MUSIC INTERVIEW: ELIZA DOOLITTLE

Born For Greatness, Embracing the Opportunity, Trying to Be Good

By: Team Buzzine

April 17, 2011

The artistic lineage of Eliza Sophie Caird (AKA Eliza Doolittle) is unimpeachable: Her grandmother (Sylvia Young) founded one of the UK’s most famous Theatre Schools, her father (John Caird) is a writer/director and Hononary Associate Director of the Royal Shakespeare Company, and her mother (Frances Ruffelle) is a Tony Award-winning stage actress famed for her role in Les Miserables. But Eliza’s own success is no less impressive – her effervescent self-titled, self-written debut album leapt into the UK charts last year at #3 (on the back of the hits “Skinny Genes” and “Pack Up”), and is finally released in the US this month. In the calm before the storm, Buzzine sat down with Eliza in Austin, Texas during the recent SXSW Music Festival to talk about singing in the shower, her talented family, and what’s bad about good music…

Stefan Goldby: Could we begin at the beginning?

Eliza Doolittle: I’m a singer and a songwriter, and I started writing when I was about 12 years old and just kept writing; started gigging when I was about 15. At that point, I had management and stuff, and then I got published when I was 16 for my songs.  I kind of was experimenting with music a lot, and I got signed about three years ago now for my record, which has been out in the UK for a little while, but I’m bringing it over here to the rest of the world, including America.

SG: You come from a very showbiz family, one way or another, going back to your grandmother Sylvia Young, who founded a very famous theatre school in the UK. It would’ve been very easy for you to have chosen the classic stage school route, but you didn’t. Why not?

ED: I did actually love the school when I was little; I used to go on Saturdays, but my mum and dad didn’t want me to be pushed into that business, so I went to a normal academic school, and they probably pushed me in the wrong direction, to be honest, because it made me want to do it more! Obviously I didn’t go down the theatre route, which is what my family does, but I think I was probably more influenced by what I saw on TV, whether it was Beyonce videos or Michael Jackson…some of my favorite artists and seeing them on music telly doing those amazing things, and I think that probably got me more into mainstream music than anything.

SG: We’re spending our week here in Austin talking to a wide variety of artists, and half of them have fairly elaborate tales of how torturous they find writing music, yet for you, it seems to come easy…

ED: I don’t find it torturous at all. I love writing. It’s probably a part of what I do and who I am as well as singing, and I enjoy it. I wouldn’t do it if I didn’t.

SG: Is it true that singing in the shower is actually a tried and tested way to start creating a song for you?

ED: The bathroom has such great acoustics, so sometimes I’ll be “la-la-la-ing” away and suddenly a song idea comes in my head. Actually, only one song has come out of it that I actually…I haven’t recorded it yet, but I’ve got almost all of it done in my head anyway, and I want to go record that as soon as I get a chance. I always get little riffs and little things and little ideas in the shower. But I get them everywhere. I’m constantly writing things down in my phone and recording little things on my phone, but it’s annoying when you’re in the shower and you’re all wet, and you don’t have any notepad with you in the shower… I’m probably going to have to do a Bill Gates and get some kind of technology in the shower so I can record everything.

SG: In the meantime, you had to record your debut album in a traditional music studio… is there a specific moment from that time that stands out in your mind more than the rest?

ED: When I wrote “Rollerblades,” that was the song where I really felt like “this is my sound” -- something new that I hadn’t heard before. And then everything I wrote after that was bearing that sound in mind, and the rest of the album is focusing in on that a bit. But of course all the other songs mean a lot to me in other ways too, but “Rollerblades” probably is the most significant because maybe, without that one, the others wouldn’t have been born, and I owe that one a drink or two, basically. 

SG: One of the things we like about the album is it does seem to blend different sounds from different decades. When you say you discovered your sound, was it a deliberate attempt to mix all those things?

ED: Basically, the songs, genre-wise, do come from different decades and things. I didn’t realize that, but since doing interviews and seeing people’s opinions of it, I have thought, “Well yeah, they do come from that bit and that bit and that bit,” but for me, the sound isn’t necessarily a genre, but there’s definitely something threaded through the whole album that is me and it’s my sound, and I can’t put my finger on it. I don’t really know what it is. I can’t describe it, but there’s definitely something in my head, and I know what it is in my head, but I can’t get it out into words. Well I haven’t been able to yet. I’ve really tried to think, “How can I describe it in words?” And it’s not like it’s anything particularly crazy that I can’t describe, but I don’t know why, I can’t describe it. I find it hard.

SG: Do you think it is because you grew up in such a multi-generational musical family? I would assume that all these musical cues were around you all the time…

ED: To be honest with you, my dad listens to classical music, and my mum listens to the charts – whatever is popular at the time – and I don’t know how much influence their music has had on me. I’ve done a lot of research myself growing up, and if I heard a name, I would look into it and see if I liked it, and then I would get into albums or if friends are talking about things… It’s probably more influence by friends and myself. I’ve influenced myself. [Laughs] No, just things that I would find myself and get into [rather] than what my mum and dad were listening to, because people do think, “Oh it must be your mum and dad,” because there are a lot of older influences in my music as well, but I got into stuff myself and, whether it was Carole King or Stevie Wonder or Aretha Franklin, obviously those are names you hear and you find out about the music, and as soon as I heard one of their songs, I’d go and buy three albums’ worth. I love it.

SG: Thinking about your debut album with a little bit of hindsight, what about it do you like the best?

