Beth Ditto is a remarkable singer, unique and uninhibited.
Beth Ditto is a remarkable singer, unique and uninhibited. But the Gossip frontwoman isn’t the confronting individual that she’s frequently portrayed as; she’s bubbly, sweet, energetic, and passionate about paying homage to her musical icons … Gloria Steinem, Tobi Vail, Gladys Knight, Angela Davis and Missy Elliott … all exceptional performers and unafraid of voicing their opinions. "Missy Elliott’s image is about being interesting and really amazing ," expresses Ditto with gusto. "Those are the people that made me feel that I wanted to be a creative person. Not necessarily a sexy person or a beautiful person, but a creative and interesting person. Those are the people that flicked the light bulb in my head."
In her first official record outside of her soul-infused indie-rock/post-punk band – Ditto isn’t comfortable with calling it a solo record – Ditto steps out as the dance/electro queen that fans already knew she had in her. Ditto previously worked with Simian Mobile Disco on a track from the UK production/remix team’s 2009 Temporary Pleasure album, Cruel Intentions, and was eager to work with them again for her self-titled EP. There was one slight problem – she was too shy to ask. "Going to make music with other people (outside of Gossip) makes me really nervous," Ditto asserts. "Cruel Intentions really broke the ice – I don’t have the kind of personality that would just ask somebody to make music. When they asked, I was like ‘oh, thank god … thank god they asked’," she giggles. "It’s like asking someone out on a date.
"I wanted to do something that was away from my comfort zone and I wanted to know that I could do something else," Ditto affirms. "It’s kind of like a bucket list," she laughs. "Cruel Intentions made me realise that I could do it and it was really fun working with them. I was really passionate about it, but it came from a different kind of place musically – I had to prove to myself that I could do it."
Discovering the differences between the various influences of Ditto and her Simian Mobile Disco collaborators – James Ford and Jas Shaw – proved amusing and bewildering. "We were listening to a lot of soul and Whitney Houston and they wanted to mix my references with theirs. They were like ‘have you listened to Grace Jones? And I was like ‘have you heard a better dance record, please!’ and they were like ‘what?!’ and I was like ‘yeah, you know, that’s what I listen to’. And they were ‘that was not what we thought at all’," Ditto relates with giddy laughter. "I think they thought I’d have these really great underground references because they have them, but I was like ‘I have no idea who you’re talking about’. I was like ‘can we make it sound like Mamas & Papas mashed with Usher’ and they’re like ‘what?!’ I let them hear the music that I grew up on and I’d listen to a lot of the dance music that they listen to. It was really awesome that way.
"For me, a really big vocal influence has always been Dolly Parton. They would say ‘don’t use so much power in your voice’ and ‘take a step back from the microphone’. It was a challenge to let things be that soft and intimate, because I had been doing it a completely different way for so many years."
While I Wrote The Book is extremely infectious, it’s evident that the second track on Ditto’s self-titled EP comes from a sensitive place. "I had this break-up from a relationship that I was in for nine years from the time I was 19," Ditto informs. "It was three or so months into the break-up and I feel that even though I didn’t really know what was going on, all the songs are talking to this person and maybe talking to me. I’m always like ‘yeah that word rhymes with that one, perfect’ and when it’s finished, I’ll be like: ‘oh, that’s what the song is about’. I never know until it’s finished."
Ditto is hoping to do some festivals during the summer in between recording the fifth Gossip album, but admits that it’ll be difficult with her hectic itinerary as well as Simian Mobile Disco’s. "[The new album is going] really well. Nathan and I both have very bad ADD," Ditto admits with laughter, "so we try to get things going as quickly as possible, but we’re still in the baby stages of writing new songs right now. We don’t really feel a lot of pressure; we just let things happen at their own pace."
Ditto’s creativity also expands into the world of fashion. Recently, she designed a fashion collection for UK plus-sized line, Evans, and graced the catwalk at Paris Fashion Week in opening Jean Paul Gaultier’s spring 2011 fashion show. "It’s really important for me to take a break and step back and use my brain in a different arena like sketching and sewing," says Ditto of her love of design. "I remember taking Gossip t-shirts from the merchandise and turning them inside out, so you couldn’t see the logo and just making black dresses out of them and sewing them together. I used to make an outfit on the way to a show. So it’s really nice to be able to sketch some ideas and get them out there and see your brainchild come to life in a different way other than music. It makes my life more hectic, but it’s so satisfying in a way that I could never have imagined."
The singer-songwriter has garnered many glowing titles across her career so far including the ‘the coolest person in rock’, ‘queen of electro’ and ‘one of the most influential women in music’. But how would Ditto like to be regarded? "I just want people to remember that I tried to be as genuine as possible and make everyone feel touched, just to make everyone feel a little important," Ditto expresses in a softer, endearingly sincere tone. "Every time we’re at a Gossip show, it means a lot to me, the people in the crowd and the faces.
"Because I remember going to shows since I was a teenager and watching a band like The Make-Up. I remember thinking Ian Svenonius was an incredible performer; people would put their palms in the air and he would walk on their hands across the crowd. And I remember thinking ‘all I want is for him to step on my hand; I want him to see me; I want him to notice that I really, really adore him and appreciate him’. And I just always want people to have that feeling, that they’re a part of it and I’m noticing them. That’s really important to me. I want people to remember that they mean a lot to me."
Ditto is, without a doubt, one of the most convincing and intriguing individuals in modern music. And that’s sexier than sexy.
Ditto’s collaboration with Simian Mobile Disco, Beth Ditto EP, is out now through Sony.
