David Gray Interview

05 October 2009

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David Gray is perhaps better known by his head dancing and the album White Ladder, which my dad played over and over when I was growing up. But as he prepared to unleash his new recording, Draw The Line on the public, I caught up with David to find out what he’d been up to during his break.

Hey David, you’re getting ready to release your long awaited new album Draw The Line next month, can you tell us a bit about it we‘re excited!?

Have you heard it yet? [No] Great, I can just make it all up then! Haha! No, it’s full of energy and it’s got a different mood and attitude to it than my other stuff. I took a wrecking ball to what I had before and built everything again from the ground up in the time that I have taken.

This has given the music a new lease of life and where my music has been a little introspective for a while, with this record it has changed and it’s much more outward and extravagant. It’s just very direct so it doesn’t say ‘please be quite and listen to me’ this just comes right at you, I’m looking the world squarely in the eye on this record.

The new single from that is, ‘Fugitive’, so why are you releasing that track now?

Well it wasn’t really down to me, everyone was in agreement so if everyone agrees you can either think that there’s something wrong of they have a good point, and everyone loved that song so we decided to start with that one.

It’s got Annie Lennox guesting on it, who is a favourite of mine… what was it like working with her?

She was super-positive and there was no ego or nonsense with her, she just came in and gave it absolutely everything. She sings on Full Steam, the last song on the album and she just lifted the whole thing right up. She has so much zest and energy in her voice it was just brilliant.

Now, you’re so well known for the album, White Ladder, which is the biggest selling album ever in Ireland… do you think you can replicate this with the new record?

Well, I think we’ll just have to wait and see, I think the world has changed a lot in the past 10 years, so whilst White Ladder sold nearly 3 million copies in this country alone, but now, I think the equivalent of that would be to sell 1.5 million, and in the numbers game that everyone plays, I don’t think it’s going to make the same mark, it’s not the same kind of record.

This one has a lot more attitude and a lot more edge, but I just think it’s going to register a lot better with everyone and change the perception of me. I don’t think that White Ladder will always cast a shadow across my career because it was the moment that everyone got to know me and took me into their hearts, it was a very mellow record which was really easy to listen to, but this one is more challenging!

It doesn’t go on some crazy deviation but it’s a little more cerebral and thoughtful, but measuring everything against White Ladder it’s obviously going to be a miserable failure! Haha, no, it could really astound everybody  and become the record of the year. I think it has something special and there is something in the air at the moment and things look as though  they are coming together.

So do you think the changes that have taken place in the record industry since you’ve been away have been for the better or worse?

Well, it’s to see a plus side  to all the downloading - as a musician it’s my job to sell records, but in terms of getting your music out there, it’s never been easier. There is more music out there and more people listening to things - so technically, the value of music has never been higher, but the price has never been lower.

It‘s really due to the growth and competence of the music industry itself which totally didn’t see it coming and was too busy thinking of other things and shot itself in the foot about a dozen times.

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