Interview: Anika Moa

By Sean Lynch
For The Album "In Swings The Tide"
Official Site: www.anikamoa.com

Anika Moa is happy with things just the way they are

Anika Moa could easily have next year's award for "Best Rooting Album"

Having already traversed the globe, been signed to a major US label at the age of only 18, winning countless awards, experiencing family tragedy as well as moving from her home town of New Zealand in favour of Melbourne - it's clear to see that songstress Anika Moa knows a little bit about life.

For most artists, these huge career steps would seem like mere building blocks used on the way to becoming a worldwide star.

But, as the delightfully feisty and sarcastic Anika Moa tells Web Wombat Music Channel's Sean Lynch, world fame isn't on the agenda - in fact, all she really wants to do is sit in the yard with some friends... and smoke a little bit of pot.

You're fresh from touring, recording a new album and attending the New Zealand Music Awards - how did you go there?

... As in, did I win any awards?.

Don't be modest tell the people [Laughs]!

Well, I did, [sounding disappointed] I won "Best Female Vocalist"...

That's pretty damn good... isn't it?

It's not the award I wanted to win... I wanted "Album Of The Year". But Flight Of The Conchords won [Laughs]...

This seems to be a major issue throughout the NZ music community, how did you feel about it?

A lot of people weren't happy about it...

You sound like one of them it seems...

No, no, no. Not at all. I just think it is what it is.

Every year you learn not to expect too much because you very rarely get the person that you want to win. But it's like any awards, like The Grammys or your ARIAs or any awards - it's always the stupidest most horrible people that win [Laughs]...

[Laughs] Awards aside, you mentioned you've moved to Melbourne - and to be honest - your new album tends to have a very "Sunday afternoon with a beer in Brunswick Street" vibe to it...

I actually live just off Brunswick Street. There's a pub on every corner!

Well that might explain it. It's very cool and laid back - almost sexy in a way - how do you feel knowing that somewhere a couple are listening to it and hooking up?

I was just thinking that too...

It's music to root to.

I wasn't going to use those words, but yeah, it's f**k music!

F**k music [Laughs]. Well, if you can root to my music - that's pretty cool. But... it's quite depressing, they are quite depressing songs.

You would probably break up by the end of it...

Well maybe that's an award you can take out in New Zealand next year : "Best F**k Album Of The Year".

Best F**k Album Of The Year [Laughs]. I'm gonna market it : "Best Break Up Sex Album Of The Year" [Laughs].

One of the best features of the new album is that there is a lot of strings used throughout. Is that something you do yourself, or something you sit back and let someone else control?

It's something that I wished for my album, and I got a very good friend of mine to arrange all the strings and he went in with all the geeky string players and they all played. And there were only eleven of them, and we tripled the tracks to thirty three.

So, it was fairly easy.

I've always wondered with artists and strings - do you have any say with how the score sounds or what direction the strings take?

I do, I do. I know what I like and I know what I don't like. When he is doing a score, he will show it to me on his work piano or whatever and I'll say "I don't like where that's going" or "I like where that's heading".

So, he arranges it - which is amazing - but I just kind of direct the kind of style it has to be.

Was there any point you had to be tough and just say to him "No, that's crap"?

Well, yeah, there were. On a couple of songs it was like, well, [In a terrible Aussie Accent] "Calm down mate!".

But he would just go "Yeah, ok, cool - I'll just go somewhere else and do it this way" and it would be fine. We were very honest with each other, it was a very fair game that we played.

Now, something not many people may not know about you is that you were actually signed in America before you had even released anything... anywhere.

I was signed in America when I was 18, that was ten years ago, and I hadn't released anything in New Zealand.

But I went to America, recorded the album in New York - I lived in New York for a long time - and came back to New Zealand, released it in New Zealand and it went really well and sold double platinum and all that boring bullshit, and then I went back to America to do a lot of publicity... but I just got bored of it.

