Interview: KT Tunstall

“I’m going to try and do something on this tour where I read out where you could have been instead of my gigs,” laughs KT Tunstall, the Scottish singer/songwriter who has turned ad-libbing at gigs into something of an art form. “I remember one night, going off on one about what it would be like if your hair was alive.”

Tunstall first became known to the public at the age of 27, when she performed her song, Black Horse and the Cherry Tree, on Later... With Jools Holland. She gained particular notice for her now trademark use of a loop pedal to create the sound of a full band.

Her first album, Eye to the Telescope, reached number three in the UK charts, went platinum five times over and included some of her most famous songs, such as Suddenly I See and Other Side of the World.

Her second album, Drastic Fantastic, released in 2007, and the techno-infused Tiger Suit (2010), were also top-five hits and having won an Ivor Novello award and several BRIT and Grammy nominations she has firmly established herself.

When we speak it’s three days before her fourth studio album, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon, is released.

“I had been feeling really calm about it, then a friend text me a massive billboard poster of it and I was like ‘wow, it is actually about to come out’. It’s really exciting. I’m really looking forward to seeing what happens with it and where it ends up taking me.”

The album is, as ever, quite different to her earlier release. Stripped back and more centred around simple instrumentation and Tunstall’s bluesy voice, it was recorded in Arizona, the desert landscape providing a perfect backdrop to the music.

The last 12 months have not been a smooth ride for the 37-year-old. At the end of last year her father, a physics lecturer, died. Then in May, she and her husband, Luke Bullen, who was also the drummer in her band, split.

As a result of this turbulent year, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon is an album split into two parts to show the changes in Tunstall’s life. To reinforce the point, she’s also released a vinyl version where the two halves neatly occupy each side of the record.

“I went out [to Tucson, where the album was recorded] in April and wrote about eight or nine songs, which is a lot for me. Then I didn’t go back until November to do the second half, and a lot had changed in my life so I felt like quite a different person by the time I went back. It just felt like each half had quite a different spirit.”

Tunstall recently said in an interview that a reason for the failure of her marriage was that she was constantly working. Since the release of Tiger Suit, she has recorded an acoustic EP and embarked on several ambitiously scheduled tours, most of them without her backing band.

She now has a new outlook on her career, and is looking to enter into new areas of the arts away from music.

“In the last year I’ve definitely had a big shift where I have a different attitude to the work. It really defined me for a long time, and now I really feel like it’s what I do, it’s not who I am, and I think that’s a much healthier way of thinking about it. I’ll basically just do what makes me happy. I’m in a very fortunate position where if I want to stop I can stop. Once this album has run its course, there’s definitely things I’d love to explore other than music.

“I’m writing an animated film script with Jim Abbiss, who I made Tiger Suit with. We’ve been working on that for a couple of years, so I think I’ll probably spend a bit of time on that after this. It’s really good fun and it involves lots of electronica so that’s great.

“I can definitely see myself getting into more homemade electronica. I’ve always loved it and I’ve never really explored just going for it and doing it myself. I’d like to make some music where I’m actually not worrying about songwriting and singing so much. Certainly at the moment, it’s all about the voice, so I’d like to do the polar opposite.”

Tunstall has maintained a working relationship with Jools Holland, who gave her her first big break. She has been on tour with him and performed her new single, Feel It All, on the show a few weeks ago. She once again stood out, being the only musician to perform solo. “I was chuffed it went well. There’s always a sense of release when you don’t completely mess it up!”

All of Tunstall’s albums differ in flavour, but all are built around her rhythm guitar parts. However, KT says she never thinks about how the album will sound until she starts recording. “The albums are often dictated by what songs you’ve written. I find the songs will tell me what they want to sound like. These ones were so atmospheric, and almost cinematic. I never write the music down, I just write the lyrics down and I always remember what the tune is.”

Tunstall is currently on tour playing smaller theatres. In November, she will begin a tour of larger venues to promote the album. However, both tours will feature just her and her trusty loop pedal.

“I’m just going to be totally on my own. It’s kind of the perfect album to present in that way because it’s really all about the voice and all about the lyrics.

“I’ve done a couple of solo shows now and it’s a very emotional way of presenting it. I do have a band over the summer for the festivals though, so that will be good fun, but I feel more relaxed communicating with the audience when I’m on my own.”

KT Tunstall plays the City Varieties, Leeds on June 17. 0845 644 1881, www.cityvarieties.co.uk

From busker to awards winner

KT Tunstall has been nominated for three BRIT Awards, winning Best British Female Solo Artist in 2006.

She also received a Grammy nomination for Black Horse and the Cherry Tree.

She wrote her hit song Suddenly I See about Patti Smith on the cover of her debut album, Horses.

Many record labels considered Tunstall ‘too old’ to sign when she was in her mid-20s.

However, after years of busking in Scotland, she finally landed a recording contract and released Relentless when she had turned 27.