Hawke takes flight
It’s only been a few short months since I last interviewed Ladyhawke, aka Pip Brown, but in that time, a lot has changed for the New Zealand native. She’s released the album of the year to unanimous critical praise, but has also found herself the focus of some negative media attention.
The album’s success has been a proud achievement for Brown.
It’s funny because this is more than I thought I’d ever do in my life. When I first started calling myself Ladyhawke, I thought I’d write a bunch of songs and release them on an indie label in Australia. I really did not expect this to happen, she told Sydney Star Observer from her new home in London.
But for some people, my album failed because it didn’t sell as many as they thought it would. It really cuts me when people say stuff like that to me.
The album is a lush, romantic piece work, culminating in an epic, guitar-laden power ballad called Morning Dreams. Brown admitted that she’s something of an idealist in life as well as music.
I’m a daydreamer from way back -” it’s one of my pastimes. My friends call it when I -˜go away’, my eyes glaze over and I’m gone. Inside my head, there’s my own perfect little existence happening, no matter what’s happening on the outside.
Her perfect existence was ruptured recently when she told an interviewer she’d been diagnosed with a mild form of Asperger’s syndrome, the same form of autism afflicting Vines frontman Craig Nicholls. She’d since expressed regret over the admission.
It’s something I hate talking about now, she said wearily.
I’m really naïve and I wish I had’ve thought more before I opened my mouth. The guy I was talking to, his son had Asperger’s, and I was just relating my experiences of it. Then it became the whole focus of the story. Now I’m disassociating myself from it -” I didn’t want to put myself out there for everyone to see. I feel a bit naked now, and that’s exactly the opposite of how I want to feel.
Brown has also copped some flak for her live performances. While she makes no bones about her stage fright, some have found the Ladyhawke live show a tad underwhelming compared to the dizzying highs of her album. She explained she was learning to conquer her nerves.
I find that I’m my most nervous when I know the crowd’s not there to see me. If I’m supporting another band, I always have this thing where I think the audience wants me off the stage. Even when I do my own show, I don’t really crack a million jokes and run around on stage. I pretty much stand there and do the songs, she laughed.
That was all she needed to do to land a place on UK indie bible NME’s annual Cool List. While the very idea of ranking the coolest people in the world is arguably deeply uncool, Ladyhawke found herself a new entry on the top 50 -” at number six. Gotta be disappointed you weren’t even top five, I teased.
Oh my God, come on -” the chick from Crystal Castles, number one? she laughed.
Me, number six -” I was shocked! I haven’t seen the article. The first I heard about it was when someone in my family texted me to say, -˜soooo …. think you’re pretty cool?’
info: Ladyhawke plays Nevereverland on December 13. Details: www.ladyhawkemusic.com
