Telling Her Stories
Howard turns away from the sound console in front of him, fidgets something quickly on his phone, and starts his briefing. “Ira will be on stage around 10.30 sharp…”
I look at him, almost amused.
“It’s either around 10.30, or 10.30 sharp,” I quip.
“You know what I mean…” he answers with a half-smile.
I nodded, not quite knowing whether my bearing should be the “around 10.30” or the “10.30 sharp”
* * *
The hush that descended onto the audience at Axis discotheque was surreal, almost unbearable. Low lights, a stage packed with instruments and strictly no electric guitars. The monitors above the stage turn again to that classy black and white movie caption, but there’s no subtitles to a 1920’s movie, just the title “Love Song.”
It’s not what you’d associate with Ira Losco or any of her pop-star, rock-chick, queen-of-the-stage routine; no, this is something more definite, concrete, almost ceremonious, yet never a tad theatrical.
What a treat. The next song of her unplugged set is her seamless, breathtaking version of one of The Cure’s masterpieces.
“However far away, I will always… love you…”.
You could almost feel her, harnessing tons of talent and attitude, craftily controlling her emotions, mesmerising those in front of her. Probably, Robert Smith would have loved it too, enough to make him forget about his bad hair days.
* * *
Accident Prone and Ira’s third album, Unmasked, are only distant cousins, but the blood link is still there. Accident Prone fired well-thought and gritty pop rock in all directions, a development on Someone Else, an Ira Losco without intricacies but with a lot of energy and flair to offer. Two albums that couldn’t have gone wrong, especially since they are what Ira does best, and, more importantly, what she enjoys doing most.
Unmasked, on the other hand, is an Ira Losco entrenched in thought, probably in a cold winter night when there’s nothing on TV and pen and paper are best mates. She’s not just turning away from everything she’s done before. She’s not shunning her pop life.
It’s more about taking a deep look at herself, looking for her more intimate side, and producing this unplugged album with the same polish, but with more introspect, than its two predecessors. Unmasked sways between Ira’s infatuations, the ones you’d find in the locked bottom drawer:
This new ten track piece, forty minutes in all, includes unplugged versions of her own hit singles from the previous two albums. There is none of that sort of self reverence that shrouds most artists when they release an unplugged or live album, and there’s nothing to indicate pushiness from the record label either; it could just be Ira playing covers, but for all she’d care, this one has come straight out of her heart.
* * *
Her album is not even a week old, and she’s already engaged in the next one: the Bay Music Awards. Her schedule must be pretty tight, of late. A few days before the launch she was flat out finalising the invite lists for the big date. Energetic, and not the one to heap hassles onto unsuspecting lieutenants, Ira got down to the job. No inflated egos, no delusions of grandeur.
I find her in the Eden Arena, sitting quietly with other artists. Joseph Armani is fidgeting with his laptop; Ivan Filletti is sitting, hands crossed, next to a DJ from Bay, while Lincoln Spiteri of Screamdaisy is asking why me and my light blue tie look like we’ve just arrived from school.
“Don’t let him hassle you,” Terry Farrugia of Bay proffers Ira some fatherly advice.
Sitting in a secluded corner, next to the steps leading to the gym, it’s question time again. So, what’s hurry to record a new album, just a year after Accident Prone? Surely, it wasn’t the kind of album you’d forget easily in a short time, no?
“That was the same question I asked Howard [Keith, Ira’s manager] when he had suggested I should do an unplugged album. It was an especially good suggestion, however, and the positive reactions we got after the Katie Melua performances helped us quite a bit in taking this decision. Vocally I felt a lot more uninhibited – although I enjoy it a lot when I play with the band, but I believe my vocals can give more in an unplugged. Besides that, I was writing some songs for the next album and somehow these sounded better in their acoustic versions.”
Is it more like a pressure-drop EP than an album? Is Unmasked a stepping stone towards Ira’s next album, maybe a way to keep fans happy?
“I am quite aware that’s a dodgy thing to do. In
“However, even though I love Accident Prone to bits, I am even more passionate about this album [Unmasked] because I feel I’ve matured that little bit more, especially in my song writing.”
She describes Unmasked as introvert, yet more mature. “It came at a time where I felt I had to write. I had a lot of emotions bottled up inside me and the songs that came out were really appropriate for this album. It is much more honest than the other albums.”
“I see it as a step forward. But don’t get me wrong – I enjoy playing with the band and it’s a thrill to hear the electric guitars. I like to move around the stage, doing a full-blast show. But performing unplugged is more of a challenge, it’s much harder.”
Work on compiling the songs started in September, but there were already a couple of tracks penned down for a third studio album.
“I had written one of these songs a year ago before Accident Prone came out. Howard was mixing the album, I had had enough because I was tired, and went to watch VH1. There was Top 40 Live Performances on and it kind of inspired me Arms of the Ones was written just after that.”
She’s not too different from the Ira I had spoken to when I interviewed her after Someone Else. Her gestures have stayed the same, so have her tones, her energy. But, looks aside, she has matured; vigorous like before, yet maybe brighter, older without taking the gloss off her performances. Has Katie Melua played a big role in this?
“Well – when we chose to cover a Cure song it didn’t cross my mind that Katie Melua had done so too [with Just Like Heaven in her 2005 album Piece by Piece]. We basically chose The Cure because Howard and I both like them a lot. But, yes, after watching Katie Melua live I can tell you she’s incredible and she’s amazing vocally. I’ve never heard anyone singing so in tune, it’s like she’s playback. She’s amazing.” Her eyes brighten up again when she describes the artist she supported on her tour.
“I admire her at how talented she is and at how honest she is. I am not infatuated with her but I appreciate her music a lot. No, I wouldn’t list her as someone I wrote music because of – though she did have an inspiration. We’re very different from each other too. She’s a totally different person to me, with a very different background and I don’t think that lifestyle really appeals to me.”
Tranquillity is about to be shattered. The mikes are being plugged inside the arena and a loud unwanted buzz interrupts Ira’s train of thought.
Oh yes – Howard. He’s a hard driver in the studio, nonetheless someone who has tons of faith in Ira and is ready to push her to a new limit each time. In that, artist and manager share the ambition of doing better each time.
“Howard sometimes manages to drive me to tears. It’s because everyone thinks they’ve done their best, but he always finds room for improvement. This album is part of my learning curve. I’m still very ambitious and ready to learn, and it encourages me to see where I can push myself.
Ira gets the call, it’s time to prepare the set for the BMA’s. Her not-so-easy pop star life knows no routine, no early hours, and no slacking.
* * *
It’s 1am. I have just finished my set at Axis. Ira’s work at her own party is not over yet. She is still shaking hands with sponsors, fans, relatives and the like. What time will she make it home?
I would say around 3am, sharp.
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