Katie Melua opens up about ‘paranoia’ of not working again after giving birth

As you know, it’s not bad at all at the moment.

I was out of work for a couple of months and couldn’t do any work at all. And then, along the way, I started thinking, ‘Oh my God, do I still have a job?

I still have that imposter syndrome in me. Of course, I knew the album was finished and ready to be released, but I was basically just focused on being a mom, so I was like, ‘Do you ever work again? ?” had a paranoid personality. Because it felt like non-stop breastfeeding and diaper changes. And we are slowly easing things. Also, I think now is probably a good time before Sandro goes to school.

What are you most looking forward to on tour?with your partner Is your son coming?

yes! We said Sandro should be like a little family diary going to some landmark in each city or town. We started in Poland and are working in Germany. In France he will spend a day and then move to the UK. It will be a rather epic first travel adventure for him.

And I’m looking forward to being on stage. I did some shows last summer when I was pregnant and they were amazing.

The atmosphere is certainly different now. As you know, Covid hit and everything feels more fragile. We are well aware of the fact that these things we used to take for granted will soon be taken away from us. So these shows have a true love of life and to have the opportunity to bring these songs to life is so special.

You grew up in Georgia on the Black Sea coast and moved to Belfast as a child Moved to London. How much did your upbringing influence your music?

I think it will have a big impact. I mean, I started making records when I was 19. Basically I was singing a song written by producer Mike Butt who is a phenomenal songwriter. I was still writing songs at the time, but Bicycles and Closest Thing to Crazy were big songs and they belonged to him.

The words and the melody were his, but I think my history is like another layer that connects art and music. I think the songs I heard as a kid in Georgia, the way the language allows me to play, definitely influenced my ability to embody the songs. And I think as things progressed, I became more direct and tapped into my own history and biography. There’s a song that actually talks about your childhood in Georgia, when you used to play in it affects you. Sometimes it’s more direct, sometimes it’s not.

Mental health issues have become commonplace in society. You’ve been talking about it for years. Did the conversation change for the better?

I think it’s great. I like the fact that I can easily talk to anyone.

That said, I think there’s still a bit of a generation gap, but it’s a certain age group that people still struggle to talk about. The song is dedicated to former psychiatrist Michael his Dr. Phillips. he was amazing.

He helped me a lot when I had a mental health crisis in 2010. However, he took his own life a year ago. I think things will definitely get better and people are talking about it more, but it can still really destroy people.

So I am happy with the improvement. And just a general higher awareness of it feels like it helps a lot of people. And when I got better, I was like, ‘Well, no, there’s no reason for this. Let’s talk about what really happened.’ I don’t think so.

I mean, it happened. It was very shocking. And it was so incredible. But I was asked. And I didn’t want to start lying.

What do you think are the common misconceptions about you and your music?

Oh well, I’m not sure. I mean, I’m probably in the record-making weeds and now, as a mother, I can’t tell what’s out there.

I mean, the early days when I was singing Mike Batt songs were really massive, so there was definitely a perception that I was just a pretty young girl, kind of the face of the music that was produced. I think… But that really feels like a long time ago. And I think we’ve changed that quite a bit now. Yes, those who are still listening to me know that is not the case.

Your new album Love and Money was released on March 24th, can you tell us about it?

I really wanted to make a blue sky record. I think a lot of the early records I made were about passionate love, happy endings in romance. And with his number eight on the last album, I was in a pretty dark place, but a little more pessimistic. Because I’ve been through a divorce.

And between finishing that last record and making Love and Money, I met my partner. You know, falling in love is the best. So I wanted to capture some of that emotion. Also, family relationships can feel very heavy. For example, Lie In The Heat chronicles being on a river in Georgia, going on a picnic, and swimming in a river.

I wanted the song to feel inherently positive and happy, like these memories of being caught and trapped in that world. There is sometimes an idea that good art must be born out of sorrow. But I wanted to question it. These two years of his life have felt like the best years of my life. And I wanted to see if they could be translated into music.

Are there any songs on the new album that particularly resonate with you?

All of them do, of course, but perhaps the fact that they named the album Love and Money, and the fact that that track ends the record, allows me to focus on that.

This song captures the opportunity to reward the generosity received from loved ones. I am a child of immigrants. I moved from Georgia when she was 8 years old.

The feeling of missing my family at home, the feeling of moving to a country that was socio-economically much richer than my hometown at the time. It’s kind of like having to do something good and you end up being a perfectionist. The opportunities I had when I was young living in the UK and what to use them to appreciate my family back home. I am drawing what I can do.

You’ve been in the industry since you were a teenager, what’s the biggest change you’ve noticed?

Oh my god, I mean, it’s always changing. Don’t get me started on changing technology.

My writing and recording cycle is typically about 2-3 years. I remember when I joined his No. 8 on the previous album, the sound was gated in various ways so that background noise could be automatically removed. These things, you are just amazing.

But in terms of being more public, I used to make single CDs. Now it doesn’t happen at all. In a way, I feel like I can now release music almost frequently. And you can enjoy it more because you have direct access to people. You can check more quickly whether a song is doing well. There are pluses and minuses.

What would you say is the most important thing you’ve learned in your 20 years in this industry?

The most important thing I have learned is that everything must be done with sincerity and heart.

Then you’ll know you’re in better shape.

Also, I think we have to really cherish our great team.