Rodina interview
Joseph Seager speaks to Aoife Hearty from Rodina.
I’m sat up late answering these questions having a cup of tea – I’m a bit of a night hawk!
How’s 2010 going thus far?
Good – we have been rehearsing with the live band to promote the album.
You are releasing the single ‘Always Had A Dream’ on March 15th. What made you decide upon that for a single release?
We have a few gigs around then and we’ll be playing some more over the summer so we thought its a good time to be getting the songs out there!
What’s your favourite track from the album?
I like “These things you do” – I love how it’s produced and it works well acoustically too.
If Rodina was a Jelly Bean, what colour and flavour would you be and why?
Strawberry Daiquiri (Viva Cuba!).
If people don’t know what you and your music are about, how would you describe Rodina?
What I say normally is its jazz-folk-latin-pop with laid back vocals!! Haha. No they are just catchy songs with a chilled out feel – there’s so many influences on the album.
How did you come to work alongside all the album featured musicians?
Joe, who produced the album, introduced me to a lot of the people because he has played with them in other bands. We were lucky to get so much talent on the album and it would have been impossible to do without them – for instance getting The Haggis Horns around to put down those horns in half an hour was really amazing.
Where did the name Rodina come from?
I liked Rodina straight away and it means “motherland” in Russian – that appeals to me for lots of reasons because I moved away from home when I was young and it’s a big part of me.
What made you start singing? When did you realise you had such an amazing gift?
I grew up in Ireland in a big family who sang around me all the time! My friend at school introduced me to old tapes of soul and R&B singers.
Who would you love to perform with, past or present?
Present – Yasmin Levy
Past – Chris Connor
What are you currently listening to on your mp3 player?
An Irish singer called Rita Connolly, a song called “Venezuela”. It’s quite a traditional song but I’m a sucker for the old stuff.
Best venue you’ve played?
We played upstairs at Sela Bar in Leeds and it was great. There’s an old upright piano we used and it has a really high ceiling that makes everything sound nice. They also do a good Mojito!
Where do you find your influences? Or do they find you?
People I know, place I go, music I hear!!!
What do you miss the most when you’re on the road touring?
We haven’t toured yet! But when I’m away I miss my bed and novelty dog slippers.
You’ve had some really intimate gigs around the Yorkshire area including Royal Park Cellars and Harrogate Blues Bar. Do you enjoy the close proximity of those types of gigs or would you prefer to be playing to thousands of people?
I love the gigs we’ve done – it’s nice to connect with a small audience and they are really attentive – but I’m sure we would love it playing to 10,000 people!
Some quick fire questions: Tea or coffee?
Tea
Summer or winter?
Summer
Superman or Batman?
Batman (Michael Keaton!)
Mitchell or Webb?
Webb
Mac or PC?
Mac
Possibly the most important question now, Reading or Leeds?
Leeds!
What’s next on the agenda for Rodina?
We hope to return to Istanbul and Spain where we had a couple of great gigs last summer. We are going to be playing at Limetree Festival in August and a couple of other festivals. We’ve already started writing new songs and we are going to showcase them over the coming months. Keep an eye on http://www.rodinamusic.com
Thanks for your time Aoife. Good luck for the future.
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