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Sophie Koh.
She's very polite about it, but surely Sophie Koh doesn't have
time to speak to upstart journalists about her upcoming gig
at an industry showcase: this woman's got art to make. "I'm
just sitting here with my video crew," she explains when I ask
whether she's awash in the romance of the season as we speak
on the morning of Valentine's Day. "We're gonna shoot a video
for Silly Thing, so we're having a production meeting."
Well, production meetings can still be catalysts for romance, surely? A furtive glance across a timesheet; a suggestively polished lens; delicious ambiguous calls for "action!"? "No, no," she assures me. "Oh, but there's a love interest in the video. So yeah, I am trying to bond with my love interest." What did I tell you?
Ms Koh's new single boasts a handful of new songs (plus a solo
acoustic rendition of Radiohead's Creep) which she suggests
provide something of a pointer toward her next direction. "They
were only recorded a few weeks ago, though I've been performing
these songs live at gigs for the last year or so. I decided
to put them down finally on this EP, and they're there to support
Silly Thing but I also just wanted to get some new recordings
out that are a bit more fresh than the album, just to keep people
in touch with what I'm doing at the moment. I think the next
record will be a bit more raw, with a bit more acoustic guitar
and a bit more lyrical in the voicings - a bit more country,
a bit of piano..." she trails off with a laugh. "But I haven't
actually given a lot of thought to the next album."
She's reveals that she's been fielding offers from several producers, whom she coquettishly declines to name, but confesses to having her own wishlist. "I'd love to work with someone like Mitchell Froom or Tchad Blake, who did lots of stuff with Crowded House," she confesses. "Actually, I saw an interview with Mitchell Froom where he was talking about how he works, and it was almost exactly like Richard [Pleasance, who produced Koh's album]. I had to ring him up and tell him right away."
Given that the single landed on my desk before our chat I'm confused as to what the timeline is. Surely a video should have been shot ages ago? "The song's not at radio yet, and the EP is out in shops at the end of [February], and this is a pretty low budget clip so we can do it pretty quickly. It's a very small crew."
In fact, Koh is set to be both star and caterer for the clip, although she seems disappointingly ill-prepared for her second responsibility. "Well, it's just going to be trying to feed masses of people, so it'll just be sandwiches and hot water and ice - just in case it's hot or cold," she ponders. "I think it's very important to keep the crew happy. After all, some of them are doing it for no money, so you have to at least feed them."
Once her cinematic and culinary obligations have been met, Koh will be able to focus on her imminent Adelaide visit to play the Fuse On Stage Export Ready showcase. "I've played the Fuse festival twice in the last few years - first as the Northern Territory delegate, then as a Victorian one, but now I'm part of the showcase, which is a step up. It was an invite-only thing: I think they looked up the website and gave my manager a call - I didn't even know Fuse had a showcase!"
Since she's already signed to the nation's largest independent label and has a regular touring schedule, she's definitely in the top bracket of the showcase performers. However, she's relishing the opportunity to see some of the other artists and definitely has her favourites to catch on the night, expressing her particular enthusiasm for our local boys Pharaohs, "and the Panda Band from WA, and the Boat People from Brisbane - hey, I'm in good company!" she laughs.
Andrew P Street
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Sophie Koh plays at the Fuse On Stage Export-Ready Showcase on Wed 1 March at the East End Exchange with True Live, Pharaohs, Legless, The Boat People, Before The Aftermath, The Panda Band, FourPlay, Little Ice Age and more. Silly Thing is out now through Shock.
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