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Emma Bunton
Interview - Emma
Bunton
2003
Don't
Call Her Baby !
As Madison Avenue might say, "don't call her baby." Emma Bunton
has grown up from Baby Spice to become a solo star in her own right. With
an international flavor and Motown influences, her new album is full of dynamic
songs and wonderful melodies. Emma loves to dance and it shows with her embracing
of club and remix culture.
DJ Ron Slomowicz:
Let's start at the beginning. I love this album, it's so beautiful.
Emma Bunton: Oh bless you, thank you so much.
DJ Ron: What
was your inspiration with making this album?
Emma Bunton: Lots of things really. I had so much feedback from my fans and
from people who really supported me, saying we want to hear an album and that
was amazing to have the support from them. So I was in the studio and I had
so much fun with it and was really excited about doing this album. My influences
musically came from the 60s. I'm a huge fan of Dusty Springfield, Marvin Gaye
and Diana Ross and I wanted to take little bits of that and make my own album.
But the way I did it was to have all the musicians come into the studio and
do everything live. It was so exciting to watch everyone and see it all happening.
It was amazing.
DJ Ron: From
Baby Spice to classy lady, how has your song selection reflected your growth?
Emma Bunton: I write all my own lyrics and melodies and I wanted to show my
fans a piece of me. I've been very honest in this album, so when you listen
to it you'll get to know me a lot more I think. I love all types of music.
I was out in Brazil not long ago shooting the video for Free Me, and I had
the most amazing times in the bars, dancing. I picked albums up from Brazil,
brought them home and that's really influenced me as well.
DJ Ron: How do
you write songs, how do songs come to you?
Emma Bunton: Well I've got a little book that is right next to my bed and
I write everything down that I feel, that I think. I might have a dream or
I might have my girlfriends over for the night and we'll be chatting about
all sorts of things or what happens to them, and I just write everything down.
Then when I'm in the studio, I work with some great producers and we come
up with a melody and it all just happens from there. Sometimes I might just
have a title, sometimes I might have a chorus, but I enjoy writing. I would
say it's kind of like a diary. We all write diaries, so this album is my diary.
DJ Ron: How did
you discover Zero 7?
Emma Bunton: I'm a huge fan of Zero 7 and Henry Binns actually said to me
that he would love to do something with me, and we got on so well. We had
so much fun and he got me straightaway. I wanted a little bit of 60s but it's
still got to be very me and I wanted lots of strings. So I was very verbal,
because I knew exactly where I wanted to head with this album and Henry just
got it straightaway.
DJ Ron: And what
was it like working with Cathy Dennis?
Emma Bunton: Well me and Cathy have been friends for years and our first day
of writing actually turned out to be a bottle of wine, a good meal and ust
gossiping about everyone. We had a fabulous time and the next day we got back
and started writing. Cathy, she's mad as a hatter. Actually we're both completely
mad and we brought that out of each other and just went for it.
DJ Ron: Your
videos are a major part of your music, do you sort of have a video in mind
when you're recording or writing a song?
Emma Bunton: I do! That's exactly what happens! When I'm writing a song, I
already have a vision in my head of how I want the video to look. I always
work very closely with the video directors, and go to them with ideas. For
"Free Me," I wanted to be a Bond girl for the day and with "Maybe,"
the film Sweet Charity with Shirley McClaine influenced me so much with the
Bob Fosse kind of moves. I've got some amazing dancers who are very theatrical.
They're actually from theatre and don't usually do pop videos or music videos.
So I did everything very differently. I love being a bit of a drama queen.
I love fashion and I love dancing so videos are something that I'm very passionate
about and I love to come out with ideas for them.
DJ Ron: With "Maybe," how hard was it to learn that choreography?
Emma Bunton: It only took about two days and my dancers were amazing. I've been lucky because I trained when I was younger so it was something that I haven't done for a while and I absolutely loved it. I was lifted in the air and felt like a princess for the day.
DJ Ron: The "I'll
Be There" video, you're in a car a whole lot. Are there any funny stories
about being the car for so long?
Emma Bunton: There is actually. The traffic was hideous so we had to keep
going round and getting stuck in traffic. People would be kind of looking
in to see what was gong on because there's a huge camera and lights. I think
we were quite lucky apart from the loads of traffic in Paris, otherwise it
was not too bad. It was actually freezing cold and yes, I was quite ill afterwards,
but I had a beautiful man in the video and it was good fun.
DJ Ron: I really want you to explain something to me, as I'm completely confused.
Emma Bunton: Sure, darling.
DJ Ron: I've
listened to this song over and over, I have no clue what the "Crickets
Sing for Anamaria" song is about.
Emma Bunton: Oh "Crickets Sing for Anamaria" is actually a cover
of the song by Astrid Gilberto. I went to Brazil and found this album. It
was an old album and I thought that it was so perfect for my album, because
I can dress-up again and dance, it's perfect. It's actually about when you
go on a date with somebody and your parents are worried and they start turning
up to see if you're alright. So, the mamma came and then the papa came and
then the uncle came, and they all end up on your date and they completely
ruin it. It's a fun song which I thought would be perfect for the album.
