Having an eponymous debut album to promote, Los Angeles based singer- songwriter Sarabeth Tucek is once more touring England where I can witness a cult following growing by the minute.

Noted in particular for her exceptional voice,  Sarabeth has spent many years concocting an eleven tracks gold nugget, tuneful, delicate and at times ethereal.

Each song emotionally charged and soul grabbing, ‘Sarabeth Tucek’ the album, is an unexpected and incredibly rare gift from a talented artist to an obviously appreciative audience.

Meeting for the second time (read the first interview), Miss Tucek is clearly delighted to be back to our shores and very comfortable talking about her next offering, meeting Bob Dylan and much more...

Florence: Your eponymous debut album has been released a few weeks ago in the UK. It’s a collection of stunning tracks, some older than others....
How long has this LP been in the making ?

Sarabeth: Some of those songs are the first songs that I wrote!
I have been writing for about seven years so those songs kind of span that time period until I started recording the album.
Some are seven years old and some are six months’.
By the time you get the privilege of recording you’ve got quite a lot of things backlogged!

Florence: Are you writing right now ?

Sarabeth: Yes sure. I am not the most prolific of writers. I usually write a song every two months, so that’s not a lot. I don’t have any discipline when it comes to writing. I kind of wait until I am swept away by a tide of feelings or emotions in order to really do anything. I don’t sit down to write, I just sit with my guitar and see what comes up.

Florence: I guess that you just can’t force yourself, it comes to you or it doesn’t.

Sarabeth: A lot of the time it’s a delayed response to something that happened months before. I’m not so good at writing a song at the time something happens. I wish I was a bit more prolific!

Florence: It’s quality over quantity.
It’s probably better to just have a few songs that are stunning and timeless rather lots and lots with some that are diluted and will eventually get lost as time passes.

Sarabeth: I feel that each song should be important to you and the record. So often I buy a record based on one song that I really like and then that’s really the only one on it that’s any good. I think that labels get caught up in thinking that if they get that one single then maybe they can make however many sales but if you make a record you should have an entire record of songs!
Each song should be good otherwise you shouldn’t put out the record.
I am not trying to say that I know my songs are good but I feel for each one, they mean something to me, each and everyone.
This is how people should feel about their records instead of just getting the one hit.

Florence: Maybe even more so these days when artists do not know if they’ll ever be able to put another record out. It should be important to make each one really count.

Sarabeth: We need to make people want to buy entire records rather than just songs.

Florence: Your own album illustrates your point of view very well. 
Each number stands on its own, however there is an overall feeling of sadness or melancholy. Would you agree with me and where is that coming from ?

Sarabeth: From the day I came out of the womb!
I think that everybody is born with a sort of perspective on the landscape, as it were. My perspective has always been on a sombre note. It’s not even so much melancholy. I always think of melancholy as a nice sadness, a sweet sadness like if you’re looking at the moon at night and it’s so beautiful that you want to cry. That to me is melancholy.
Even great joy is emotional. People cry when they are incredibly happy, they cry tears of joy.

Florence: Even before the official release date ‘Sarabeth Tucek’ has been collecting some very flattering reviews. 
It’s taken you years to get to this point.
Looking back on it all how do you feel about it now when 
you listen to it ?

Sarabeth: I think that it’s a really good record.
All those years that I was writing these songs...it was all very cathartic when the record was finished to just sit in the studio and listen to the whole thing. I feel that I can put that away to rest now and still feel good about how it has been represented and taken care of so well by producers Ethan Johns and Luther Russell in the studio. I think that they just brought exactly what it was that I didn’t know that I wanted for the songs. It makes me very happy and regardless of whatever happens in life I’ll always have this.

Florence: A record is like a child I guess!
Knowing what you know now if there anything that you would have done differently ?

Sarabeth: Yes it is a matter of experience. Recording for the first time I was a little tentative at times, especially when I was singing because how you sing that song is gonna be there for ever. I just wasn’t very comfortable in the studio yet but now I think: “Wouldn’t it be great to go back and sing those songs not worrying about the recording of it and kinda let go ! “
Even though I was emotionally there, there was a part of me that was like: “ Oh God, what do they think, does it sound good, are they gonna like it....”.  

Florence: However you have spent time in recording studios, notably through your collaborations with some great songwriters, such as Bill Callahan, Anton Newcombe...
You’ve had some sort of experience...

Sarabeth: Never mine though !
It was their thing and I was just there to serve them and their vision.

Florence: As it was your project did you find yourself more attentive to details ?

