Q&A

Q: How did you get to work with Vangelis? And how did this collaboration take place?
A: We were with the same record company and Vangelis was given my record and asked if I would like to collaborate with him. I flew to Athens with my cello and we had dinner and then got down to work that evening - he wrote several pieces for me to choose from and I loved the one that became "Come to Me" best. I wake very early, so I was writing lyrics at 7am next morning and very soon we had the song finished.

Q: Did you record more together than what appeared on the voices album?
A: There are a few more songs that we did. I remember one particularly was gorgeous.

Q: Can you shed any light on the lyrics you wrote for "Come To Me"?
A: "Come to Me" is a poem I wrote about someone who is in love with somebody, unfortunately attached, so the only way they can meet is in dreams, otherwise they will be talked about, and the honour of their feelings would be destroyed.

Q: Was working with Vangelis (on "Voices") very different from working with William Orbit (on "Spirit"), considering both have put their significant marks on the electronic side of music?
A: They were very different. Vangelis is first and foremost a remarkable player of the keyboard; he then, because of his affinity with the equipment becomes a remarkable player of the orchestra. William is incredible at building things up from ideas, samples and real players and he uses his skills at the keyboard and guitar in a less central way to Vangelis.

Q: It's been five years since "Spirit", where have you been?
A: All over the world, touring with bands and writing music.

Q: With your new album, "Brilliant Midnight", you seem to have moved slightly away from the sweet Enya-esque feeling that both your first solo album "Spirit" and your track on "Voices" showcased. Are you changing directions, and why?
A: Maybe I'm not as sweet as you might suppose! I don't feel I'm changing directions, just going further in my own musical direction. Because I produced this record, you will feel more of the true essence of the songs as they feel to me.

Q: You sing on your albums, but you're also a celebrated cellist. Do you feel the conventional lead role of the voice in music might suppress the role of your cello?
A: No, I don't feel they are mutually exclusive in any way; on Spirit I was a little concerned that I might be viewed as a cello player who sang, rather than 'a singer', so I consciously put less cello on it than a cellist's record might have been expected to have. However, with Brilliant Midnight I have no such fears and there's cello everywhere!

Q: Do you have any plans for your musical future?
A: Many. At the moment I am writing music for a record which will be called 'Lost Voices of World War I' which are settings in the original languages of poems written by men who died between 1914-18. It is a long and sometimes arduous process as I have to learn poems (coached by native speakers) in Armenian, Serbian, German, French, Bulgarian, Polish and thankfully, also English! Also, between times I am writing songs for the next record in the series after Brilliant Midnight.