It wasn't easy for Lisa Hannigan to go from backing player to boss for her debut solo album three years ago. Some of the songs were a bit iffy, she says now. She's called her very assured new album Passenger,but she's happy in the driving seat now, she tells TONY CLAYTON-LEA
IT HAS BEEN a steep learning curve for Lisa Hannigan. From being cast as a cherubic urchin in a school production of My Fair Ladyto being a subtle if crucial element of Damien Rice's band and his 2002 debut album, O, to her present position as the girl next door, Hannigan has travelled a distance that is more than just stepping from the shadows into the centre of the stage.
Initially, she recalls, the gap between backing vocalist and fronting a band was too large to plug, too stressful to consider. Factor in the weight of expectation and the frisson of tittle-tattle surrounding Hannigan (the latter via her former association with Rice and the abrupt nature of her departure from his band in 2007), and one can understand her reticence.
“The thought of having the responsibility to carry a gig was the biggest thing, whereas before it had never been a problem,” she says, poised in a comfy chair, framed by walls stacked with books.
“At gigs, I’d look out into the audience and know that the success of the show was down to me, effectively. It was difficult to become comfortable in that role.”
The early solo gigs, then, were fraught with tension. Not much was said on stage between songs, with Hannigan deciding to focus on what to her were the two most important aspects: playing the music and not pretending to be something she wasn’t.
“It’s not something I think about now. Neither do I feel the weight of it. It’s an odd thing to stand up in a room full of people singing about your feelings, melodiously. It isn’t second nature, but it’s a far easier fit now. I suppose I would never have thought that I would be fronting a band, or that people would want to come to hear me. I’d never really accepted that in my mind. And, of course, at that stage, people wouldn’t have wanted to see me. Now I feel I’m able for it, and if people like it, then brilliant, but at this point I feel like it’s something I need to do for myself.”
Hannigan's new album, Passenger, released next week, arrives three years after her debut, See Sew, the success of which took most people by surprise: they weren't expecting it to be such a mixture of delightful, delicate songs and steely assurance (which Hannigan's outward gentility manages to hide very well). Recorded on the hoof, the material had been broiling for some time.
“Yes, the process was quite lengthy, and I’d been building them up slowly. I’d probably had some of them when I was hanging around with Damien and other singer- songwriters. I mean, that was quite an intimidating environment. Someone would ask him to lash out a song about the pines, and he’d lash out a song because it was just second nature to him.
“It wasn’t like that for me because, for starters, I wasn’t good enough on the guitar. It was a fine way of working, but also a very slow-going process, and I’d wonder if it came naturally or whether I was trying to make it happen. But once I had a bit of time and I put my mind to it – and I was very busy working with Damien, and very involved in it – things started happening faster.”
Another quickly grasped learning curve, more flying by the seat of her jeans. Hannigan had never previously worked solo in a studio, had never had to direct or guide a band before. Some things, she remembers, she was quite decisive about. In other areas she was, perhaps, a bit too benevolent for her own good. She soon discovered that being the boss is different. It’s very tricky trying to negotiate the way from being friends with people to telling them – even in the most sympathetic manner – what to do.
“I was very comfortable being a sassy underling who would give out about things and have opinions, but also comfortable not actually making the final decision. While I’m far better at it now, I wasn’t sure back then how to express to people what I’d want them to play.”
This has changed, of course, because it had to. As has Hannigan's ability to write better, more confident songs. She admits that some songs on See Seware "a bit iffy", as well as allowing that some "ring true". With Passenger, she feels that in discarding some of the debut album's artifice she has arrived at a point where she can look at her face in the mirror and breathe evenly.
"On See SewI wanted everything to be right. I had my blank page, I'd write, if I didn't like a line everything would be scrapped, and I'd feel awkward about going back to it. With the songs for Passenger, I knew I had to write and write and write. In doing so, I knew so much stuff would naturally fall away. And then, gradually, things would start to shine and make their presence felt as songs."
Hannigan’s characteristics as a songwriter and person have kept her on an even keel, her eyes on the lookout for uncomplicated, if significant details regarding life, the universe and wordplay. When she starts to concoct a song, she never thinks about what particular style it might end up in.
“It begins as a nugget, and then a melody comes. I like things to be simple. I like melodies counterpointing with each other. Essentially, I like things to be kept quite simple and pared-down. And that’s in life, as well.”
She is not one to second-guess her songwriting. “I just know when it’s finished. And I’m trying to be more honest – that’s the big difference between the first and second albums.
Some of the new songs – Paper House, Little Bird– are about things I'd not even want to talk to people about, but I felt they were songs I needed to write for myself, to be honest with myself about situations that the songs are about. I'm not sure that I would have done that on See Sew. Maybe I'd have felt a little exposed."
- Passengeris released on October 7. Lisa Hannigan embarks on a nationwide tour shortly – keep an eye on lisahannigan.ie
Lisa's list Top 5 female singers
CATHY DAVEY"I love the atmosphere of her music. I feel that Tim Burton should write a movie and just use her music to soundtrack it. That would be an incredible match of aesthetics. I'd go and see that movie."
LESLIE FEIST"I really like the way she has navigated her way through the major-label music industry area. She is so herself, through her videos and her music. Nothing ever seems compromised, and I find that very admirable. I would hope to be able to do that myself."
JONI MITCHELL"I grew up listening to her. Her lyrics are so taut – she's such a master lyricist. My favourite song is The Priest. The first line is 'the priest sat in the airport bar, he was wearing his father's tie'. That's a great line – it evokes so much. And she's unique."
NINA SIMONE"The best voice there ever was. She is the ultimate artist, I reckon. I love her version of Mr Bojangles, Leonard Cohen's Suzanne, and Bob Dylan's Just Like Tom Thumb's Blues.
MARIA CALLAS "I became obsessed with Callas when I was a kid, and her voice really moved me. Not knowing what she was talking about, or what the song was about or what character she was playing, was the key – her voice just made me feel things. My teenage angst years, in my room, crying along to La Traviata! You couldn't find music more dramatic. But it's Callas herself, as well – quite strident, sometimes not wholly pleasant to listen to, but she seemed to be transmitting something more than just the notes."