Music for me is my passion and my hobby - but I don't want to be all those rich stupid bitches, you know [Laughs], like Avril Lavigne or any of those... sluts.

So you prefer "Cred" over paying off your "Credit Card".

I don't have to pay off my credit card - because I'm very efficient with money [Laughs].

I prefer that I'm relaxed, I prefer the beach and my family and touring when I want - I'm pretty much Jack Johnson [Laughs].

You often hear about these "Overnight success", but no one ever explains how it happens. How does something like being signed in America without an album actually come about?

I got signed to a New Zealand record label, and the boss went to this big conference and saw the guy from Atlantic Records and said "Hey, you'll like this" - not thinking... well, I don't know what he was thinking.

Usually it's like "Yeah, I'll give you demo" and you never hear from them. But he rang us straight away and was like [In a loud and terrible American Accent] "We love you, come over, play a song for us!".

So he flew us all the way over there...

Ten years ago (1998), was this during that era when Bic Runga was having her phase in America as well. A bit of a New Zealand explosion at the time...

Yeah, yeah, it was actually.

I had only just finished school and we flew over, and it was so hot, so I went into his office in bare feet and he took us out for dinner and I sang him some songs and all that kind of stuff - and then he went "Ok, we will sign you" and I was like "Ok, sweet".

But I didn't really realise at the time exactly how he wanted to push me. They really wanted to push me as "The Next Jewel" [who was also one of their artists] but I wasn't having a bar of it.

Is it literally a case of them taking the talent and just molding it into something they want?

Yeah, that's what it was. "Dress you that way", "Don't say this, say that" - I'm not prepared to do that kind of thing for anyone.

At a young age that's quite a difficult thing to do - to essentially give up the dream - was that a tough decision?

It wasn't a tough decision. I don't want to crack America and I don't want to crack Australia and I don't want to crack England - I just want to have a fairly reasonable musical career where sometimes people play my songs on the radio and I get to tour with the people I want to, you know?

I want to tour America - but I don't have any plans of being a "TV Star" or some famous, you know, "Oooh, she's seeing John Mayer" [Laughs]

You seem so angry [Laughs]. So I'm guessing we won't see you on Dancing With The Stars any time soon...

No Way! [Laughs]

You've worked with quite a few guests on both this and the last album. Have you ever invited someone to play, but then realised half way through "I don't think I get along with this person"?

[Laughs] No. I mean, we recorded it at my house, in my lounge with all my friends - so we just played cricket and rugby every day and then occasionally went "Hmmm, ok, let's record now".

I had a really amazing engineer, my friend Andre Upston, and he pretty much reigned us all in. Because we were all just mates and it was summer time - and we were really just hanging out - and it was a lot of alcohol and pot and smokes... and sex and drugs and Rock'n'Roll [Laughs].

You mentioned that elements of album are quite depressing, I understand that you went through some personal problems during the recording time.

Prior to the album and sort of during the album, I'd just gone through a break up and my dad died of cancer. So, you know, it's not easy.

Is it hard to try and not let those emotions totally invade the music, or do you use it as a cathartic thing?

Yeah, your right. It's kind of like your therapy. But it started off sad, and it ended up happy, because I was in a really good space when I finished it. So, it's fine - it was a tough time, but I got through it and the album is a result of that.

That said, I actually think some of those songs still feel quite uplifting. Was that something you tried to keep in toe, not letting the album get too dark?

I just write a song and get my band to record it. I'm never, ever conscious of anything - I just know what I like and know what I don't like. Sometimes it can be a really happy song, but take a really sad turn - or a really angry turn - but I just follow it. I never try to rule it.

Just before I go, I heard you were also a decent rugby player, would you have ever given up music for it. Apparently you were pretty good?

No, I was really good [Laughs].

I almost made it into the Black Ferns, which is the female equivalent of the All Blacks. I had a chance to go to the training camp when I was 18, but I chose to be a musician... and smoke pot and be lazy [Laughs].

"In Swings The Tide" is in Australian stores from November 1, 2008.