Official Catch Up - Part 4

And you're still as excited by music?
Oh, completely. I think I've really made a conscious effort to still be a fan of music, rather than one of those veteran pop stars who forget what a brilliant job it is. I want to still be excited about it. Although I do quite like it when I go out and meet younger bands and they treat me like this really worldly musician with all this experience.

What advice do you pass on?
I just try to encourage people not to be cynical about it. Because of shows like X Factor people think they know how it all works and that it's always a record company making decisions for you. And actually, I don't think labels are inherently evil. If you've got your own creative ideas, they're happy to go with them. There's a lot more scopes for artists to make their own creative decisions than people might imagine.

@X_In_My_Arms_X would like to know who you'd compare the sound of the new album to.
Um... I don't really know. I suppose the single has a slightly Pet Shop Boys feel to it. I can hear that in there. But I think it depends on the different people I've collaborated with. The Calvin Harris one has definitely got his fingerprints on it. And the one with Joe from Metronomy has kept the sound evolving and pushing on.

So all the collaborations you've talked about in the last year or two are on the album?
Pretty much, yeah. And some quite unexpected ones too. I did a trance song with this guy called Armin van Buuren which is like fairground trance.

That sounds like a departure.
Yeah, a real departure! But I absolutely love it.

Finally, @Barrie14 asks "Stockings or tights?"
Tights. I can't be bothered with stockings, too fiddly. But that's quite a personal question, isn't it Barrie?

SOURCE: SEB.net