Speaking to Martha Wainwright

Edinburgh Reporter

2 days ago

Martha Wainwright is about to return to Edinburgh for a special evening at The Queen's Hall to perform her debut album supporting a 20th anniversary release which includes a first release on vinyl.
'If you heard the record you were special because it was a little niche and emotive and it felt special'.
The album was a long time in the making but as Wainwright explained: 'I felt a great relief because I had been working so hard. I was concerned about what was going to happen and to 'make it' or have a career. Finally, after years of effort, I flew over to England and the press showed up, the record came out and I appeared on Jools Holland. It felt all of that was not for nothing and I was going to have an opportunity to have a career in music.'
The debut is a confessional singer-songwriter long-player that continues to stir the emotions, what's it like to revisit those tracks twenty years later?
She said: 'I wouldn't want to tour an anniversary record for the rest of my life but a lot of the lyrics still apply or have taken on a new meaning. One of the lyrics in Far Away is 'I have no children/I have no husband/I have no reason'. I no longer have a husband and my children are almost teenagers, so in a way, it still applies. It was a period in life, the people and relationships, it was such a very emotional record and not necessarily a pop record or one that everyone knew or listened to.
'If you heard the record you were special because it was a little niche and emotive and it felt special. It was my story in the music business and I was really at a turning point or crossroads. What's a relief is that I can still easily sing the songs, they are in the same key. I'm not wrestling with the material and I'm still enjoying it.'
The album contains a beautiful rendition of Whither Must I Wander by composer Ralph Vaughn Williams. He was inspired by the Robert Louis Stevenson poem of the same name and used Stevenson's verse for the lyrics.
Martha said: 'My mum (Kate McGarrigle) and brother Rufus (Wainwright) would have suggestions for songs and they picked that one for me. I usually do at least one cover, they are quite important on my records. It's funny Rufus says 'We're the same age now' and I'm like 'Nope; I'm two and a half years younger'. After all the time he spent telling me what to do as the little sister I get to hold on to being younger!'
Rufus also joins Martha for Bring Back My Heart on the vinyl release of a track that only appeared on certain editions of the album.
She said: 'I've tried to use my brother and his name to my advantage and that includes having his talent on the records.' Being part of a songwriting dynasty does have its advantages. A memorable event was when her mother and aunt, Kate & Anna McGarrigle, were invited to record with Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds for his No More Shall We Part album back in 2001.
'It was super cool that Nick Cave had them be Bad Seeds and introduce people of our generation to them. I don't know if they knew how cool Nick Cave was and is, they were just into the music and into him and whatever he did. It was so awesome, interesting and intriguing. I think for them it was exciting to be part of an album that mattered and to be invited by Nick Cave who they were both completely in love with.'
The sisters, also said to be an influence on Kate Bush, inspired a variety of artists but chose to keep a relatively low profile adding to their mystique.
'My mother pointed it out in a cool McGarrigle way (about Kate Bush), she was happy to tell me about it. I don't know if it was made clear by Kate Bush or in an article. They were so hip in so many ways without trying and that was the nature of their career. It was a little outside of the grind of the music industry and they made decisions as artists that were perhaps unconventional. They toured but didn't tour like many of us do, it was a rare thing. I think she wondered what might have happened had she gone further and dedicated herself more but for whatever reason she didn't.'
Martha also starred in Martin Scorsese's The Aviator (2004) performing the great American standard I'll Be Seeing You. It was a definitive experience that included her father Louden Wainwright III and brother Rufus.
'That was really where nepotism came in handy. I was in that movie with Rufus and my father and we all do a scene each at different points.'
The song was recorded in New York City and Martha was later invited to shoot her scenes in Montreal. After a long wait in full costume and make-up, she began to wonder if her scene was going to happen, at the end of a long day a sense of deflation set in.
'The next day they finally called me to do my scene, it took about 45 minutes and it was just me and Scorsese and he directed me. It was one of the greatest things that ever happened in my life.'
The last time I met Martha for an interview, she had just climbed Arthur's Seat with her band for the first time back in 2005. Is it something she plans to do this time around?
'In Edinburgh that first time I got the band up to Arthur's Seat, it's always a big thing and experience to do that walk before a show.'
While this tour will feature a full band she is expecting to also take the songs out on another run during an acoustic tour.
'I have to say this band is fantastic. I'll probably have to go out on the road and do this record solo to make some money but it's wonderful to come out with musicians on the first go around and recreate the music.
'We've been on the road with the record for a month in North America so we are getting really comfortable with it and we are opening up the songs and taking more liberties. The Maker has been really fun, there are some songs where you feel connected less but they can return and ring true in that moment.'
Martha Wainwright will play The Queen's Hall on Wednesday 4 June
Tickets are sold out but there is a waiting list.
Credit Gaëlle Leroyer
Credit Gaëlle Leroyer
Credit Gaëlle Leroyer
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