We interview Josie Field on her latest album 1984, and how she got to album number 3.

What has been the most important moment in your career to date?

I think it's been a collection of points. You get to one thing and it takes you to the next level or stepping stone. Firstly, having recorded the first album [Mercury] in 2006  and having it come out. As an artist, people don't take you seriously but if you've got product, something you can actually show them then all of a sudden the idea changes, and they take you seriously. I think that's the first [important moment] and probably the biggest one.
 

Why do you choose to be a singer-songwriter instead of forming a band.

Well I was in a band in high school. They actually kicked me out! I think they were trying to do a "guy" band. They wanted male vocals - they wanted to go down a different path. I couldn't help them with that (laughs), so I left. I started my own thing, which suited me very well - I was writing songs all along - and [the band] didn't want to do my songs. I wanted to be able to write and perform my own stuff.

You collaborated with Arno Carstens on one of the songs from your new album. Did you co-write the song?

I wrote the song, and Kevin [Leicher] (producer on all 3 of Josie Field's records), who I work closely with in his studio, Dark Star Studio, often writes parts for the songs that I can't quite get. I had that song, and I brought it to him and we started working on it together - then we thought wouldn't it be nice if we could get Arno to do a song. I never thought of that song as a duet. But we tried it and it worked so well - this question / answer way of doing it. I'm very pleased with it.
 

Are there plans for you to perform the song on stage together?

Ah man, I'd love that. The guy is so busy, it's just a question of tying him down. He kind of owes me a favour. He's doing a bit of experimental stuff as well with duets, and he wants to put together a duets album. I was doing some demos with him for two of his tracks, then I thought "Hmmm... Come sing on my song" (laughs).
 

"You have to go through this internal process of being very alone, and finding exactly what it is that I want to say."
Josie, on coming up with new material for an album.

A lot of artists write many songs for an album. How many did you write and what was the process involved in whittling them down?

I love writing songs, but it's not like I can come up with one on a daily basis. You have to go through this internal process of being very alone, and finding exactly what it is that I want to say. I usually write about eighteen to twenty tracks, and then we whittle it down to twelve, but I always like to put more on than less, make it worth people's money (laughs).

Your new album 1984 has been described as radio-friendly, but in contrast, has also been described as edgy and experimental. How do you balance the experimental with the accessible in one album?

I have no clue! I don't think about that. For me, I write songs because I love writing songs. We produce the songs in a way that works for each song. We don't think "OK this is the type of album we want to make." I don't like to think about what other people would like. That's not why I do what I do.

I would imagine that thinking about what other people like could create the potential for writer's block.

Yeah, it's highly destructive. A lot of artists obviously deal with that on a daily basis.  If it's your first piece of art it's fine, but then you get to the next one and you ask "Is it as good as the last one? What are we going to do? Have I lost it?" It's so hard to block that out, but at the end of the day, you've got to. There's no other way of being yourself, and expressing yourself.
 

Having poured so much of yourself into what you do for a living, do you still see it as a job?

I totally see it as a job. Some people, they go to work 9 to 5.  They do something that they're not that interested in, but they're good at it. And then they go home, and they switch off from the work stuff. But [as a musician] you can't switch it off, because you could get a call at midnight, someone asking for something, and you do it because you're the boss. It can be quite frazzling but I love it. It's my passion. I can't see myself doing anything else. There are times when I wish I had a salary (laughs). There are times I wish I could go on holiday and never play a guitar again, because it can get intense. There's a business side and a musical side. People often forget. You can't do one without the other.
 

"There's so much stuff happening... I think we should support our artists a lot more."

Are there any specific influences for this album or notable albums you were listening to around the time of writing the songs?
 

I've got quite a big collection of music, but it's mostly old stuff. At the time of writing [1984] I wasn't listening to anything unusually new. Two songs on this album, Soul Searching and Sunshine, are particularly soulish. I was very inspired by Otis Redding, and other soul singers. Country started on the last record [and features on 1984], and that was due to Dolly Parton.

We've spoken to unsigned artists about the benefits of being signed. What do you see as the greatest benefit, and do you miss being independent?

(laughs) Very much so. I've just finished with Gallo. I did a three album deal. I've never actually been independent, so I never knew what that was like. I didn't have the money to record an album, so Gallo paid for it. It's enabled me to make albums, which is obviously extremely beneficial. But if you can afford to record your own stuff from day one, do it. I don't own any of my material.  I got it done the way that I wanted it done, but it's not always like that. Often you sign with a label and they'll put you in with a producer that they think will work well, and they expect you to make magic, which isn't how it works.
 

Are your feelings about the music industry now optimistic?

Yeah, it's a lot of work in general being a South African artist. But it's great, and there's so much stuff happening. There are so many fantastic artists coming on to the scene now. That's what I love. I love supporting South African music and going to watch bands on my Friday night off, and seeing what's popular. I think we should support our artists a lot more.
 

Beatles or Rolling Stones?

Well you can't decide. I like them for different reasons. Both great. I like the Rolling Stones's image and live act, from a theatrical point of view. And obviously the songs are great. The Beatles are so respectable to me because - take 3 simple chords and see how many songs you can write. It's an astounding amount of simplicity. That to me is fascinating. It just shows you that the public didn't want anything complicated. The way that our minds work - the simpler the better, the easier to understand the more enjoyable.