Lauren Foster spoke with singer songwriter KT Tunstall ahead of her show at Warwick Arts Centre this weekend.

You’re performing at Warwick Arts Centre later this month. Can you tell us a bit about what to expect? 
It’s going to be a solo show. I’ve been doing solo tours for quite a while now. I like to mix it up, so on this particular solo tour, I’ve added various bits and pieces. I’ve got an electronic drum machine, a keyboard and a bunch of toys that I need. I do it to keep myself on my toes because playing solo, you haven’t got those other people to bounce off. You’ve got to keep yourself excited, and it’s been really, really cool adding stuff to the show. My fans seem to love seeing me create the tracks myself, and with a solo show I think it gives me a chance to chat with the audience. I won’t have my band looking totally bored in the background, waiting for the next song. I tend to gag a lot more when it’s a solo show. I’m also doing something that I did on my American tour that went down a storm. It’s called the KT Cover Challenge, where I get people online to pick me a cover each night. The rule is that I’m not allowed to see it in advance, so I’ve just got to go for it on the night. It’s pretty funny.

You’ve released five albums since you burst onto the music scene in 2004. Do you have a favourite?
That’s really, really hard. Usually your favourite is the last one you’ve done. I’m actually making a record this summer, so now my favourite is the new stuff. But my fourth record, Invisible Empire // Crescent Moon, was one I was really, really proud of. I reached a new plateau of realisation as a player and a writer, writing fairly simple, acoustic folk songs but really getting to a more emotionally complex place. It was all played live too, so not only was it very fulfilling in terms of crafting songs but also in terms of being a live player - playing and singing at the same time. It was a very special experience. 

You moved to Los Angeles just before the release of that fourth album. How crucial was the move for you personally?
It was a total life-changer. I mean, I’d just gone through a lot of shit where my father passed away and my marriage fell apart. Life was just a total mess. I really felt like I needed to start again. From a personal view, I just needed to burn it to the ground and start again. I came to realise fairly soon afterwards that I really needed to do that from a work point of view as well. I just got caught up in the psychology of thinking that I was defined by what I did, and that my identity was completely intertwined with being a musician, and that wasn’t good. I didn’t want my work to be who I was, I wanted to take the person and go and play music when I wanted to. I didn’t want to need it. It took a while, but I’ve definitely got to that place and I’m a lot happier. California was absolutely brilliant in terms of finding that balance, taking the time out to heal and finding a new way of approaching what I did. Listening to Fleetwood Mac, Neil Young and Joni Mitchell while driving around the canyons, where all that music had been written, was incredible. Very, very inspiring.

And you’re still living there now?
Yeah, I live in Venice Beach.

Would you ever consider moving back to the UK?
LA at the moment is a very exciting place to be from a music point of view. There are a lot of people moving there, and there’s a lot of really exciting new music. I haven’t felt like LA has been that place before, but it definitely is now. I mean, it absolutely was back in the day, but certainly the 10 years I’ve been touring there, it hasn’t felt like it. New York was the place to be, but I really feel like it’s shifted over to LA now. 

Following your UK tour, you’ll be performing numerous UK summer festival dates. What coping mechanisms do you put in place to deal with such a hectic schedule?
Lots of movies! Lots of going to the cinema and lots of box sets. You have to take care of yourself; it’s not only that you get knackered out, it’s also that you just stop enjoying it. If it gets to a point where you’re not really enjoying playing, it’s not fair on the people who’re buying tickets. The greatest gift of being a performer is that you give out joy every night. That’s an amazing thing to be able to do, but you’ve got to be able to do it. It’s just getting that balance. For me, it’s definitely in the process of learning not to beat yourself up for not doing any work because sometimes it doesn’t feel like work. It feels like you’re having a great time, and it’s fun and it’s your passion, but it is work and you do have to take some time out. That’s partly why I left London, because it was impossible to take a day off. I was constantly feeling like I should be doing something, and Venice Beach is definitely good for that.