DJ Ron: Awesome,
that makes perfect song. "Crickets" was remixed by one of my favorite
remixers, the Sharp Boys. Your records are often remixed for dance clubs,
do you help choose the remixers?
Emma Bunton: Yes, definitely. I get to pick remixers and see what they think.
The remixers usually send me tracks so I can see what they've done. I kind
of let my song go into their hands because a piece of magic is done when they've
got it in their studio. I love going out and clubbing. I love dancing and
I think the remixers always do something so special to a track that I wouldn't
know what to do with it. The remixers know and I think they do amazing jobs.
DJ Ron: What's
been your favorite remix of one of your songs?
Emma Bunton: Well I would have to say the Full Intention mix of "Free
Me" was probably one of my favorites. It has such a strong kind of bass
in it and it was very exciting and it peaked really well. It was just an amazing
track, so I was pleased with that one.
DJ Ron: Cool.
So you said you go out clubbing yourself, where do you go out clubbing and
what DJs do you like to dance to? What happens when you are out dancing?
Emma Bunton: When I go out with my girlfriends, we just love dancing and having
a great time. That's anther thing that's a bit hard though, boys don't seem
to come near us because there's so many girls and we're just having so much
fun, that I think they get a bit intimidated.
DJ Ron: So what's
in your CD payer or iPod right now, what are you listening to?
Emma Bunton: Well in my iPod obviously I've got hundreds and hundreds of songs
and they range from some real old school kind of Motown to Black Eyed Peas
to Britney to Christina Aguilera. I love listening to music and picking up
on things. But the main thing for me is I want to be able to dance to a track
or I think it should bring out some kind of emotion in you. When I want to
listen to a ballad, I want to have a cry. I want to be able to be emotional
with it.
Emma Bunton: It's so exciting. I come to America on holidays and in the UK, it's our dream for people to enjoy our music in the US. I'm just so excited about coming out there. I want people to see me, because obviously I've grown up and I want them to get to know me. So that means coming out and spending some time, which I'm so looking forward to.
DJ Ron: You were
over here for the Billboard Dance Music Summit and you were on a panel with
Martha Wash, Esthero, DJ Rap, and Ultra Nate. Were you surprised to be sitting
next to any of them?
Emma Bunton: Oh of course. I actually was really nervous and I didn't think
I would be.
DJ Ron: I was
actually on that boat cruse and I was having the time of my life.
Emma Bunton: It was such a good night. I was on such a high, it was brilliant.
DJ Ron: You were
so on the entire time, like I'd never seen someone smile so much.
Emma Bunton: Really? I like to think I'm quite a positive person. Don't get
me wrong, in the morning I am awful but, you know come midnight, I'm alive.
DJ Ron: How is
performing solo different than performing with the girls behind you, the Spice
Girls?
Emma Bunton: Well I think they're both very, very different. Being with the
girls I had the best time and you kind of get away with more. If you go wrong,
it's not a problem because the other girls kind of takeover. Being out there
on my own, I'm doing something for me and I'm creating my own album, I'm creating
my own videos, so it's very rewarding. I feel very lucky that I've had the
opportunity to be in a group and now I feel very lucky to be performing as
a solo artist. I'll just keep my fingers crossed. I'm still loving it so much
and my fans are being so supportive so I'm going to keep doing it for them.
DJ Ron: Why do
you think your music always translates so well in the club context?
Emma Bunton: I think because I always try and have a great melody that people
can sing to and I want the lyrics to be as strong as possible. Then the remixers
just take it and put there little bit of sparkle and magic on it. I was dancing
to my own song and that's something I don't usually do. But with "Free
Me" on that boat, it just was so exciting. So I just think they do some
magic and make it a great dance track.
DJ Ron: A friend
of mine went to a Spice Girls concert here in Nashville a couple of years
ago and realized the audience was about seventy-five percent young girls,
another twenty-five percent gay men.
Emma Bunton: Yes, baby!!!
DJ Ron: Why do
you think the Spice Girls attracted such a big gay following?
Emma Bunton: I've got some fantastic gay friends who have always been wonderful.
They're not frightened to go out, have fun and be open-minded. That completed
rubbed off on all of us girls and we had so much fun. We love dressing up
and we love fashion. We were really flattered with having such a huge gay
fan base because they know about fashion and they know about songs that. I'm
so flattered that we've got such a huge gay following, it's amazing.
DJ Ron: How was
your stint on Absolutely Fabulous?
Emma Bunton: Oh, do you know what? It was so much fun Jennifer Saunders has
been a friend of mine for years now and it was wonderful to work with her
and Joanna Lumley and Jane Horrocks and just being able to go with it. I had
to shout and swear on Absolutely Fabulous and not a lot of people have seen
me do that before, so it was good fun.
DJ Ron: Have
you every seen a drag queen perform one of your songs?
Emma Bunton: Oh yes, many. They always look so bloody gorgeous and they've
all got long legs and look stunning. So, again, I'm so very flattered. Recently
I saw a drag queen do "Maybe" and she was just incredible.
DJ Ron: Is there
anything you want to say to all the dance music lovers out there?
Emma Bunton: I would love to say a huge thank you for all your support. Keep
dancing to those tracks and I'll hopefully see you in a club one night. <laughing>
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Emma Bunton - Interview - Emma Bunton
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