Sinéad O'Connor at the Irish Village? It makes perfect sense. The fiery 48-year-old singer is set to make her Middle East debut at the popular venue on Thursday. O'Connor rolls into town on the back of what is perhaps her best release in a decade. The album, I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss, was out last year and finds the singer's impassioned vocals equally at home over torch songs and blues and funk beats. For all the talk of a career rejuvenation, however, O'Connor tells The National that she remains the same person who burst onto the scene in the mid-80s.
Congratulations on your new album. I'm Not Bossy, I'm the Boss has some of your most direct songs but with a blues flavour. With the critical acclaim, does it feel like a fresh start for you?
It does feel like a first album to me. That type of style you are talking about goes back to me listening to Chicago blues, and that kind of music is just happy and funky. When you immerse yourself in those kind of songs, your writing standards just lift. Also the thing about those songs is that they teach you to say things extremely direct and simple. It makes life easier as a songwriter and a writer, generally. It is helping me in my own prose writing, too.
Let’s talk about the lyrics. The new record has you moving away from the autobiographical to more character-driven territory. Was that a conscious decision?
I actually started doing that on the previous album. That came about because there were people at that time sending me movie scripts and wanted me to write songs for them. I really enjoyed that. It is liberating when you are writing about other people, because it gives you the room to expand on various subjects. From then on I just started to invent characters.
Does this come from what you once described as your Stanislavski method (named after the famed Russian method actor Constantin Stanislavski) approach to songwriting?
To be a Stanislavski method singer, you have to identify with the character. At the same-time, though, it is free – you can play with it. You feel like you are the puppet master – the puppet can say things that you yourself wouldn’t necessarily say.
Your new album is collaborative – you wrote it with your band and it has the Afro-beat musician Seun Kuti as a guest in one track. As someone renowned for her independent streak, do you enjoy working as part of a team?
I love working with people, especially when I am given music to sing to and write lyrics for. That’s because I don’t play well enough to write while playing an instrument. That’s why I had the most enjoyable experience making this album. I was working with a great band, we toured together and we were all creative enough to write these great songs.
Is it refreshing that the press is talking about your new music instead of past controversies?
I don’t read stuff whether it is good or bad. It doesn’t really affect me because I am not exposed to it. It did when I was younger and when I first started and it was depressing. I eventually decided not to bother reading such stuff anymore.
Do you see fierce-minded female singers, in your vein, coming out of the music industry today?
I actually don’t. There is nothing out there such as protest songs or something stirring enough to move you. What I see now is that all of these artists are only writing about sex – and singing with no clothes on. That is really weird to me and it’s something I don’t like because these artists’ audience consists of minors. I think there is something very sinister going on when you have an entire generation of people being groomed by such artists and their music. For a woman now entering the industry, there is a lot of pressure to take your clothes off and that’s dangerous.
You spoke about those things when you wrote an online letter to Miley Cyrus. Was that done on impulse?
It was not impulsive. I think everything through before I act. I think it comes with being Irish – we are opinionated people and not the kind to keep our mouths shut, so it would be against my nature to not speak out.
• Sinéad O’Connor is at the Irish Village in Dubai on Thursday. Tickets are Dh165 from www.timeouttickets.com
[ sasaeed@thenational.ae ]
Mane points for safe home colouring
- Natural and grey hair takes colour differently than chemically treated hair
- Taking hair from a dark to a light colour should involve a slow transition through warmer stages of colour
- When choosing a colour (especially a lighter tone), allow for a natural lift of warmth
- Most modern hair colours are technique-based, in that they require a confident hand and taught skills
- If you decide to be brave and go for it, seek professional advice and use a semi-permanent colour
The specs
Engine: 1.8-litre 4-cyl turbo
Power: 190hp at 5,200rpm
Torque: 320Nm from 1,800-5,000rpm
Transmission: Seven-speed dual-clutch auto
Fuel consumption: 6.7L/100km
Price: From Dh111,195
On sale: Now
The Mother
Director: Niki Caro
Stars: Jennifer Lopez, Joseph Fiennes, Gael Garcia Bernal, Omari Hardwick and Lucy Paez
Rating: 3/5
ROUTE TO TITLE
Round 1: Beat Leolia Jeanjean 6-1, 6-2
Round 2: Beat Naomi Osaka 7-6, 1-6, 7-5
Round 3: Beat Marie Bouzkova 6-4, 6-2
Round 4: Beat Anastasia Potapova 6-0, 6-0
Quarter-final: Beat Marketa Vondrousova 6-0, 6-2
Semi-final: Beat Coco Gauff 6-2, 6-4
Final: Beat Jasmine Paolini 6-2, 6-2
Milestones on the road to union
1970
October 26: Bahrain withdraws from a proposal to create a federation of nine with the seven Trucial States and Qatar.
