Music: Joan As Policewoman

More than just a siren…

When she first started out as solo artist, Joan Wasser found it a little difficult to gain traction despite her pedigree as an in-demand violinist, singer and stage performer with the likes of Nick Cave, Antony Hegarty, Lou Reed and Rufus Wainwright. And, as the girlfriend of Jeff Buckley when he tragically died in 1997, you would have thought the ingredients and back story were there to help things along. It’s been a slow progression though, commercially speaking, but her spirit and energy has taken her this far (including the fact that she dislocated her knee while touring which meant the original scheduled interview had to be aborted). “I was adopted – my mum was very young at the time – and I don’t have a reference point with my birth parents,” she says. “That has made me a very independent and curious person, I don’t know if there is a particular gene, but its definitely helped me to continue to make music.”

Released on the nascent British label Reveal Records, in 2006, her debut album as Joan As Policewoman (named after the Angie Dickinson TV police drama) unveiled a startlingly good songwriter and all-round musician, who could also play guitar, piano, and sing with soulful depth.

Fast forward to 2014, and through sheer determination, a big personality, talent and a lot of hard graft, Wasser has just released her fourth studio album of originals, The Classic, which shows off her life-long love affair with soul music, and is a generally more upbeat affair than her previous albums, perhaps inspired by the better place, mentally and spiritually, that she proclaims to be in. “Yes, I am in a good place, and it’s continuing. Once it happens, it just keeps on swinging!”

At the heart of Wasser is an artist always willing to experiment, whilst the subject matter tends to speak of relationships and the art of connecting. On the first two songs – ‘Witness’ and ‘Holy City’ – she displays a long love affair with soul music, whilst the title track itself is a take on doo-wop, fully acapella. “When I was growing up I’d listen to Al Green, Diana Ross – this was before I got into punk and new wave – and although there has always ben a soulful element to my music, I’ve really let it out here.

“In previous records I would fade the song down pretty quickly, but I love it when a band plays on, which is what we did on many of the songs. And then I would add horns, strings, textures, it becomes its own entity. As a listener, you have time to reflect and chill, rather having to deal with a sudden ending.”
Komedia, Thursday 17 April, 8pm, £16

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