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Bic Runga Interview
Original content copyright 2002 to Women Who Rock magazine
Original article is at: Women Who Rock magazine
Date: December, 2002 / January 2003 issue
Photography by: Robert Sebree
Born to a Maori army dad and Malaysian lounge singer mom, the ethnic New Zealander has had to overcome major obstacles on her journey to stardom, including the preconceptions presented by her preponderously white “biscuit of a country” and her own considerable cynicism. “If I as a music fan were looking at myself I’d say, ‘Look at her. She got signed because she’s a chick and she’s Chinese.’” Right. If only it were that easy.
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"It's a bit of a nuisance" Bic says of her recent fame. "I'm always bracing myself for someone to say something mean". But this rarely happens. In fact, the meanest jobs come from Bic herself. Disillusioned by the high stakes music scene in which she now finds herself, her heart and mind still show she's the same die hard indie rocker she's always been.
Bic, now signed with Sony, giving her a shot at breaking through in the States, feel's that clarifying her moral and artistic position is import. "For me, my career is characterised, not by "ambition", but by 'drive', she say's. "Do you see the difference in those two words?"
Bic's own belief that her debut album, Drive was too depressing, pushed her to make the uplifting Beautiful Collision. Three years in the making, Bic not only produced the record, but also played the guitar, piano, and drums."Self-producing is not something I would recommend highly at all. I know a lot of people in Ne Zealand who have done it and gone completely insane. I made it through, though. Next time I make a record, I'm going to do it in three weeks, and it's all going to be live to tape."
Original content copyright 2002 to Women Who Rock magazine
