In the studio with...

Go behind the scenes with Thecocknbullkid who has just been signed to Island Records

12 March 2009 - Thecocknbullkid performed at the Institute Of Contemporary Arts in London last night (11 March) and before her last song Boys And Girls, she revealed she has signed a record deal with Island Records.

The likes of Amy Winehouse and Paul Weller to newer artists such as Florence And The Machine are looked after by the label.

At the end of last year, 6 Music spent some time with the upcoming musician as she worked on her debut album.

Our reporter Lucy O'Doherty went to spend a day in an east London studio with Thecocknbullkid, otherwise known as Anita Blay, to have a sneak preview listen and get some insight into the recording process.

BACKGROUND…

After being the talk of the town at last year's Camden Crawl before the festival season officially kicked off, Thecocknbullkid then performed on the BBC Introducing stage at the Glastonbury and Latitude festivals.

She has been likened to M.I.A, Morrissey, Yazoo, Neneh Cherry and Kelis.

The Independent, Drowned In Sound and The Guardian all said Anita is one to watch for 2009.

Her latest single I'm Not Sorry was released on 9 March.

Sinners was put out on Moshi Moshi, an independent label, which is home to rising talent Florence And The Machine, James Yuill and Slow Club and counts Kate Nash, Hot Chip and Friendly Fires amongst its alumni.

NOVEMBER 2008: IN THE STUDIO…

Thecocknbullkid has been working on her debut album material with producer Mark Anthony Tieku.

They are putting the record together in a spare room in Mark’s house, which he has transformed into a studio.

Mark said he first teamed up with Anita a few years ago, when she was still a rough diamond: “She had some tracks on there which were basic but they had a real charm about them.

"A lot of bands and musicians have proved that you can make as a great album in a home studio, than you can in a studio, with the massive sound desks."
 Thecocknbullkid

“They kind of sounded like she’d done them with her elbows but they were actually musically, arrangement-wise, really good.”

Speaking about her life project, Anita said: “I’ve been working on it for about 23 years and that’s what I’m working on now and I think it’s nearing completion but I guess nothing’s ever really finished.”

They have been recording in a very simple set up and Anita thinks that these days, it’s not essential to use a massive expensive studio to make a great album.

“A lot of bands and musicians have proved that you can make as a great album in a home studio, than you can in a studio, with the massive sound desks and stuff,” she explained. “I don’t know a lot about the intricacies of things like that and I’m sure someone who really knows their sound would dispute that, but good music is good music.”

‘That real warmth’

The contents of the homely studio includes a variety of Mark’s much loved specialist kit.

One feature is his 1973 Roland Space Echo. Speaking about his pride and joy, Mark said: “I brought this in Toyko. I was in a bit of a bad way, I was shaking. To find this in England, you can find it but they’re as rare as hen’s teeth.

“It’s really unreliable and that’s why I love it. You plug the guitar in, it has a tape going around inside it and when you play the actual tape records what you’ve played and spits it back out as a delay. You get that real warmth that you can’t really get inside a computer.”

Other equipment that’s being used includes a channel strip similar to the ones in the iconic Abbey Road studios and reproductions of classic compressors from history.

They have employed a wondrously low-tech way of dampening sound, as Mark explained: “This used to be a bedroom and these are the clothes we don’t wear. It’s part of the studio now.”

Writing process

Anita and Mark write together in the studio, occasionally from scratch or from lyrics Anita brings with her.

On other occasions Thecocknbullkid arrives at his house fully stocked with music and lyrics, as with one of the album tracks and the single, Sinners.

Speaking about how that particular song evolved, Anita told 6 Music: “Originally it was a piano based strings song and then when I took it to Mark, it started to lean towards, not the countryside, but a sort of big epic western sounding song. I didn’t have that in my mind at all.”

Other songs they have been working on are called Hands and How Is The Devil.

As for when she wants to get the record out, Anita says she isn’t going to hang around.

“I think that’s the only way you can build a legacy, or build yourself as an artist. I don’t like it when people hold onto things too much to try and make it perfect. I’m not trying to make a perfect album. I’m just trying to make one that is me.”

THE VERDICT…

Is the album sounding as good as the hype suggests?

Our reporter, Lucy O ‘Doherty gave us her view: “It’s perhaps a little bit more shiny pop than her early Myspace tracks suggested and has as much in common with the Sugababes as TV On The Radio, but the irresistible hooks and dark beats are still firmly in place, and added to Thecocknbullkid's sassy charm. I'd say she's definitely one to watch for 2009.”

Also Anita’s producer, Mark, has absolute faith in the final product: “I don’t really think there’ll be another female vocalist who’ll do an album as good as what she’s got at the moment. The songs she’s got are amazing.”

Georgie Rogers