Red notes
Butterflies and Broken Glass (2008) is a perfect image of the talent of Kim Edgar as a singer-songwriter. Her crystalline voice seems to move gently along the edge of fragility, light as a beautiful butterfly still in the gray rain of the Scotch autumn. Each one of its drops falls down on the strings of her guitar at the mercy of her stories. Stories of everyday life views inside and out, seeking each detail that hurt us at first but can make us become stronger and more able to enjoy new experiences in life. Kim Edgar is vibrant in her portrayal of the ephemeral beauty of life and fascinating in her talent as a singer. A true red spirit.
“Butterflies and broken glass” is your debut album’s title. Is fragility the main inspiration on the album?
Fragility is one of the main themes I keep returning to, and yes, was one inspiration for the album, but also the juxtaposition of the beautiful and the broken in everyday life. I’m always aware when things are great for me it’s not so for the next person, and vice versa.
You’ve also published an EP called “Wee dote”. The title song has a bittersweet atmosphere that surrounds the whole EP. Were you singing about personal experiences?
Not personal experience; more of a family tradition - in my family, there’s a theory that it’s always the youngest child (and usually therefore, the favourite child) that really can’t cope when their parents die. I’m very lucky to still have both my parents in great health, but I’ve seen many people suffer loss and bereavement; it’s the greatest challenge of life, I think, and the ultimate flip side of the joy of loving someone.
“She waits for Saturday” you sing. Saturday as an open window but isn’t it also a sign of daily life as a kind of jail?
I feel very lucky that I can choose what I want to do every day! And I do know some people for whom work is only a means to earn money to do other things, which I feel is a real shame, and it’s of them I was thinking when I wrote this song. I know there are many people who work Monday to Friday, 9 til 5, in rewarding and purposeful work, too, though, and I think that’s the ideal scenario, whether employed or self employed, to do something fulfilling both creatively, socially and financially.
Your crystalline voice contrasted with not comfortable lyrics and a little bit jazziest sound that made your music go beyond folk and even pop music. Does your creativity look for contrast as an inspiration?
I enjoy a whole range of music, particularly classical, film scores, folk, pop and jazz, and I hope that’s reflected in the music I make. I do enjoy contrasts creatively - one fine example of this is the genre-hopping collective, The Burns Unit, which grew out of a Burnsong songwriting retreat (check out Burnsong at www.burnsong.org) and features dub and grime, pop, folk, electronica and rock songwriters in collaboration! It’s really enjoyable to mix up ideas, step outside of comfort zones and open yourself up to new musical possibilities.
Returning to your debut album. It opens with “Red” and your music has a more contemporary influence. What does red mean to you?
Red for me is vibrant, powerful, creative, strong, family, community - the colour I see in the stories my mum told me about growing up in Bathgate, in the central belt of Scotland.
“Just outside your door” has a more hopeful air. Could we see you as an optimistic person?
I’m definitely an optimist! I don’t know if that always comes across in the tone of my songs, as I do tend to focus on sombre topics, but I’m always one to look on the bright side - if problems are going to happen, then best to deal with them as they arise, and not expend too much energy worrying about the possibilities, I think. I also feel that if you’re open for positive things, and ready to receive them, you’ll notice them when they’re on the horizon.
Then you sing “House on the hill”, a heartbreak story, with a really painful piano rhythm. Love is all we need?
I co-wrote this song with fellow Burns Unit member, Emma Pollock, and the rhythmic piano contrasted with still piano was really in response to her lyrics and the regret for the past they described. I think love is all we need, but I don’t mean that in a solely romantic way, and not all love/infatuation can be positive - love that leads to positive actions, and is extended to our fellow living creatures and our environment, that’s what we need!
Which ones are your “Heavy skies”?
Watching people you love in pain or suffering; losing loved ones. That’s the tough stuff. My gran, who died in January at the age of 96, and was the inspiration for the song, said that the sun’s always there, though, it’s just sometimes the clouds are in the way.
Have you ever feel like a Cinderella?
I’ve played Cinderella in a pantomime once! And Prince Charming, too - I actually preferred playing the prince’s role. In my life, I’ve never felt downtrodden like Cinders; I was lucky to have a very loving and comfortable childhood. I have had a few “getting-to-go-to-the-ball” moments in my musical career, though, when I couldn’t believe my luck at where I was performing and with whom!
“Do you feel loved”?
Yes. :)
In “Scissors, paper, stone” your voice sounds hurt while a painful violin cries over your beautiful piano tune. Scissors, paper or stone?
Paper, definitely. I think that’s the most powerful tool, in the right hands.
What do you expect from life?
I don’t expect anything from life; I think we all have to make our own path in life without expecting anything to be provided for us. I understand that there are things which are going to be hard that we will all go through at some point in our lives - loss, hurt. I’ve been lucky to experience many good things and to be surrounded by family and friends who enrich my life enormously. I hope to become a better person and to use my time to better support my friends, family, and people in need. I also hope to write songs that connect with people.
Interview by Juan Carlos Romero
Photo by Mark Kean