Rock and Pop: Interview - Anita Blay
Published: 3 February, 2011
by ROISIN GADELRAB
The pop journey of a kid British...
COCKNBULLKID – that’s it, that’s her name now. Dropping the prefix “the” is the first sign something’s different about Anita Blay.
Known for her electro tunes of the past, Anita’s turned to pop for her debut album. The single Hold On To Your Misery (out March 7) is every bit the snappy pop song to which she aspires.
Anita, as CocknBullKid, is part of the HMV Next Big Thing festival, a chance to see the picks of the future across venues including Camden Barfly, Jazz Cafe and Relentless Garage for the flat rate of £10. She plays Upstairs at the Garage alongside James Yuill, Trophy Wife and Visions of Trees on February 10.
Also chalked up at various venues are Jessie J, The Airborne Toxic Event, Skepta, The Chakras, and Chilly Gonzales (for full line-up visit www.hmvnextbigthing.com).
When she speaks to Grooves, Anita has just settled in a deli after recording vocals for the eclectic Canadian musician Gonzales – who worked on her album.
“He’s charismatic, good fun to work with, very much an artist and quite independent,” she says. “He pretty much makes things happen for himself so he’s good at giving tips and advice on how to make sure everything is yours. It’s becoming harder for people to control what they do.”
While Anita absorbs Gonzales’s advice, she is well aware of the fortunate position she is in. “Although I’m signed to a big label (Island) I’m with an independent (subsidiary Moshi Moshi),” she says.
Album Adulthood touches on life as a Londoner of Ghanaian descent and some good old teenage angst.
“My parents split up at a very early age and I was separated from my mum when I was about 12 so I grew up with a male patriarchal figure,” Anita says. “I wasn’t raised by a woman in the most important times in my youth. While he was doing a stellar job – I love my dad to bits – there are certain quirks/things you can’t help but sometimes attribute to not having a female figure.”
Anita grew up in Hackney, torn between where to ally herself – and her confusion over her origins is detailed on the album.
She says: “The older you get it’s less of a clash and more of a fusion. There’s good and bad but I’ve learned to straddle both – be proud that I’m British and proud to be Ghanaian.”
An explanation of her stage name is also on the album. Anita says: “A lot of people ask why I called myself CocknBullKid. I’m not talking about anatomy, I’m referring to a cockerel and bull – it’s another way of saying to spin a yarn, tell a tale, bullshit someone. Something I’m fascinated with.”
But at the moment it’s all about pop. “It is a craft writing a pop song – it’s a lot easier to be experimental and waffle on for nine minutes,” says Anita. “Now three minutes, there’s something very satisfying about a pop song.”
Making the album has doubled as therapy.
“If you’re old enough to be honest about how you feel and put it on a record, hopefully you feel better for it – almost exorcising your demons,” she adds. “I listen back to songs and think, ‘wow I don’t feel like that anymore’. I’m happy I’ve been honest about it.”
• CocknBullKid’s website is www.cocknbullkid.com and twitter name is @cocknbullkid