Bo Bruce grabbed everyone’s attention when she appeared in the first season of The Voice last year and now she is back with her debut album Before I Sleep.
We caught up with the singer/songwriter to chat about the new single and album as well as her time on the hit TV series.
- You are about to release your new single Save Me so what can fans expect from your debut single?
I guess it is the most poppy track on the album and I wrote it with Shirley Poole from Alicia’s Attic, so that was exciting. Lyrically I think that it is an appropriate reflection of where I am at the moment but I do think that it is a good introduction to the rest of the album as well.
It is hard picking singles because I wrote so many and sometimes I just want to leave that to other people.
- You have mentioned that this is the perfect introduction to the rest of the album Before I Sleep so how does it introduce us to the rest of the record?
A lot of people are involved when deciding what the first single. There is a sound and a thread that in that record I worked with so many different producers and so it was important for me to keep a vibe - which is a bit of an extension of my EP, I guess.
- So how have you found the response to the track Save Me as well as the rest of the album?
It has been amazing and it has been a very exciting thing to have people at radio stations and magazine and bloggers saying good things about it.
It is an exciting time but it is also a nerve-wracking time for me as I have not put anything out at this level before and so it has been really nice.
- Before I Sleep is your debut album as I said so how excited are you to finally get a full length record out there - as you have been in the industry for quite a few years?
I have always want to put something out there with the support of a label and all the right teams - there are so many people involved with getting a record heard. I am getting my shot at last and it has been amazing.
- You released an EP back in 2010 so did you ever think that this full length album was never going to happen for you?
Yes, definitely. People talk about the process and the journey of this whole music thing and you loose confidence when things aren’t going your way and so there were moments when I thought ‘are people every going to hear these songs that I am writing?’ So there were some scary times and I did nearly pack it all in.
- I was reading a quote from you about this album saying ‘it has been the hardest and most testing time of your life’ so why have you found this so difficult?
Well I did The Voice and I was thrown into the spotlight and then I had to decide whether to go and do an album or take time out and grieve after the death of my mum.
But music was everything as it gave me something to focus on. I haven’t taken a break and I haven’t stopped so it really has just been pulling me along.
- You have worked with an array of writers and producers on this record Snow Patrol’s Johnny McDaid and Joel Pott from Athlete being just two of them so how did you find working with those guys?
It was amazing. Johnny and Joel have become very good friends of mine - so has Henry Bins from Zero 7 - the three of them have experienced huge levels of success and know what the industry is like.
So not only was I able to work with them on an artistic level but emotionally they were very much there for me as they have done it and they know what it is like. There were lots of conversations about this whole process and they really did shepherd me through the whole thing.
Having this support was very very important because there are a lot of sharks in the industry, I have been around long enough before The Voice to know that is it hard to know who to trust - I was very grateful to be taken under their wing.
Snow Patrol set up a publishing company called Polar Patrol and they had them sign me to that. So there really is that family vibe - even my agent is part of this very close knit thing as he looks after Coldplay and Snow Patrol and in return Snow Patrol look out for me. They feel like older brothers in a way.
- How did you find the whole co-writing process? I talk to artist who try it for the first time and find it quite difficult so I wondered how you found the whole experience?
I love it. I suppose it does depend on who I am working with but writing with Johnny McDaid and Henry Bins has been amazing as they are complex characters themselves. They hold up mirrors and make sure that we are really saying what I mean.
They are very accomplished musicians and to be able to work with them on a musical level is quite inspiring and I learnt huge things in their studios.
- You have also reunited with Tom Marsh who produced you EP Search The Night so why did you decide to work with him again? And how did you find working with him second time around?
Tom is my very dear friend and he is a brilliant producer. We didn’t get to spend much time together because there was so much going on for both of us but the songs that we did do together are very important and very special times.
- As I said you have been in the industry for a while so how do you feel you have developed as a song-writer and a singer between that EP and this album - bearing in mind all that has happened to you between the two releases?
It has just been a process of time and a lot of themes and things that I am writing about have intensified. There is something about doing The Voice and having to do covers as you discover new parts of your vocal range and that very much took me out of my comfort zone of singing quite chilled and down-tempo things - my EP was quite low-fi. By going on The Voice and dong big songs I realised that my vocal could do a lot more that I thought.
- You were one of the stars of The Voice last year so how would you sum up your experience when you look back on it now?
I loved it but I was going through very different things; looking after my mum was one world and then lights, camera and the media interest as well. A lot of stuff at that time washed over my head because my priority was my mum.
But I am still in touch with all of the producers on the show and I really did feel very taken care of, they always made sure that I was alright.
- And what do you feel that the show has given you as an artist and to be able to propel your career forward?
I needed confidence and I think that it definitely gave me that. The idea of being voted for on those shows it is a bit gross but for me it was a brilliant thing as I realised that people did want to hear me sing and did want to see me do well.
I was always terrified of the idea of people voting for whether was good enough or not but when it happened I suddenly understood the whole thing.
- Finally what is next for you?
I have got the tour on the horizon so I will be touring a lot for the rest of the year and I have festival as well. We are just about to hit the road and I am really looking forward to it.
Bo Bruce - Before I Sleep is out now.