December: Ahmed Al Suwaidi visits New York to discuss potential UN membership.
1971
March 1: Alex Douglas Hume, Conservative foreign secretary confirms that Britain will leave the Gulf and “strongly supports” the creation of a Union of Arab Emirates.
July 12: Historic meeting at which Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid make a binding agreement to create what will become the UAE.
July 18: It is announced that the UAE will be formed from six emirates, with a proposed constitution signed. RAK is not yet part of the agreement.
August 6: The fifth anniversary of Sheikh Zayed becoming Ruler of Abu Dhabi, with official celebrations deferred until later in the year.
August 15: Bahrain becomes independent.
September 3: Qatar becomes independent.
November 23-25: Meeting with Sheikh Zayed and Sheikh Rashid and senior British officials to fix December 2 as date of creation of the UAE.
November 29: At 5.30pm Iranian forces seize the Greater and Lesser Tunbs by force.
November 30: Despite a power sharing agreement, Tehran takes full control of Abu Musa.
November 31: UK officials visit all six participating Emirates to formally end the Trucial States treaties
December 2: 11am, Dubai. New Supreme Council formally elects Sheikh Zayed as President. Treaty of Friendship signed with the UK. 11.30am. Flag raising ceremony at Union House and Al Manhal Palace in Abu Dhabi witnessed by Sheikh Khalifa, then Crown Prince of Abu Dhabi.
December 6: Arab League formally admits the UAE. The first British Ambassador presents his credentials to Sheikh Zayed.
December 9: UAE joins the United Nations.
SPECS
Engine: 1.5-litre turbo
Power: 181hp
Torque: 230Nm
Transmission: 6-speed automatic
Starting price: Dh79,000
On sale: Now
Biog
Age: 50
Known as the UAE’s strongest man
Favourite dish: “Everything and sea food”
Hobbies: Drawing, basketball and poetry
Favourite car: Any classic car
Favourite superhero: The Hulk original
Company profile
Company name: Fasset
Started: 2019
Founders: Mohammad Raafi Hossain, Daniel Ahmed
Based: Dubai
Sector: FinTech
Initial investment: $2.45 million
Current number of staff: 86
Investment stage: Pre-series B
Investors: Investcorp, Liberty City Ventures, Fatima Gobi Ventures, Primal Capital, Wealthwell Ventures, FHS Capital, VN2 Capital, local family offices
Tottenham's 10 biggest transfers (according to transfermarkt.com):
1). Moussa Sissokho - Newcastle United - £30 million (Dh143m): Flop
2). Roberto Soldado - Valencia - £25m: Flop
3). Erik Lamela - Roma - £25m: Jury still out
4). Son Heung-min - Bayer Leverkusen - £25m: Success
5). Darren Bent - Charlton Athletic - £21m: Flop
6). Vincent Janssen - AZ Alkmaar - £18m: Flop
7). David Bentley - Blackburn Rovers - £18m: Flop
8). Luka Modric - Dynamo Zagreb - £17m: Success
9). Paulinho - Corinthians - £16m: Flop
10). Mousa Dembele - Fulham - £16m: Success
Indian origin executives leading top technology firms
Sundar Pichai
Chief executive, Google and Alphabet
Satya Nadella
Chief executive, Microsoft
Ajaypal Singh Banga
President and chief executive, Mastercard
Shantanu Narayen
Chief executive, chairman, and president, Adobe
Indra Nooyi
Board of directors, Amazon and former chief executive, PepsiCo
The biog
Family: Parents and four sisters
Education: Bachelor’s degree in business management and marketing at American University of Sharjah
A self-confessed foodie, she enjoys trying out new cuisines, her current favourite is the poke superfood bowls
Likes reading: autobiographies and fiction
Favourite holiday destination: Italy
Posts information about challenges, events, runs in other emirates on the group's Instagram account @Anagowrunning
Has created a database of Emirati and GCC sportspeople on Instagram @abeermk, highlight: Athletes
Apart from training, also talks to women about nutrition, healthy lifestyle, diabetes, cholesterol, blood pressure