Sarabeth: Anything that I do I just want for it to be some feelings there.
As long as it conveys some kind of feelings I am content.

Florence: Let’s talk about your next album...will it be a continuation of the first one or something rather different ?

Sarabeth: The second record will probably be a lot of things that didn’t get on the first one!

Florence: So you’ve accumulated enough material to potentially complete a second album?

Sarabeth: The songs that I wrote that didn’t make it on the first album...well I still want them to see the light of day.
I can use some of those and mix them with new songs until the back catalogue gets absorbed.
I think that naturally some stuff will be different because I am evolving.
There is one incident in my life, something that happened a long time ago, that I’ll probably write about but pretty much I am who I am and the way I write lyrically will be the same.

Florence: Do you wish for Ethan and Luther to produce the second record as well ?

Sarabeth: Absolutely. I think that we made a good trio !

Florence: Something great that happened to you, and not such a long time ago, was when you opened for Bob Dylan on one of his shows!

Sarabeth: Yes! My booking agent sent the record to his manager and then they asked me to come and play acoustic....and it’s pretty terrifying!
You step on a stage to play for Dylan’s fans and I thought that they were gonna eat me alive! It was in a big place, an outdoor theatre, which I had never done before, and it was really unreal.
All I wanted from that experience was just to see him and to maybe talk to him. I thought that I’d do the best I can but I also knew that I would fall apart a tiny little bit because of who he is.

Florence: So did you talk to him ?

Sarabeth: Yeah I did !
I think that he is the quintessential artist and for any genre. He is at the top of any list in any field. He is a true original and there will never be another person like that ever again so to actually stand there and talk to him was just unbelievable and a privilege.
We watched Martin Scorsese’s movie, “No Direction Home”, again a couple of weeks ago and I cannot believe that I met that man.
This is something great to tell my grandchildren.

Florence: As a female artist is there any other woman whose career you really admire or would wish to emulate ?

Sarabeth: I can’t really think of anyone contemporary and I never really listened to too many women growing up. I think that in a way I’ve got more of a male sensibility.
The way females write songs or even sing can be a little too babyish or precious. Kind of things that I can’t really tolerate, I have to hear somewhere a bit of an edge, not to say that I demonstrate that.
I don’t know who do you think ?

Florence: Chrissie Hynde, Skin, ex- Skunk Anansie, an English band,Debbie Harry....

Sarabeth: Actually there is a band called Beach House in The States and the singer has a good voice. Also I used to love Kate Bush.

Florence: Once upon a time there were quite a few female artists that you could look up to as a little girl but nowadays it seems that image has overtaken talent.

Sarabeth: I just feel that I am hearing the same love song over and over again.

Florence: You’ve got a few dates in the UK right now and you are also coming back in a few weeks time. Since last year I see that audiences are getting bigger and more eager. For an American artist I guess that it’s very important to be appreciated over here. 
How do you feel about it all ?

Sarabeth: I feel great here. I really love the way people are about music and I think that they have a far healthier attitude towards it here than they have in The States. Back home people are very jaded because it’s so saturated there. I live in Los Angeles and it’s impossible to get anybody to a show because there are so many shows every night, so many bands. When people do go to see a show then it’s arms folded....Here people still believe that if they go to a show they will be blown away. They just seem to be more excited. 
I am much happier here and actually thinking about moving !

Florence: That’s a little extreme but then again I have heard that a lot from American artists. Once you’ve experienced the British public’s warmth and generosity you always want more.

Sarabeth: They’re not schmoozy and when they say something to you
I feel that they genuinely mean it, it’s not because they want something or because they’re just trying to please you. Everybody comes true on their word here, but in LA it’s always: “I can do that for you, just give me a call ! “ and when you do that they just don’t take your call!
People have manners here.

Florence: Well that’s nice to hear.
You’ve been working quite hard lately but do you still have time to listen to music ?
What’s playing on your stereo right now ?

Sarabeth: I have been listening to Roy Harper. Beach House who are pretty good and then there is always the old standby like Dylan!

Florence: The last time we spoke you mentioned the eventuality of working with The Black Angels.
How is that project going ?

Sarabeth: I was supposed to sing on their record but they are so incredibly busy all the time.
When they were in LA ready to do some recording I was busy getting ready to come out here so I couldn’t make it to the studio.
But hopefully at some point in the near future, like maybe on my next record I could have Alex come and sing. He’s got such a great voice.
So someday....

Words: Florence ACHERY

www.myspace.com/sarabethtucek