Catching Up With... Kate Rusby

Beloved English folksinger Kate Rusby has been surrounded by music all her life, so it's only logical that these days, only in her thirties, she's earned the nickname "the Barnsley Nightingale," as well as four BBC Radio 2 Folk Awards. Currently on tour to promote her newest album, Awkward Annie, Rusby is a very busy girl. So busy, in fact, that Paste had to conduct the interview via email. Despite her time constraints, Kate opened up to tell us about her first time producing an album, the folk music chip she was born with and all of the things that make her happy. Other than singing, of course.

Paste: A lot of your music sounds very Celtic-inspired and old-timey, and many of the songs on Awkward Annie are traditional words that you've rearranged yourself. How much of an inspiration to you is traditional English folklore and music that's been passed down through generations?
Kate Rusby: Traditional music is definitely my main influence, and even though I listen to all different genres of music, traditional songs and tune will always remain my first love. I’m sure I had some kind of folk music chip installed at birth!
The music was always around in our house when we were growing up, whether it was my mum and dad playing and singing, or records they put on, it was always present. So it was inevitable really that I fell in love with it. Usually children rebel against what their parents musical taste is, but I just loved it.

Paste: Do you feel a loyalty to the old sound of the music you borrow to keep it close to its true form, or do you take as much creative license as you'd like with it?
Kate Rusby: If you look in any ballad books, where the songs have been written down, you will find that there is usually quite a few different versions of the same song. This is purely because, as the songs have been passed on from singer to singer, the new singer makes the song their own. They may alter the tune slightly, or perhaps if a town of birth is mentioned, they will change that to their own. Some altered a lot more. So I have no fears of altering the same songs to suit my singing. I love the challenge of finding an old song in a dusty old book and bringing it back to life, off the page, and out in the open again, I think it’s some romantic notion I have!

Paste: So this was the first time you took a part in producing some of the album yourself. What an accomplishment! Was it harder or easier than you thought it would be? Did you like it more or less than having someone else do it while you focus on the music? Did you have any particular funny or frustrating experiences with it?
Kate Rusby: It was just how I thought it would be. I have been heavily involved in the decision making on all the rest of my albums, and that’s all a producer is, the person responsible for making the right decisions. It was a very, very last minute thing that I was going to produce, so I had get my brain in gear and think fast. I also had a great deal of help from my little brother Joe, who engineered the record. He has great ears so was a big help.
The album was very hard to make though, not because of the music, but what was surrounding us. Many things were happening at that time, I won’t go into detail for them all, but one thing that affected both myself and Joe was the death of our Grandma in the middle of recording. She was old and it was expected, but we were still very, very sad. What wasn’t expected, though, was the death of our Uncle, her son, two weeks later. He never married so we were his family, and we were all very close. It was then incredibly difficult to go and sit and sing in a studio; I gave up on a few occasions, but Joe kept me going. When I look back at all that was going on at that time, I am amazed that we ever finished it. That record definitely has a great amount of pride, grief, sweat and tears contained within.

Paste: What caused the big gap between the UK release date and the American release?
Kate Rusby: I’m not entirely sure to be honest. I do know that there has always been a delay between releases though.

Paste: I read on your website that you just made a music video recently after pairing up with Ronan Keating, having never made a music video before. You said that you don't have any interest, really, in starting down that route now, even though you enjoyed it. Do you feel any pressure from the new directions of the music industry to "modernize," or are you confident in your decision to do things your own way?
Kate Rusby: We set up our own record company about 15 years ago, and in that time it has grown steadily, year after year. We have been offered major deals a few times over those years but we have always said no. We are proud to have got where we are so far on our own, we are in a unique position of being able to make our own choices about our music, it is a luxury most musicians don’t have and we would like to keep it.
As for music videos, the one with Ronan is the only ‘pop video’ I have done. I was dreading it as I felt out of my depth, but I had such a great time. It was fascinating taking a look into the way someone else works. He is such a lovely man, and I am very grateful I had the opportunity to work with him.

Paste: How was working with someone with such a different style and career path from your own?
Kate Rusby: It was a fantastic experience. The studio side of things is quite similar to our own, but everything else that surrounds it is completely different.

Paste: So two of your favorite things are your dog and Sudoku. What kind of dog do you have, and what are some other things on your "favorites" list?
Kate Rusby: I have a little Staffordshire Bull Terrier called Doris, named after a great auntie of mine. She is my best friend, she makes me laugh so much, she’s fantastic. Erm... other favourites would be, watching Grey's Anatomy and Brothers and Sisters, pina coladas, eating lovely food, a good red wine, Yorkshire tea, my 2 beautiful nephews, listening to music, sunshine, oh there's so many!!