 | | Fiona Renshaw |
Born in Australia and raised in London, she always sang for herself, but it wasn鈥檛 until she landed in Manchester that she really found her voice, in the open mic nights around town. As a result, she says she owes the city everything. "I absolutely love Manchester. Manchester is where my heart is. It鈥檚 massively important to my music. The thing about the place is that it鈥檚 very cosmopolitan and there鈥檚 lots of stuff going on, but it鈥檚 small enough to be able to get around. "But it鈥檚 the people that make it. Everyone鈥檚 really up for it. I used to run clubs and everyone would go to everyone else鈥檚 clubs. We鈥檇 all be dancing, there鈥檇 be so many different sorts of music, and there鈥檇 be cross-pollination, a real eclectic mix of things going on.鈥 There鈥檚 no doubt that Fiona鈥檚 felt that eclecticism. In her time, she鈥檚 DJed at Dry Bar, worked the door at both Sankeys Soap and the Paradise Factory, and provided vocals for Mr Scruff. It鈥檚 those experiences that now feed her music, a music she describes as "rock and soul". That and a desire not to have to start all over again. Music in a bubble After all, this isn鈥檛 the first time Fiona鈥檚 come close to success. She was originally spotted by no less than Alan McGee, founder of Creation Records and the man who discovered Oasis. However, the assimilation of Creation into Sony led to Fiona being dropped.
 | | Fiona Renshaw |
Undeterred, she decided to build her own studio, write an armful of new songs and record an album. The results, Love In A Bubble, garnered praise and comparisons with such a diverse selection of artists as Joan Armatrading, Gil Scott-Heron and Amy Winehouse. Rather than getting carried away, Fiona simply tucked the achievement under her belt and pushed on, taking the lessons of the journey to Love鈥 had taught her with her, lessons that she put into practice for her new album, which shows its first buds in the deep soul of the Blood, Sweat And Tears EP. "I concentrate on the music. We did well critically with the last album, but I don鈥檛 get my hopes up, because I can鈥檛 cope with them being floored again. It鈥檚 a case of doing the work, doing the thing you love to do the way you want to do it. "Everyone will have an opinion about what I ought to be doing and the way I ought to do it, and the only thing I really can be is me. That鈥檚 really the major thing I took from the last album. | "I鈥檝e no desire whatsoever of being an auteur. If I think I know it all and I can do it all myself, I鈥檝e stopped learning." | | Fiona Renshaw on why she works with other musicians |
"I鈥檝e brought the lessons of songwriting with me too. Hopefully, my songs have improved over time. They鈥檙e a little bit less textual, a little more simplistic and there鈥檚 more strength to the songs." Helping hands That songwriting has been helped by the people she鈥檚 worked with. Ever a collaborator, she freely admits that she prefers to work with other people, rather than on her own. "I think when you write with other people, you bring your thing, they bring theirs and it becomes so much more than either of you could have envisaged it as being. Music is a conversation, be that between me and my instrument or me and other people, and I love that. "The best thing is just meeting other creative people to bounce ideas off. Also, you learn new things. It鈥檚 great for picking hints and tips. I鈥檝e no desire whatsoever of being an auteur. If I think I know it all and I can do it all myself, I鈥檝e stopped learning, and learning is what I really enjoy. Finding new ways of writing and singing."
 | | Fiona Renshaw |
Given the list of her collaborators, there鈥檚 little surprise she enjoys it so much. Not only has she worked with Lisa Stansfield and the aforementioned Mr Scruff, in her new sessions, she鈥檚 had Trevor Horn and Lol Creme involved. Thankfully, she doesn鈥檛 get star struck easily. "Sometimes you walk into the room and you鈥檙e like 鈥榦h my god! How do I鈥︹ But it鈥檚 just for a few moments, because people are people. They鈥檙e fantastic people, but they are just people. "If I met Janis Joplin or Billie Holliday or John Martyn, then I鈥檇 be floored, because they鈥檙e my real idols. I鈥檇 be totally tongue-tied. "That said, walking into the big shiny studios does make me feel neurotic. It鈥檚 all glass and chrome and very expensive, and I always think 鈥榙on鈥檛 touch anything, you might break it!鈥 But it鈥檚 ok." With success on the horizon and a voice and songs like hers, she might just have to get used to that particular neurosis. Blood, Sweat and Tears EP is out on Virago Records on Monday 4 June. | 
