KT TUNSTALL
INTERVIEW BY MICHAEL RAVER
PHOTOGRAPHY BY CORTNEY ARMITAGE
The pandemic has been a time of great reflection for singer/songwriter KT Tunstall. A year ago, the “Suddenly I See” songstress was kicking off a world tour with Hall and Oates. Then came lockdown. She flew back to her home in California and, like the rest of us, she took cover. Tour dates were indefinitely postponed. Plans were put on hold.
The good news is that the solitude allowed Tunstall time to fortify herself. She moved to a new home in Topanga, complete with a home studio. She adopted a rescue dog. She took up meditation. She’s been producing other artists, has been composing an upcoming musical and is nearly finished making a new record.
In addition, in honor of International Women’s Day, The Highland Park Collective recruited Tunstall to record “Together We Are Stronger.” The song, which also features, singers LOLO, Nikki Vianna, and Devyn De Loera, is set to be used by the UN’s Gender Equality Initiative to promote Women’s Equality and Empowerment as part of the WE ALL RISE initiative.
Imagista: Has there been any silver lining for you during the pandemic?
KT Tunstall: As I’ve gotten older, I have dreamt of the possibility of having more of a home life and not being on the road so much. I have to say it looked kind of bleak. It didn’t seem possible. Touring is such an all-or-nothing pursuit, even more so in the streaming era. I think there’s a very positive outcome for musicians. It is possible to keep your connection with fans without ruining yourself 365 days of the year. You can have a meaningful, soulful online relationship with fans.
Imagista: How’s the downtime from touring treating you?
KT Tunstall: This forced break has been amazing, though it has certainly not been a breezy ride. Being a touring musician makes you emotionally stunted. It’s not good for your spiritual and emotional health. It’s like you’re in a tin can and you spend more time with your crew than you do with your family. It’s not a life of retreat and privacy. Retreat and privacy are conducive for self-growth. When I’m working hard, I don’t feel like I’m growing very much. It’s why we don’t often tackle self-growth when we’re busy because it can make you have a fucking breakdown. It can be extremely disruptive, but I felt brave enough to tackle it.
Imagista: And you’ve continued performing in the virtual arena.
KT Tunstall: I had a weird relationship with performing for the first few months of the lockdown. I had a lot of rage.
Imagista: Why?
KT Tunstall: There were thousands of new artists who were just about to embark on their first-ever tours with their first recordings. And that was lost. What the fuck were they meant to do? I’m good. I’ve been touring for fifteen years and I’ve got royalties coming in, but what about them? If people like me give all of our shit away for free, then audiences are not going to pay to watch new artists. And new artists need to be paid. In general, musicians have been getting screwed with the advent of streaming. It seems almost insurmountable trying to sort that out. A little bit of progress being made, which may not have happened if not for the pandemic.
Imagista: Progress?
KT Tunstall: The issue has been raised in government. It’s wildly skewed in favor of major labels and investors. I heard a great analogy about it: Spotify and YouTube are selling the bottle but not the wine. The streaming platforms don’t make the wine and if they keep on this path, they going to end up with nice wine bottles full of crap. No one wants that. I am absolutely not anti-streaming. I use it every day. But, it could be done so much better and fairer.
Imagista: “Starlight and Gold” and “Wash Ya Hands” are just a few examples of the singles you’ve released in the last few years, independently promoting an album.
KT Tunstall: There’s been much more of that because of the pandemic. It has really opened my eyes to the productivity of sharing one-off pieces of music in-between album cycles.
Imagista: Are you still committed to the album format?
KT Tunstall: Yeah. I was listening to an interview with PJ Harvey and she was talking about listening to Nick Cave and The Bad Seeds and there being a sonic environment to the whole piece of work. I have always felt a compulsion to honor the sonic environment of an album. I want to make my album in one place with one group of people. An album is an experience. I think it’s about creating worlds. I have a penchant for the experience. I am a huge fan of Punch Drunk and Sleep No More. It’s like Inception, right? You’re sucked into a different dream and the more detailed and more real the dream, the more intense the experience. I can’t imagine ever not wanting to make records.
Imagista: Tell me about ‘Together We Are Stronger.’
KT Tunstall: The Highland Park Collective are a kind of musical production group that wanted to create a great female empowerment anthem. I got recruited. I think it’s my first ever white girl rap. (Laughs). I was immediately all in. It was great fun. Morgan Dorr was the ringmaster because someone had to be in charge somewhere. I was at the end of my tour with (drummer) Cat Myers in Nashville, at Jordan Hamlin’s studio, and ended up recording my vocals with her.
Imagista: What does strength mean to you?
KT Tunstall: My idea of a strong woman doesn’t have to be the same as someone else’s. ‘Strong’ is being bold enough to be honest. It’s fucking easier said than done, man. It’s really hard. What I’ve learned over the course of the pandemic is the more you share your own truth, the more permission it gives for others to share theirs. John Lennon said “it’s not our job to tell people how to feel. It’s our job to tell people how we feel.”
Is it difficult for you to sit on a song for a while before it comes out?
KT Tunstall: It used to be. Now, it’s delicious. You can sit back and have a fucking warm cocoa and think, “this is gonna be great.” I feel that way about my new record. I’ve a nice calm confidence about it, which is a good sign. It’s gonna be fun.
And, of course, you’re waist-deep in finishing an album trilogy.
KT Tunstall: I’m maybe up to my shoulders. (Laughs) It’s going well. Which is perfectly fitting because it’s the ‘head’ that’s left.
How crazy is it that, in such a heady time, you’re about to release an album about the mind?!
KT Tunstall: Making this trilogy has been fucking wild. So, the first record, KIN, was about the soul because my personal life exploded on me. My dad died and I realized I was in the wrong life. I left my marriage and my home country. It was a life reboot. And then, I make WAX, the body record, and I lose half my hearing. And now, I think to myself, what the hell is going to happen during the brain record? (Laughs) Am I going to lose my mind?
“Together We Are Stronger” is available to stream/download on March 8th, in honor of International Women’s Day.
