Stansfield worked on Deeper with her long-time songwriting partner Ian Devaney. She also served as executive producer, along with Devaney, and Mark “Snowboy” Cotgrove. “We always write so many songs,” she admitted. “We write four or five songs at a time, and then, we will take one or two songs from that chunk that stand out. Our songwriting process goes on like that. We are ultra critical of our own songs in the studio.”
From her Deeper album, Stansfield listed “Love of My Life” as her personal favorite song on there. “I always like the songs that people think are a little bit strange. I love the different mood on that one,” she said.
She will be going on her North American tour this fall, which kicks off on October 9 at the Queen Elizabeth Theatre in Ontario. Her 13-city tour will wrap up on October 26 at The Fillmore in San Francisco, California. On October 13, Stansfield will be playing at The Space at Westbury in Westbury on Long Island, and on October 14, she will be playing the Highline Ballroom in New York. “I can’t wait. I really can’t wait,” she reiterated. “I am excited to come back and see what’s going on in my audience. These shows will be really good fun. We take our music very seriously, and it is unbelievably good music that we make. We have a really good time as well, and we want everybody else to have a good time. When you are in that audience, you are part of that show.”
In her upcoming concerts as part of her North American tour, Stansfield acknowledged that she will be doing both her new songs and classic hits, including “All Around the World,” which earned her a Grammy nomination for “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance.” “I will not only sing new songs. I don’t think it’s fair if people come to see somebody, and they come to listen to just one song, and you don’t do that one big song. I think that’s quite selfish actually,” she said.
Regarding her two Grammy nominations for “Best New Artist” and “Best Female Pop Vocal Performance,” she reflected, “That was really good too. I got to go to the Grammys.”
On the key to longevity in the music business, Stansfield said, “Sticking to your guns, and not letting anybody tell you what to do. The saddest thing about a lot of people in the music business, who are not musicians, is they tend to think in a business way, so if something excites them, they think ‘what can we do to make it appeal to more people?’ That’s the biggest mistake anybody could ever do. They take all the personality out of it, and they think everybody is going to like it. It doesn’t work that way. That’s why we don’t change anything for anybody. If you don’t like it, you don’t like it, and if you do, then you will really love it.”
Digital transformation of the music business
On the impact of technology on the music business, Stansfield said, “Technology has helped the music industry change in a way. Like people are able to listen to exactly what they want to listen to because they have so much choice now. It doesn’t make it any easier for people to have a hit, in essence, it makes it a lot harder because there is a lot more content out there. There is a platform for everybody if you can do.”
Stansfield shared that she would love to someday do a collaboration with a rapper. “I would love to work with some really good rappers. I think rap is a completely unbelievable art form,” she said.
She defined the word success as follows: “I am still being here, and I have a beautiful marriage and a lovely career. I just celebrated my 20-year wedding anniversary yesterday. I really cannot complain about anything in my life. I have had a very successful life.”
Deeper is available on iTunes.
For more information on Lisa Stansfield, her new album and North American fall touring schedule, check out her official homepage, and Facebook page.
