Bif Naked - The dangerous Second Album
In the beginning of 1995 the debut of the delicateCanadian� bursted like a bombshell and all of the sudden, the nimble power woman from Calgary stood in international lime light and flew around the world to promotions and concerts. Her second album I Bificus will bereleased very soon, under the name of Bif and with a changed band instrumentation.sound.de had a chat with the nice exceptional artist in the promotion officeof her record firm Sony in Munich (Germany).
sound.de: This is your secondalbum. After the big selling of the debut, aren�t you now under a lot ofpressure to succeed? So many bands did a fantastic debut, only to disappearafterwards: Stiltskin, Babylon Zoo, The Presidents of the U.S.A....
Bif: Not really. The first album was a complete low-budgetproduction, and not only me but also my record firm were absolutely surprisedand overwhelmed by the success of it. I am noticing afterwards, that thesound is not that great in certain places, part of because of the few equipment.This time, I had more time in the studio, better devices and a better studio.The production is -because of this- a lot more powerful. I do guess, that the fans will like it, but even if they don�t: In the time since the release of my debut I have experienced a lot of exciting things and� have done a big deal of traveling, so that I will havea lot to tell, when I am old.
sound.de: I Bificus is releasedunder the name Bif, plus the band instrumentation has changed....
Bif: I consider myself a solo artist. The musicianson the debut were mainly friends and pals of mine, with studio jobs andbands of their own. That�s why not every one had time for the new album,what I understand. I dropped the Naked, since I couldn�t laugh about thestupid little jokes anymore: Why Naked? You are wearing something, aren�t ya?! Did people expect me do be standing naked on stage or what? Hearing the same dubious jokes over and over again got me really pissed me off,I tell you! So I didn�t write my last name on the cover in order to putan end to this.
sound.de: Your lyrics deal alot with very personal and often traumatic experiences like divorce andrape. Because of that you have become a mouthpiece of lots of young girlsand women, who had to overcome similar painful experiences...
Bif: In the beginning I truly didn�t realize that Iam a kind of model for these kids and I didn�t intend to get hyped as aparagon. But due to my position in the show business it happened nevertheless,I got such an enormous amount of letters and emails, and lots of peopletold me that my songs have helped them getting through difficult situations. That�s a great honor for me, and a great responsibility. I try to liveup to it, in giving the kids a as positive as possible example: I neithersmoke nor drink, and try also not to make propaganda for a negative orviolent attitude. To me, my songs are a sort of therapy, I try to get overcertain things and if this is even helpful to others, then that is wonderful.On the other side, the big response of the fans has showed me, that I amby far not the only one, to whom these kind of experiences happend.
sound.de: On the new album youare talking again about really controversial topics, for example aboutabortion. It seems that religious fundamentalists in the States are staginga real war against women who approve abortion. Aren�t you afraid to getbetween the lines?
Bif: I am neither for nor against abortion, it is adecision that each woman has to make for herself. In my opinion it is theirown decision. I Bificus is not yet released in the States, so there areno reactions to it, but of course I am trying to get prepared for eventualreactions. Maybe it is really like I speak out things that many fans don�t dare to. I don�t especially like this role, cuz this also takes me a lotof will power but I owe it to myself as an artist.
sound.de: Will we get to see you performing in Europe?
Bif: There is nothing definitive planned yet, but Isuppose I will get on stage at some bigger festivals. I am really looking forward to touring Europe again. When I am back in Canada next week afterall these promotions,�we will start the preparations.
Interview Chris Gabriel