In Conversation with
Pippa Selby
November 2008
A little background:
Pippa Selby is a young singer songwriter from
London, UK who lists her influences as wide
ranging from Elliott Smith, Antony Hegarty,
Azure Ray, Jonathan Rice, Fiona Apple to
name but a few.
I stumbled onto her myspace page after
a look through a pal’s page on myspace
and as soon as I stumbled on but gives it a
very English Twang and has a innocence
in her voice that is spellbinding.
Setting Sun of course is known for going
To support acts that few people would
be familiar with, and speaking from
a Setting Sun perspective, as soon as I
heard her music, I knew straight away
I had to approach her for a interview.
Pippa agreed and the interview
came through quickly back in response.
Thanks to Pippa for agreeing to do the
Interview.
Make sure you check out her myspace
Page which can be found here
http://www.myspace.com/pippaselby
Many thanks
Andy N
Setting Sun:
How are things and what’s going on at the
moment?
Pippa Selby:
Things are good at the moment although
very hectic. I'm doing a film degree so have
a lot of work at the moment which unfortunately
doesn't leave enough time to do much on the
music and art front! Hopefully the Christmas
break will let me focus on that side a bit
more though!
Setting Sun:
Next can you tell us a little bit about the
history of your music – what started you
off etc, etc?
Pippa Selby:
I've always learnt piano and started writing
poetry when I was about 13. A couple of
years later I got experimenting with combining
the two and ended up writing some songs so
it really started from there!
Setting Sun:
What are your influences (music wise) and
what have you being listening to recently?
Pippa Selby:
One of my biggest influences has definitely been
an incredible musician called Paul Aiden
When I met him he really motivated me to
write more and get my music out there (
until then I hadn't really played to anyone
apart from my family!).
Whenever I hear him play it always
inspires me. Apart from that Elliott Smith,
Antony Hegarty, Azure Ray, Jonathan Rice,
Fiona Apple (the list goes on!) are
probably some of my biggest influences.
Recently I've been listening to the new
Antony and the Johnsons EP a lot
(absolutely mindblowing!), Jonathan Rice,
Jenny Lewis, Stevie Wonder and
this great song by Salem Al Fakir
called 'It's only you part ii' that a friend
told me to download.
I'm always listening to a mix of old
and new stuff and always getting inspired,
especially by a lot of my friends' music!
Setting Sun:
I have being really enjoying your songs
on your myspace page, I think my
favourite is the very dark titled ‘Lying
lifeless ’ – can you tell us a little bit about this?
Pippa Selby:
Thank you, it always means so much to hear that
people are enjoying it! It is quite dark isn't it?!
In short it's about a man abusing his partner
and child and leaving them for dead. I think
it came about after reading a story in the
newspaper a couple of years ago and it
really got me thinking about the isolation in
abusive relationships. I'm hoping the next
few tunes I record will be a bit more
cheery though!
Setting Sun:
Do you play concerts / gigs? If so, how
do they compare to your recordings?
If not, do you have any idea how you’d approach it?
Pippa Selby:
I haven't really played any proper 'gigs'
unfortunately although I've played an occasional
open mic night. I'm hoping to play more
in the next couple of months though when I
get some time off.
I'd love to start playing gigs soon but
definitely have to get some practice in first
so I can be a bit more confident performing!
Setting Sun:
6. What’s next for yourself? Do you have
any more recordings / gigs planned etc?
Pippa Selby:
I've been writing some new material
lately and hope to record a few songs in
the next couple of months! Most of my
songs recorded are very rough so I really
want to get them recorded properly too as
soon as I can. Unfortunately I don't get nearly
as much time as I'd like to work on my music
though as my study takes up a lot of it!
Setting Sun:
A few slightly more light hearted questions
to finish off with, I know already you are from
London which I know already has a hot bed of
a music scene, so instead I’ll just ask you have
being to any good concerts recently yourself?
Pippa Selby:
It has been an amazing year for
good concerts for me! I have been to
quite a lot recently but the highlights
definitely have to be Paul McCartney
at the Liverpool Sound festival,
Jenny Lewis, Stevie Wonder (twice!)
and Antony and the Johnsons
with the LSO
Setting Sun:
What do you like to do when you ain’t
doing music?
Pippa Selby:
When I'm not working I love doing
my art, going to see all sorts of
shows (Comedy, Theatre.. you
name it!), watching films, and just
soaking up all the creative vibes in
London. I live in a great area where
there's always something different
going on which is great! I'm really
excited about getting some time off
from studying to be able to do a bit
more of everything!
Setting Sun:
What would you like to be doing when
you are 60?
Pippa Selby:
Relaxing somewhere exotic- that
would be nice!
Setting Sun:
Lastly, what will you be doing when
you are 60?
Pippa Selby:
I have absolutely no idea
but I'd love to find out!
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