ED: I don’t know. It’s really weird for me to actually think about what I like about my album. I think, for me, it’s just the fact that I have an album and that I’m finally getting my music out there and getting out what’s inside me. It’s all been cooped up, I guess, and it’s a great way to let it escape, and it’s exciting for me to have people hear it. I know it’s just in the UK and a little bit in Europe so far, but to have some recognition for it as well is really exciting and, selfishly, I love to perform and I really enjoy touring and getting my music heard. I’m not gonna lie – for completely selfish reasons – I absolutely love that. But also it’s exciting to know that my music can be heard in any country or anything. I love that.

SG: It’s been a little while since it came out in the UK, and obviously it did very well, so congratulations…But how is it now to be starting the circuit again? Is there something you learned from the first time around that you’re applying on a new lap here in America?

ED: The thing I’ve learned definitely is to be completely honest with yourself. Not that I wasn’t being honest before, but I used to get really tight in interviews and I was really scared of it all, and now I’m really like relaxed…that’s not necessarily learning; that’s probably a bit of experience and learning to let loose a bit, and everything I say is literally what’s on the tip of my tongue, and I think that’s definitely something I’ve learned from experience that I’ve had in the UK.

But over here, I don’t know how different that side of things is going to be, but I know it’s gonna be a lot of hard work, and I’m excited about starting from scratch really, and playing little venues that I actually enjoy playing much more than bigger venues, and I love that intimate setting, and I’m excited to do an American road-trip. That’s literally the number one thing on my list right now. All I want to do is a proper American road-trip tour on a bus with my stinky boys… No, they’re not stinky. They’ve got quite good hygiene, I think, but I’m imagining, on the American road-trip, we will let our hair down and get a bit greasy and rock & roll.

SG: How do you think it’s going to be? Bear in mind we will check back later and see how it was…

ED: I’m expecting…a lot of desert and a lot of diners…and this is from the movies, probably, in my head. And a lot of nothing, basically, and then every now and again you go to a city and have a good time. But I don’t really know what to expect. I’m just open-minded and gonna take it as I go. It’s the same as the whole experience really. I don’t know how things are gonna go any day. I’m just gonna have fun and enjoy myself.

SG: So, here we are at SXSW. What is it that you’re here to do specifically?

ED: SXSW is a great way to get started over here, I think, and to introduce myself. I know I’m going to have to introduce myself in loads of different ways around the country, but this is definitely a good way to do it, and there are great new bands everywhere and it’s a lot of fun, and I’m really excited to be here.  I’ve seen loads of great bands, as well as being able to perform myself.

SG: Has that been a big part of it for you – to have that crossover with people you already know? All these different artists and their different touring schedules, but this is one of those points where everyone’s schedules come together…

ED: I think that’s one of the things that’s really lovely, is you get to see the most random people talking to each other, like a metal band with a hip-hop artist and they’re gonna start doing a collaboration and all sorts of things. I think these events are where some real magic happens, and the energy is amazing, whether it’s artists connecting/collaborating or whether it’s watching bands or performing, or whatever it is that anyone’s doing, whether it’s getting drunk – whatever it is, the energy is amazing. You walk down the street and you can’t help but have a massive grin on your face. I don’t know what it is.  It’s the same with Glastonbury. It’s loads of people coming together from all around the world and wanting to have a good time. That’s what every day should be, basically, but it’s not, and I think it’s really nice. These moments are what life’s about, I think.

SG: In a town with a thousand bands…why should they come spend an hour of their time seeing you? [Smiles]

ED: ‘Cause I’m great. [Laughs] No. Well yeah, I mean, obviously…I don’t really know how to say that, but I think people should just come and check my music. I know that that’s what everyone is here to do – to check out new bands, and I’m definitely one to check out. I just think they should.

SG: What would you like someone to does come and see you for the first time here to walk away thinking? What would you consider job done?

ED: That they think my music is great. That would be great. I can say “great” a lot. [Laughs] Great.

SG: You’ve had a very interesting last couple of years…what has been the most fun, pinch-yourself rock-star moment?

ED: To be honest with you, the MTV Woodies was pretty fun, and I was sitting next to OddFuture, who I’m in awe of at the moment. I think they’re sick. And then Amber Rose walked in and she’s hot, and…those are pinch-myself moments. There have been a few of those in the UK, but I haven’t had that many, to be honest. I’ve got my head very far down, working hard, and I think before I let those moments sink in, I’ve got to work really hard, and I’ve still got a lot of work to do.

SG: As a workaholic, where does that leave you?

ED: The wheel is always spinning. I am a bit of a workaholic. I feel like, while I’ve got this opportunity, I might as well make the most out of it, and I would regret it if I didn’t. Even if I’ve got a spare evening, I’m usually going to go to the studio, and I’m always writing, I’m always thinking about what’s coming next, and I’ve got these ideas inside me. I’ve got to get them out; otherwise they’ll make my brain explode. So I’m just gonna keep doing that, as well as, obviously, promoting this album. And I know, because it’s my first record, it’s going to take longer than any other record I probably ever release to promote and get people hearing it because I’m brand new in most places, so I think I’ve obviously got to really focus hard on that, because if I don’t, I won’t have an opportunity for the second and third and fourth records. So at the same time, I’m always thinking forward but obviously got to stay in the present.

SG: It does all sounds like a lot of work…can we just check: You are having fun, right?

ED: Of course I am. I don’t mean that I’m not enjoying it – I’m loving it. I’ve got to try to be good as well, and I’m not that rock & roll anyway, but I’m trying to get back to the hotel and rest my voice and be good. I do like seeing good music, so that’s annoying because what’s bad about seeing good music is you start singing along, and it’s really loud, and the your voice starts getting scratchy…I carry these little vocal lozenges like Strepsils with me. I’m trying to be good, but it’s hard…

Eliza Doolittle's self-titled debut album is out now on Capitol Records/EMI Music.