ROCK ME GENTLY!
December 2006
IRA LOSCO : UNMASKED
We all know the girl can rock, but that she can also do so gently yet
just as effectively must surely offer Ira Losco new opportunities to
consider and broader prospects to aspire to! Music correspondent Michael
Bugeja writes about her latest album, Unmasked, and gets her to tell us
what inspired it, amongst other things!
2006 has certainly been an eventful year for Ira Losco. She ended it by
winning not just one, but three awards at the Bay Music Awards – Best
Solo Artist, Best Single and Viewer’s Choice. Her hugely successful
Accident Prone album consolidated her standing as Malta’s top pop
artist, freeing her from the softer clutches of 2004’s Someone Else and
elevating her into pop-rock terrain. Given this harder-edged trajectory,
it was therefore something of a surprise that her latest outing is in
fact, an ‘unplugged’ album!
Unmasked, launched to a full house at Axis with a vibrant live
performance, is a ten-track project that reflects several aspects of
Losco’s influences and aspirations as much as it does the talent and
versatility of her backing band, including new recruit Eva Julia, whose
cello playing proved to be extremely effective. One half of the album’s
content is lifted off her two more recent albums, including
stripped-down versions of crowd favourites such as Love Me Or Hate Me,
Don’t Wanna Talk About It and Driving One Of Your Cars, the tune that
clinched the Best Single title at this year’s BMA’s. These unplugged
(and to some extent, re-arranged) versions strongly reflect the acoustic
trait dictating the bulk of this record’s direction. However, it is
actually the other five tracks that give the album its lasting effect.
Along with the two new original numbers, it was definitely a good idea
to include cover versions. Actually ‘reworking’ is probably the word I
should be using here, given Ira’s integral re-interpretation of songs by
The Cure and Soft Cell. On Cyndi Lauper’s Time After Time, Ira applies a
more or less conventional acoustic delivery that verges on melancholy,
but there’s nothing conventional about her interpretations of Lovesong
and Bedsitter. Both songs serve as a convenient vehicle for her to
explore new challenges and develop her vocal style. The exercise sounds
like it worked a treat too, as both of Ira’s new compositions, namely
Winter Day and Arms Of The Ones (both written with Howard Keith) – echo
this fresh approach in their simple but solid structure. The end result
then, is more than satisfactory, revealing Ira Losco as an artist on
more than one level and geared up for the next step forward. This is
what the young lady had to say about it all…
Q. Aside from a little Katie Melua influence, what else brought about
the shift from electric to acoustic for this album?
More than Katie Melua as an influence, I must say it was probably the
unplugged shows we did in Germany supporting Katie. The feedback was out
of this world and we all thought that this is something that can work.
The 90s boasted some great unplugged shows through MTV. The memorable
one being Nirvana, which always kept lingering at the back of my mind,
gave me the inspiration to do an unplugged album. Needless to say Tori
Amos 'unplugged' is also an inspiration, and let’s face it Alanis
Morissette's performances are breath-taking.
Q. How do you feel Ira Losco the songwriter has evolved from the
Someone Else album to Winter Day and Arms of the Ones?
That's something very hard for me to answer. However I think it's normal
for an artist to evolve and try out different things. I hope to have
evolved into a better songwriter.... but I still like songs I've written
in the past like Love Me Or Hate Me. Having great chemistry with a
song-writing partner is very important. Howard and myself are always on
the same wavelength and this makes the songs more honest.
Q. Your choice of covers is interesting, but there must have been
loads to choose from. How did you finally decide which ones to include?
Absolutely loads...YOU'RE RIGHT! However the concept we had was clear
from the beginning. I wanted to cover some 80s songs, which of course
bring out some interesting moods when done unplugged. I'm not a fan of
covering songs for the sake of covering and having a carbon copy. I
believe unless you make the song yours it’s pointless. The Cure is one
of my favourite bands of all time and I felt at home doing Lovesong. I
am really happy with the outcome of Soft Cell’s Bedsitter. At the album
launch we also performed Sweet Child O’ Mine and a merged version of
These Boots Were Made For Walking by Nancy Sinatra and Lust for Life
from the master himself - Iggy Pop - but we haven't recorded these
tracks yet...maybe in the future!
Q. Did it cross your mind to perhaps re-work an old Tiara song for
this album?
Howard had mentioned this to me; whilst on tour in Germany there was
this song that really reminded me of 'Basketball' from Tiara. You never
know... I always liked what we did with Tiara.
Q. In the space of a few years, your career has progressed at a fast
pace. Looking back, what has been the best part of it?
Every time we write a great song it always seems to be the best part but
the feeling on stage is an unbeatable feeling. Touring is definitely the
best part of it. However it seems to be getting more special each time
we hit the stage. The BMA’s performance was an electrifying moment that
I won't forget.
Q. And the worst?
I guess we all need some bad moments in our lives to make us appreciate
the good ones. Probably the worst one was the when there was a lot of
tension caused because of some previous band members and previous
management partners. It's all in the past now and forgotten. The last
year has been absolutely great.
Q. Describe yourself in five words.
Ambitious, confident, loving, friendly and determined!
Q. You've become something of a pop icon on the local scene. How does
that feel?
I always remind myself not to take these things too seriously. (I)
remind myself where I came from and (try to) help others the way others
have helped me... (It) keeps me well grounded.
Q. Last but not least, what's on the cards for 2007 for Ira Losco?
I had to cancel two weeks of shows during the Christmas period because I
got quite
sick and I needed to catch up on my rest. This year has been extremely
busy, but 2007 will be even more jam-packed. I feel I owe it to my fans
to keep going…
I was lucky enough to have a small break from my commitments abroad as
there was the World Cup in Germany. The timing was perfect. In fact we
were offered a tour with Bon Jovi but I doubt it would have worked in
the World Cup period. This gave us time to be in the studio and plan out
a whole two-year schedule. All I can say is that we have more than one
release planned out and a very special event for 2007.
Recommended weblink:
www.iralosco.com
