Page 16 - BiTS_07_JULY_2022

BiTS: You’ve got lots of gigs coming up in the future. Almost all of them for some time to come
not in the UK. I think the first one in the UK is at the end of this month, isn’t it? That’s a
masterclass looking at your list here.

IS: The day after, I’m at the Eel Pie Club then I’m in Sidmouth. Then I’m back in July.

BiTS: How do you get on with the audience? Is there ever a language problem?

IS: What abroad?

BiTS: Yes.

IS: I sometimes have to adapt a bit. I mean, a lot of my gigs are in The Netherlands and Austria,
where everyone speaks very, very good English. You have to lose a bit of nuance occasionally
and maybe simplify things a bit, but generally, they get it. Hungary, if you’re in the provinces, it
can be a bit tricky, but they tend to respond in a different way. They have more of an
emotional response to music and language is less important.

BiTS: That’s interesting. Why do you think that is?

IS: I don’t know. The Hungarians I find in particular, I think their folk music is quite dark and
bluesy in a way, so they really respond to very slow, dirty kind of stuff. They love Tom Waits,
for example [laughing].

BiTS: I’m going to change the subject slightly, Ian. You have dozens and dozens of accolades,
really with some justification. Considerable justification, which name you as a ‘truly great
artist’, which I don’t disagree with. How do you feel about that kind of stuff?

IS: Oh, I agree with it wholeheartedly [laughing].

BiTS: [Laughing] I thought you were going
to say that.

IS: Seriously, it’s hugely flattering, but I
never tire of it. I don’t take it overly
seriously, but I’d be lying if I said it didn’t
mean a lot to me and it really justifies what
I’m doing. That’s not why I do it, but it is
nice. It’s great.

BiTS: Is it where you expected to be when
you first started back in the past?

IS: I had no expectations at all. I was just
trying to make a living and I’ve never been
particularly ambitious. Things kind of
happened. I never really chased it - record
deals or anything, it’s just sort of
circumstances.

BiTS: After this certainly limited if not no
more touring, what are you long-term
plans? You must have desires to do other things?

IS: I don’t really. Like I said, I live in Curaçao in the Dutch Antilles and my wife and I maybe we
can work out something together over there where I would be providing music while she does
something different, but in one spot. But apart from that I haven't had to think about long-