Wears The Trousers Interview (September 26, 2011)

I think I cut my teeth on variations on a theme with Midwinter Graces: figuring out how to look at a blueprint of another work, how to enter into that work without damaging it, how to extract the part I needed and to expand upon it to reach a new expression. But when you’re messing with the masters, it’s a bit different from messing with a Methodist minister who was writing carols.

Alan Pedder’s conversation with Tori for wears the trousers’ “words in edgewise” interview series is a lovely piece that, unlike much of the other recent interviews, takes full advantage of a webzine’s lack of column inch limitations to expand upon and connect the dots between Tori’s talking points.

That said, it’s not all old news! She does drop a few new hints about the tour that is on our doorstep, her mixture of contemporary masters — The Beatles — with the classical masters, addresses the songs “Job’s Coffin” in greater detail than we have seen before and has a bit more to say about the upcoming retrospective collaboration with The Metropole to celebrate the 20th anniverary of Little Earthquakes.

Kudos to Alan and wears the trousers for a great article which is most definitely worth your while!

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Perez Hilton Interview (September 27, 2011)

And quite a few actors have gone to [the Sylvia Young Theatre School] that are in British television. So she Tash really wanted to do this. And I said, Mark and I talked about it with her. I mean, she wanted to go to Hogwarts. But this is like a version of Hogwarts.

As we alluded to last week, Perez Hilton got the opportunity to sit down and chat with Tori and he’s posted the first part of their conversation today.

He’s also posted a partial transcript (which we unashamedly reproduce below the fold).

Look for part two to surface on Wednesday!

Thanks to Devin for the tip!

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The Daily Interview (September 26, 2011)

Don’t you think there was a time, what, in the ’20s, when the idea of art being challenging was what art was? And now, so much of it, you’ve heard it once, and you’ll say to yourself, ‘Oh, hang on a minute, that’s just like another song that I heard on the radio two hours ago, which is just like another song I heard last week …’ There is, right now, not an encouragement from those that are setting the trends — I’m not talking about the artists, I’m talking about labels, even the radio. They’re not always supportive of challenging the masses. I think sometimes they fear that, because what if the masses wake up and decide that they don’t need all these institutions and corporations and can’t be led by them because they’re thinking for themselves?

The Daily has a unique article on Tori, up today, in which they interviewed her and took some stunning photos in a Manhattan warehouse which has turned into the interactive set of the New York production of “Sleep No More.” Writer Rich Juzwiak ruminates on the new album, Tori’s history as a musician, her propensity for the impenetrable, and her ability to be down-to-earth at the same time.

EDIT: Check out additional images from the photo shoot by Victoria Will here. Thanks, Mario!

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The Opera News Interview (September 26, 2011)

I would watch Tash [her eleven-year-old daughter, Natashya, who sings on the album] — just how she communicates with nature. And she sings. She’s in a trance and dances her dances around the water. And I kind of looked and I thought, “Children have this incredible sort of connection with nature, where they don’t ask questions about it. It’s just alive and real in them, and they’re not outside of it looking at it, but they’re inside of it experiencing it.” So I thought, for her to play Anabelle, the shape-shifting fox-goose, the hunter and the hunted, who is really duality, I thought that’s when nature could come alive and speak.

Tori recently chatted with Oussama Zahr of Opera News about Night of Hunters and her classical roots. In it, she even considers whether to accept an invitation to speak to students at her alma mater, the Peabody Conservatory. Click over there to see the full interview. Thanks to Oussama and Joe for letting us know about this one!

The Independent Interview (September 23, 2011)

Mark [Hawley] said, “Jesus, wife! The press will have us divorced after the first week’s promo!” but the truth is I’m crazy about him. We’ve weathered a lot of storms and outside forces, but we’ve been together 16 years.

One recent Sunday morning, James McNair of The Independent sat down with Tori for a chat about Night of Hunters and their conversation made it to the September 23rd edition of that UK newspaper. Tori tackles the common question about the state of her marriage in light of the album’s topic, but also discusses working with family on the record, goes into more depth than usual about the inspiration for the song “Battle of Trees” and looks back at the 1994 Q magazine cover she shared with Bjork and PJ Harvey.

Thanks to mode for the link!

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The Age Interview (September 23, 2011)

‘They would say, “So you’re going to be a concert pianist,” and I was saying, “Oh no, I’m not playing somebody else’s stuff for the rest of my life. I’m going to be the composer.” They said, “It’s not Beethoven and Bach and Amy Beach, you know.” I said, “Yeah, well, things need to change, gentlemen.” And I said that when I was seven.

On the day that Night of Hunters was released in Australia, this nice little interview by Michael Dwyer appeared in The Age, the largest newspaper in Melbourne. In it, Tori discusses her troubled relationship with The Peabody and her current relationship with classical music, in addition to fielding questions about Night of Hunters.

Thanks to Nick, Andrew and cjoelad for the link!

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Planet Notion Interview (September 22, 2011)

I don’t like the word fan. I mean, I’m a fan of certain things but sometimes I think the word can be denigrating. It depends how it is used and who is using it. Even though it can be used respectfully… I don’t know, I feel that the mutual agreement of people coming and forming a relationship with the artist… deserves more.

Doron Davidson-Vidavski interviewed Tori for Planet Notion, the online wing of Notion Magazine. It’s another interesting interview with questions ranging beyond just Night of Hunters, touching on The Light Princess musical (which, we learn, will probably be getting a new title), fandom, Tori’s use of the video medium and the upcoming 20th year anniversary of Little Earthquakes.

Thanks to a secret admirer for slipping us a folded-up piece of paper under our door with the link written on it. ;-)

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Rip It Up Interview (September 22, 2011)

When I was approached by Deutsche Grammophon to do variations on classical masters, what woman has been given this opportunity? Even if I have to stay up for a whole year figuring out how I’m going to do this, I’m not blowing it like I blew it on Y Kant Tori Read.

Many thanks to Scott McLennan for letting us know that his latest interview with Tori was published in Rip It Up this week! This is a particularly interesting conversation in which Tori addresses some of the real-life aspects of recording and working with family as well as the themese and circumstances of Night of Hunters.

In addition to being published on the web, a slightly edited version of the article can be found in the print edition of Rip It Up, freely available around Adelaide, Australia.

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Vanity Fair Interview (September 22, 2011)

Being able to still make records is a privilege. I don’t take it casually. Looking back, I think that there was a time when the idea of developing an artist was still supported, and now it’s usually very much about the next new thing. Not always, but the idea of making 12 albums is not something that record companies go into with an artist anymore.

Tori chatted with Vanity Fair’s Mark Spitz for a VF Daily Q&A that was posted earlier this week. In addition to talking about the album a bit, Tori shares her observations on Schubert and Schumann, the musical legacy of the 90s including her plans for observng the 20th anniversary of Little Earthquakes.

Thanks to Kelsey, Lucie_S and Joseto for sending this link in!

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Digital Spy Interview (September 21, 2011)

So, no, I don’t seek out reviews, but you get a sense of what’s happening. You know if something’s being received warmly or of it’s being received medium or cold. But let’s not kid each other – it’s always magical when people are embracing your work.

UK entertainment web site Digital Spy posted their interview with Tori earlier this week. In in, she and Mayer Nissim address Night of Hunters (surprise!), the relationship between the worlds of pop and classical music, some of tori’s older work and…Doctor Who!

Thanks to @iammatthewwolf for the tip!

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