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A Beautiful Collision with Bic Runga

Original article is at: Blaze Media, Australia

August, 2002

By TJ

On the line in New Zealand (or New Middle Earth as it's now known) is Bic Runga, an exceptional singer-songwriter who has just released her second album, an album she also produced.

Mixed by Coldplay's deckman Michael Brauer, it's a collection of melancholic and breezy tunes fuelled by Runga's trademark frank delivery and classic arrangements. It's not hard to see what attracted a major label to Runga's crystal clear voice and entrancing melodies, and on being "discovered" she is forthcoming and gracious. "I had a pretty enchanted beginning, I had a few labels that were proposing deals to me ... but I went with Sony because it was the only one I'd ever heard of! (laughs)"

It's lines like "Honest goodbyes only work once or twice, and the rest must be lies" (Honest Goodbyes) which belie the breeziness of her tunes, forging devastating juxtapositions of light and dark and make her songs so compelling. In the writer's words, "People can relate to it because we've all been there and done that. The lyrics mostly seem sad but you can't take the production down the same road too because otherwise it will just be too depressing! There is a juxtaposition, almost an irony.

Production-wise the record might sound whimsical, dreamy or optimistic, when the songwriting itself is actually quite sad.

Beautiful Collision took two years to make and the recording process spanned four countries - it was a process in which "flying by the seat of your pants and going with your instinct" was the key. Among others, Dave Dobbyn, Sebastian Steinberg and Neil Finn guest on the album, adding to the colours of the composition. "Everyone was on the record because they wanted to be there... you can't force these things to come about. I think I had a pretty clear idea of what I wanted and then it was just a case of getting the right person. Producing is probably a lot like film directing - you've got a character, there's usually only about three people that you can think of that can possibly fill it, and you're usually lucky to get those three people that are on your wishlist."

Runga was obviously torn in her response to being asked which part of the album making process she was most captivated by, given that she's involved in all aspects. "The songwriting is definitely the most fun part. That's something you don't need to consult anyone else with - it's something you do on your own and it's quite dreamy. The production is exciting because that's where your expression is, once you've carved out the song, then production-wise it could go any way. It's where you get to express the truth of that song."

On being asked about the influences on the making of Beautiful Collision, Runga cited classic music of classic times, which was no surprise given the timeless and stripped back quality of the album: "The things I like about music are definitely the nostalgia, I like a lot of music from the 70s and the 60s and then also the 30s. There's something about escaping to other eras that interests me - Cole Porter, that hopeless romantic 1930s sound, a lot of 60s pop, Californian pop like the Mamas and the Papas, the Band, Crosby Stills and Nash - that sort of carefree songwriting. "The era I love so much is 60s Californian pop where songwriters weren't so self-aware. I think they were just getting stoned and writing songs. But now I think that every songwriter is thinking about whether or not their song is going to get played on the radio. My only concern (with mainstream radio) is that radio is one type of music and that people are getting too complacent about how they find their music."

On the future, Runga is interested in writing for film and in delving into country music, and would love to record an album of country duets with singers that she admires. In the meantime, a tour is beginning in September: "I'm just bringing a couple of singers - I'm bringing a singer from America and a singer from New Zealand and we're just going to pretend to be Crosby, Stills and Nash!"

You can catch this most beautiful and charming performer at the Governor Hindmarsh on September 27 - the last time she visited was in support of Neil Finn several years ago so this is a rare opportunity. Beautiful Collision is now available through Sony records.