Hot on the heels of my review of the excellent My Guilty Pleasure, I had the privilege of chatting with Sally Shapiro via e-mail. I hope you enjoy.
First of all, I’ve really been enjoying My Guilty Pleasure. That record is chock-full of music that forces my wallflower self off the wall and onto the dance floor. What did you like most about creating this record?
Thanks! The singing as such, I think, and hearing the final result.
How do you go about writing a song? How would you describe your creative process (without putting yourself into any sort of box)?
It usually starts with Johan (Agebjörn), the second half of this project, getting some idea for a track. Then he develops it on the computer and presents the idea to me, and I give feedback. This is repeated a few times and then when the track is almost finished we record my vocals. Everything is done at home.
Who do you feel are some of your role models as an artist? Feel free to include people from film, literature, art, and music.
The artwork is a bit influenced by ’80s disco artists like Sandra, but apart from that, I’m not much of a real artist really – I don’t perform live, I don’t appear much in music videos etc. I’m more of a normal person with a normal job recording songs in the weekends. So it’s difficult to speak about role models.
APN: You have a minor reputation for being somewhat of a reclusive artist. Will you be touring My Guilty Pleasure at all, and if so, will you be focusing on mostly club dates or big festivals?
No, there will be no performances. I’m shy and I don’t like standing on stage. I tried with a few DJ gigs, but it felt awkward. I don’t like the idea of touring so much either. I’m not into traveling and working late in the evening. I prefer to have a normal life with a normal job and the music as a hobby.
Do you have any favorite tracks on the album? Do you have any proper remixes in the works? What songs would you like to hear remixed?
My favourites are “Miracle” and “Save Your Love”. There are some remixes in the works, we haven’t worked out any plan to release remixes yet, but maybe there will be a remix EP or something.
What have you been listening to recently? What are some of your favorite songs and/or albums of 2009?
That’s a difficult question, I’m terribly bad at checking out new music, I’m mostly listening to old records these days, like Suzanne Vega for example.
Love, Sally
My Guilty Pleasure releases today on Paper Bag Records.