John-Paul Davies speaks to Dublin’s reigning queen about abdicating the rockabilly throne.
Imelda May is getting ready to go on tour. She’s about to share with the world her most intimate and personal album yet. But to make Life. Love. Flesh. Blood. May needed to move away from her rockabilly roots. “It’s not a matter of losing rockabilly, that’s always with me, I’ve always loved it.” May speaks with a fierce love for the music through her impassioned, Liberties accent. “Rockabilly was the most rebellious thing that had happened in music and it changed the course of music. But I’ve done that. I think I hit a glass ceiling with rockabilly. I don’t want to limit myself.”
Life. Love. Flesh. Blood. was written in the aftermath of her divorce from husband and band member Darrel Hingham. But, as the title suggests, the album covers much more ground than that, reflected in May’s new musical directions. “I want to spend time exploring other music that I love – blues and jazz and gospel and soul. When I started writing this album I made everything stop; to not think about what it should be but just see where it went. I found that really liberating.”
Interesting then, that May, an artist who has either produced or co-produced her previous four albums, should relinquish production responsibilities on such a defining new album. “I wasn’t sure how it would go. I’d never handed over the reins, if you like.” She needn’t have been concerned. T Bone Burnett, the multi-award winning producer who brought Americana to the masses with the O Brother, Where Art Thou? soundtrack, is one of the most singular talents in the business. “We did a lot of discussion, before going into the studio. Often he wanted to know where I heard this song going. He wanted references, even visual references. I’d say ‘I feel this could be a movie soundtrack,’ so he had a visual or a vibe for it. And then he called in the right musicians to match the sound that I had envisaged for this album. Like a beautiful play or movie, he got all the right cast and it was just gorgeous.”
For the first time, guitarist Darrel Hingham doesn’t appear in that cast. “Well, we knew we were going in different directions for a long time, I think even on the last album. And he wanted to leave the band ages before [we separated] just musically. So, in the studio, it wouldn’t have been right, both of us working together. We were both wanting to do completely different things.”
Like all the great musicians May has an appetite for pushing, moving on, developing and learning as an artist. “I’m a very big fan of T Bone. So I wanted to learn from T Bone about production. I wanted to see how he got a sound and what he did, so I was curious too.” And this is just one important collaboration on the album. The influential Jools Holland appears – “instrumental in helping my career”. And May’s long-term friend and regular collaborator, Jeff Beck, adds a stunning solo to single Black Tears. “I’ve been doing this for 26 years and I’ve sang with a lot of guitarists, but Jeff is the only guitarist I’ve ever sang with where it feels like I’m singing a duet with another vocalist. He takes it to another level, it’s like an extension of him. If he was a singer they’re the notes he’d sing.” A kindred spirit too. “He’s very open minded. You never know what album he’s going to do next, he never gets stuck in a rut. I love that about Jeff – he does what he feels and he follows his heart.” If May continues to do the same, her reign will long continue, whatever style she chooses to sing.
Imelda May, St David’s Hall, Cardiff, Fri 5 May £35/£25 Info: 029 2087 8444 / stdavidshallcardiff.co.uk