Bjork, Laurie Anderson and Meredith Monk provide the reference points for singer / composer Sianed Jones, who wrote the music for the RSC’s current production of Twelfth Night. She performs a solo show, with guests on Sunday evening to showcase songs from ‘surrender’, her genre busting new album.
What’s your backround?
I did a degree in classical violin and I went to Dartington College of Arts. Then I moved to London and did a lot of work with dance and theatre companies. I was also working with Latin, African, fusion dance bands and part of the free improvisation world as well, plus dabbling with electronics, so quite a mix. I also travelled to Africa and to places such as Mongolia and Kazakhstan through my work.
The striking thing about ‘surrender’ is the diversity of the music. There seems to be nothing beyond your resources, from Bulgarian voices to folksy fiddle and flute.
Some people find that hard to deal with, but I’m interested in so many different worlds. I’m interested in song form, but I’m also interested in blasting that away and seeing where free improvisation can lead.
Is it very different from providing the incidental music for Twelfth Night?
Everything in that performance is timed and honed down to nanoseconds. As a musician, I have to produce something that will say an enormous amount, but I’ve only got 20 seconds to do it. That’s a fantastic discipline.
Are you a flamboyant stage performer?
I’m larger than life onstage. I make a big noise, if you know what I mean.
The centrepiece of the album is that 9/11 song,’What’s the Time Mr Wolf? Is no subject off-limits for artistic treatment?
I’m interested in tackling difficult subjects. In a sense that’s my only weapon to touch people. As I was writing, I was imagining the panic that was happening in that building, and I was imagining two figures falling out. I want people to experience that, and feel disturbed and unsettled.
Mike Butler METRO LIFE (2005)