Official Catch-up, and a few other things

So..Sophie HQ caught up with her. And they had a little chat about the current situation, the album and tour plans:

Hi Sophie, how are you?
I'm good thanks. I'm at Koko filming Koko Pops and the Album Chart Show. I'm doing a couple of songs in a bit.

So, the new album is announced! That's pretty exciting.
Yeah, the whole thing is exciting. I'm the boss lady this time around.

What's your label called?
It's called EBGB's. A bit like CBGB's in New York, but as in Ellis-Bextor Great Britain.

Ah, very clever!
Why thank you. I actually used it as the production company name when I did my live DVD way back in 2002.

So, you're a businesswoman now.
I guess I am, yes! But only my own business. People have been asking if I'm going to sign other acts, but it's all about getting my record out at the moment.

And, from a fan's point of view, they won't really notice the difference?
Not at all. But I get to be involved in everything. Don't get me wrong, I had a wonderful 10 years with Universal, but doing it this way does feel like the reward for the hard work, because there's a lot of things about the traditional record company model that don't really work that well for an artist. It's great to be able to get your own team and do it yourself.

Does it mean you're taking a financial risk?
Well, in a lot of ways it's financially beneficial. You have to sell a lot less albums to make a living when you do it this way.

That all sounds great.
Yeah, it's really cool. And a lot of people have been doing it this way for a while. Eminem apparently does it this way, and Mumford & Sons made their album on their own label, then licensed it to Island. So it's not a new phenomenon, but I do think we'll see it happening more and more.

Will there be EBGB's merchandise?
Well, I am in the process of setting up an online shop, cos I haven't really done anything like that for a while. So there could be.
And the album is out in a matter of weeks.
Yeah, it's all coming together now. I can understand why some of the fans were occasionally a little disgruntled that it felt like I wasn't just getting on with putting my album out, but really what we've managed to achieve in the last 12 months is pretty good.

And you're happy with the album itself?
Really happy. I got it mastered recently and it's great just hearing it all together. I think it's really cohesive and consistent, and I'm really proud of all the songs. But then I'm probably a bit biased!

Do you have a current favourite track?
Well Starlight, which is the single, has always been one I love, just because it's got that wistful, melancholy mood, which I always love in pop music. It's that sort of happy sad feeling. I'm a big fan of that.

That song's about halfway into the album - how hard do you think about the tracklisting?
Oh you definitely have to get the whole dynamic of the record so that it works. Some songs just don't work next to each other.

Why did you pick Cut Straight To The Heart as the final song?
Because it's epic and dramatic and it's got a really long outro. That's the mood you should be left with.

You've got a whole bunch of shows lined up for the summer. Are you looking forward to them?
Very much so. I think the forest tour with Erasure should be really fun. The Feeling did the same tour a couple of years ago and I went along to some of those. It was really idyllic and everyone was in holiday mode.

Have you met Erasure before?
I haven't actually. But I'm definitely a fan. It should be really fun.

Will you play some new stuff at those shows?
Oh absolutely. I always try to do a good cross-section of the contemporary stuff and then the singles. I try and think what I would want to hear if I was going to the show.

Sophie and Mr. PopJustice had a little Twittersation:

PopJustice: Song Of The Day: Sophie Ellis-Bextor - 'Synchronised' http://bit.ly/mUsQHC
@Popjustice are you working your way through my album?
@SophieEB That is a secret I am afraid.
@Popjustice I need to know if they'll be more before I get 'a 1/3 of this album has been SOTD on Popjustice' stickers printed up for the CD.
@SophieEB Is this any help http://t.co/DUxKEhZ
@Popjustice ok will change sticker to : '10/14 songs rated 4* or higher by Popjustice (this information was correct at time of printing)'

Unfortunately, i also came across this:

@SophieEB doll will we get a b-side for the Starlight single? :) xx
@UltimateDisco wonderful remixes

Sigh! WE WANT A B-SIDE!


Oh, and Mr. PJ also rated all the songs on the album. He's got most of it right. Except, Make A Scene deserves 5 Stars and Cut Straight To The Heart deserves 4.5 stars.

LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST WITH MR. PJ'S SCREENSHOT: http://www.popjustice.com/index.php?option=com_content&task=view&id=5417&Itemid=206
LINK TO THE ORIGINAL POST WITH THE SOPHIE HQ INTERVIEW: http://www.sophieellisbextor.net/news?id=333