Bird's Eye View

BEV chats to Bishi as she gears up for Latitude Festival

Bishi

Birds Eye View is excited to be at the Latitude Festival this weekend, yet again working alongside Bishi & Neil Kaczor as they present their new live soundtrack, specially commissioned to accompany Salome by the Birds Eye View Film Festival. Bishi is a singer, multi instrumentalist and DJ based in London whose new album Nights at the Circus was nominated for the Times Award and for a South Bank Show Award. Marcie MacLellan was able to speak to her in the midst of gearing up for the release of her second album.

Marcie: Birds Eye View will be in the front row cheering on your act at Latitude. What exactly can we expect to see?

Bishi: I am going to be doing a show with my band, reminiscent of an early TV special. We will start very ornate and then end in a big way.

Marcie: How did you first get involved in the soundtrack for Salome?

Bishi: I had already DJed for the Birds Eye View festival before I was involved in the soundtrack. I loved the technicality of making the film run with the music. Neil Kaczor (a collaborator on the soundtrack) was very instrumental and curated the timing of everything. How you illustrate the points of drama is actually really difficult. The actual narrative of a silent film is very different and much more free flowing than films are now. But I just knew certain things would work. It felt a kin to serendipity – everything just fell into time.

Marcie: At BEV, we tend to highlight the challenges women can face in the film industry and the ways these can be overcome. Have you experienced similar challenges yourself?

Bishi: Yes, I would say that I’ve felt a lot of sexism. There is a tendency if you are a women involved in the arts that someone else did it for you – this happens across the board, in fashion, film, or music.  We have to work together. Strong women forging great creative relationships should be seen as a strength. I’ve got a great respect for what BEV do and I think their programming is brilliant. They manage to pull together so many interesting people and film makers involved in the arts, and that is special and unique achievement.

Marcie: How have you personally overcome these challenges?

Bishi: Gradually, you have to learn to ignore it. Anything you put into the public realm will get a reaction – inevitably someone will not like it and write something horrible about it somewhere. Just ignore it and get on with what you want.

Marcie: Latitude has described you as the world’s most sensational singer and sitar player, blending traditional, ethnic musical qualities with upbeat, electronic beats. Where does this inspiration come from?

Bishi: My mother was a singer so I came from a musical background. In my teens I was involved in different bands and started a series of club nights with Kash Point, an electro freak dress up club. We put an emphasis on new bands and new music, with people like the White Stripes and Amy Winehouse coming down. I was studying guitar and gradually began to focus on more of a solo career rather than the world of clubs.

Salome, starring Alla Nazimova

Marcie: So I’ve caught you in the middle of recording your second album. After such positive reviews the first time around, we’re anxious to see it. When can we expect the release?

Bishi: My new single ‘One Nation’ was already released free to my fan base. The office release of my album, Albion Voice, will be released by Griffin Records at the end of September.

If you’re at Latitude, don’t miss the enigmatic Bishi with Neil Kaczor and Zongamin performing alongside 1923 cinema classic Salome, starring mesmeric lesbian Hollywood icon Alla Nazimova. BEV will also present short films Peter and Ben, and The Lake. Click here to find out more about the event.