And do you have a favourite festival?
I have such a deep love for Glastonbury. It’s my yearly pilgrimage. Playing there for the first time when I got my first gig was just such a huge deal for me - it was like winning the lottery or something. There are some really nice smaller festivals in Britain that are great and aren’t corporate, but the fact that Glastonbury is one of the biggest festivals in the world and has still managed to stave off any corporate sponsorship is why it’s so good. We live in this world where we’re constantly bombarded with shit adverts telling us what we need in order to be happy. I think the effect is so palpable on people, and at Glastonbury they get to spend five days not being force-fed advertising. It’s an amazing escape, and I’m just so glad it’s remained like that. For British people to let their hair down and be that nice to each other is pretty amazing. 

What are your thoughts about the UK’s live music scene?
It seems pretty good. The thing I’ve noticed is that it’s very, very heavily saturated. There are so many new bands all the time. I don’t know how new bands manage, really - everything’s online. I don’t envy bands coming out now, I tell you that much. It’s a very different world from when I started. I don’t think streaming is helping fans engage with albums, and some artists aren’t bothering to make albums anymore. All the bands I like still do, because I think there’s something very special in that package, in that body of work, that has meaning and takes you on a journey. I don’t know if it’s always been the way in Britain, but it’s certainly just so obsessed with what’s new that it can sometimes be quite hard on your heart, as an established artist, to try and make the platforms for people to give a shit that you’ve got your fifth record out and that you’re still going. It’s quite different in America. There’s a lot of loyalty and longevity for artists, and there are a lot more people. It’s a different situation. I think it takes a lot of work to keep hold of your fans, to keep them in touch with what you’re doing, and I almost want to go back to the old school fan club. It’s definitely passive, I won’t lie, but British music is still an incredibly vibrant, relevant, important piece of the global world, of what’s going on and who’s making what. It’s a brilliant thing.

In terms of your professional career, is there anything you’d do differently?
Hell, yeah! When you look back 10 years to what you were doing, everyone would surely say that they’d do some things differently. I remember there was a pivotal moment where I was destined to start touring arenas and to go up to a much bigger level, and I think I just shat myself and was scared. I remember thinking that my music should feel really intimate and that arenas weren’t the right kind of venue for me. Now, looking back, I would’ve loved playing big places like that. I was coming up with various excuses, but really I think I was just scared. For anyone in that situation, I would say, try it -  don’t turn your back on that opportunity without seeing if you like it or not. I think I actually would have loved it. I remember as the venues got bigger and bigger, I was feeling smaller and smaller and was thinking, ‘Oh my god, how is anyone going to see me?’ I’d be choosing the craziest, sparkliest trousers that I could find, just so people could see me. But of course you go up to that level and you can get screens! I didn’t really know anything about that; I’d never seen any shows like that, so I didn’t know a thing about the production that you can put in, and how you can put on this amazing show with screens and whatever. I love seeing that now, seeing the creativity going into large-scale production. It’s totally mindblowing.

Is there any single artist who’s been your biggest inspiration?
It’s Beck! I heard Loser on MTV when I was about 15, and I’d never heard anything like it in my life. I remember watching the video with my jaw on the floor. I grew up with Wham! and Whitney Houston and Bros, and then here’s this guy using a bunch of samples, rapping and just playing this old, fucked-up acoustic guitar. That was basically when I started playing guitar, and I’ve adored him ever since. I’ve definitely tried to follow in his footsteps and avoid being pigeonholed to one type of sound because that would just kill me. Doing the same-sounding shit every record - I just couldn’t do it; I wouldn’t want to do it. He’s always a beacon in times of doubt. 

What does the future hold for KT Tunstall?
It’s very exciting! Apart from being on the road right now, which is amazing, I’m off to Japan next month. I love going to Japan - it’s one of my favourite places to do gigs. I’m also making a new record this summer, so I’m going to be in the studio. I’m probably not going to release it until next year because I’m going back to LA and doing a bit more solo music work, which I love. Maybe a bit of acting is on the cards too. Then definitely back gigging next year.

KT Tunstall performs at Warwick Arts Centre on Saturday 27 May.