Talking To... Beck Goldsmith
Welcome to the 1st of “Talking To” where Cambridge And
Beyond editor, Neil King gets to chat to some of the artists that have impressed
him through their work and releases. This occasional series starts off with an
interview with Nottingham based singer songwriter and Elk Road Records founder
Beck Goldsmith.
#N=Neil King #B=Beck Goldsmith
#N Your album, “Purely Second Guesses” seems to be an album of people and emotions rather than events and places. Was that purely though Choice?
#B It was through choice. It’s always been the way I’ve found easiest to write. It’s more honest. I could have written stories about events, but as my first album, I felt it was better to go with things I’ve felt and I’ve experienced. When I’m writing songs, it generally comes altogether and for the album, it seemed to tap into a place in me. There were other songs, but I felt they were a bit forced, so I decided to stick with the ones that seemed true.
#N The ones that you didn’t need to search for the inspiration for?
#B Exactly. I’m quite introspective I guess. I find I can delve deeper into my self. When I’m looking into events and places and start becoming more factual.
#N That introspective deep dive seems to contrast with the presentation of the album that you went with a group approach to.
#B I very much wanted the sound of the album to have that organic feel, but still sound quite full and varied. I didn’t want the songs to sound one dimensional, this is how I think, me with a guitar and that’s it. I very much wanted to have a musical base as well so it could be appreciated on both levels. There is a dynamic in the instrumentation as well as the songs themselves.
#N It does add more than the almost cliché girl and guitar image. It has a more rounded out feel without losing that sense of the personal.
#B When I’ve written songs in the past, I’ve always heard everything else around it. I’ve never written it in isolation. It used to frustrate me, when I was playing folk clubs and acoustic venues with just my guitar. I always felt like there was more I wanted to show people, but it wasn’t there. It was good when I found a group of musicians that I felt comfortable with and who seemed to understand what I was about. That saw what was in the songs and helped bring it to life in the recording process. It was just wonderful. To hear my songs back, the way that I’d heard them in my head. You don’t get to do that that often. You know when you’re totally comfortable with something and by the end of the album it was what I felt when I was writing it. Each song would have it’s own nature. “Make Believe” I wanted to be very stripped back and very minimal, but “Between The Lines” always had a very full band feel. I looked for the reaction of the musicians to the songs.
#N Do you take the band into the live environment or is that more of a solo thing?
#B I Definitely take the band out. It depends on the venue. It’s nice to try different set ups with different arrangements. I normally have Dominic, my guitarist with me. It allows for a bit more depth and adds interest to the show. It means we can do a call and answer thing. When we can, in bigger venues we’ll try and use the band, because that helps grab the attention more. People sort of expect just a girl with a guitar not necessarily a group of musicians. The addition of polished instrumentation is something that audiences seem to respond really well to. It lets me tailor shows to the audience and offer shows that they might not have seen
#N Back to the album. You released that on your own Elk Road Records. Was that a control thing or because there is less of a need for that whole record company back end?
#B At the time I had had offers from labels. The indie labels were different from what’s springing up now. I was caught up in the same wave that a lot of people are. The internet is such a good place to communicate with people. There’s gigs, word of mouth. I’ve got my own recording studio. The costs have come down and the technology has got better so I thought ‘why don’t I do this myself?’ The more I thought about it, the more I thought I’d rather do it myself. That way, you know the end product will truly be what I want it to be. It was a control thing in that I did want a large label to look for a niche and try and force me in it. I wanted to produce an album that was reflective of everything that I’d worked up to. I felt with this it was. I knew I needed to get national distribution for it. I felt so much more satisfaction, even if I compromised the large marketing potential that a large label has. The artist pays for that anyway if their signed or doing it themselves. I feel I can channel the finances into the area that I want to put them. I think it allows you to engage with an audience more than if you’re communicating through a record label.