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| Tasmin Archer
first shot to the top of the charts in the UK in 1993 with the number
one smash hit 'Sleeping satellite', which remained there for three weeks. This
led to a string of commercial hits and albums before she vanished from the
music scene. Now, after a period of reflection, she is returning to the
limelight - Tasmin talks exclusively to Celebritymate about her brand new
songs, living with success and where she keeps her Brit award... CM: How has life changed since the resounding success of 'Sleeping satellite'? Did it make your career easier or harder?  TA: The commercial success of Sleeping Satellite opened my eyes to a lot of things concerning the music business. At that level you are nothing more than a commodity to the record company... When the record became successful I was poorly prepared for the promotional schedule demanded by the company and suffered a minor breakdown as a consequence. The lack of real concern for my well being made me a lot tougher and in the five years or so I had with (record company) EMI after that, I stood my ground more on what I would and wouldn't do. It probably accelerated the termination of my contract in late '97 but by that time I'd just about had enough of record companies and the music business in general and I was glad to get out. The struggle with EMI to get them to release 'Bloom' in the form we had made it, their eventual acceptance of this and then their reluctance to promote it despite pretending otherwise had a profound effect on my attitude to the music business and - I'm not certain I've fully got over it yet. Having said that, I am grateful to the people who got behind me in the first place and helped make Sleeping Satellite a hit. The fact that that happened has afforded me a comfortable lifestyle. I'm not rich or anything but I don't have to worry too much about day to day bills and I have the freedom to decide what I do and don't want to do... CM: Although, 'Sleeping' was your break-through song, and 'Great Expectations' the album, you had been around for a long while before that... how did you finally make it? TA: Well, I - or rather we, myself and two writing partners/band members at the time - signed to EMI two years before we released Sleeping Satellite and Great Expectations. Prior to signing with EMI, I had been in many local bands and had been doing sessions in a local studio where I met John Hughes and John Beck. We wrote some songs, Sleeping satellite included, and did some demos. We sent the demos to various publishing and record companies and had the usual rejections including one from EMI. The publishing companies actually took more interest initially and one of these played the tapes to a manager, Ian McAndrew, who started to represent us and after various showcases and meetings we were offered a contract with EMI in the UK. In a nutshell - that's it, but as you can imagine there were many ups and downs along the way. CM: Where do you now keep your 1993 Brit Award for Best Newcomer...? A lot of actors keep their Oscars in the bathroom you know... TA: I keep my Brit Award in a kitchen cupboard to crack nuts with. Sometimes I use it to tenderize steak (smiles). CM: Was the music biz all you hoped it would be? Did it meet your 'great expectations'...? TA: The main conclusion I've come to about the music business is that it is a lot more to do with business than it is to do with music. CM: And what have you been up to as of late while away from the charts? TA: Before I made any records, I loved singing, writing tunes and making music. When I got the opportunity to make a living out of what I would have done and did do for nothing, I was in heaven! After I had success with Great Expectations and gone through everything that goes with the territory of a successful album, I thought that as an artist I'd try and expand my horizons, broaden my experience and do something a little different to what I'd done previously. I believed that it would make me better and my work would generally improve as a consequence. I was also under the impression that I had the support of the record company to do this and I believe I did for a while... By the time EMI got round to letting their option on my contract expire, I had lost all my enthusiasm for music. At that time the thought of making another record had absolutely no attraction to me whatsoever. Out of habit, I tried to keep writing but my heart wasn't in it and I got less and less interested so, by mid '98, I decided to take a complete break for a year which turned into nearly two. During this time, I read a lot, did some painting (very poorly), modeled clay and watched lots of football. Round about the middle of 2000, I began to feel like I really should be writing songs again but it wasn't to be as simple as that. I've never been a prolific writer but I thought after two years abstention the songs would flow - Not the case. My partner and I were completely blocked. It was a difficult time but we found out as much as we could about these types of blocks and ploughed our way through it over the next 9 months. Since then we've been concentrating on writing and recording our efforts. There's quite a lot of new material now and we are planning on making some of these recordings available for download within the next month or so. There are still a few decisions to be made like which tracks we'll make available and whether we'll give the whole project a new name/identity but there will be a link to it from www.tasminarcher.com when we are ready. These recordings aren't masters so depending on any reaction/feedback we get, we'll decide on the next step. CM: Have you missed the media attention? TA: It's quite bizarre going from being a fairly well known celebrity (at least in the UK) to being completely out of the public eye. Initially I suppose it's a bit of a dent to the ego but eventually it makes you realise how pointless that whole ego thing is. Of course, media attention is essential and very welcome in promoting any product but I certainly don't crave it for the sake of it. CM: On your website, there is a note saying that 'after a period of reflection, new Tasmin Archer material is in the pipeline.' May I be cheeky and ask you to share with us, what was reflected on and what was discovered/decided? TA: I'm constantly reflecting on what has gone before and what may or may not come as a result of what I do. When I put that comment on my site, it was around the time I decided to start writing again and it was a convenient way of not going into the details of why I had taken an extended break, which at the time I didn't really feel like explaining. I wasn't anticipating the block I came up against but the comment has remained valid so I haven't changed it. CM: So, you haven't been working on a new album all this time (since 1996), then? TA: We've been developing new material in earnest for about 18 months. There's obviously a lot more than will ever be included in any new album. A lot of stuff ends up on the cutting room floor so to speak. CM: What surprises have you got in store for listeners? And what have your influences been on this new work? TA: Releasing new material will surely be enough of a surprise (smiles). Influences? I'm influenced by everything I see, hear, feel, smell and taste. What comes out is what comes out. CM: When will the new music be available, and where can we see/hear you next? TA: I expect some of the recordings we've made to be available for download in the next month or so. We've done these recordings totally independently and whether this material is ever mastered and released through the 'normal channels' will depend on the reaction we get. We'll just have to see what happens... I'd really like to tour again but that is obviously very dependent on other things coming together. interview by T. Osborne |
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