The Fix

After luring us in as the sensual voiced siren on Zero 7’s “Home”, Danish singer-songwriter Tina Dico is set to wallop us over the head with the rocking tunes from her latest solo album, Count To Ten. She was recently back in the states for a quick club tour.

Fuzz: You’re best known in America for singing quiet songs with Zero 7. Is Count To Ten a better reflection of what you’re really like?
Tina Dico: I would say so. Like many other artists I always had a fear of sounding too poppy. I always saw myself as quite raw. It feels nearer to the way it all starts with just me and the guitar. It feels like it’s just an extension of that.

Do you remember the record that made you want to be a singer?
From when I was tiny, I remember listening to loads of Donovan, Bob Dylan and Leonard Cohen–just one person with a guitar. My dad was a hi-fi geek, so we had a music room in the house and he would play loads of varied stuff. He didn’t have good taste, as such–he just liked things that were well recorded. I remember Pink Floyd and some Irish folk music. I played the piano from when I was six and what made me change to the guitar and take songwriting more seriously when I was 10 was Tracy Chapman’s “Fast Car.” She was a present day Bob Dylan. I felt like she was my soul mate. I wanted to sound exactly like her and I tried to learn all her songs on the guitar.

Are you disappointed you sound nothing like Tracy Chapman?
You know what? To begin with, I did. I had exactly the same vibrato as her when I was 13. That was the most important thing in my life. I guess I have moved slightly in a different direction since then.

Were you also planning on becoming a protest singer?
Not necessarily in a political way. I guess the thing is that it sounds like life or death. You can sing, “I miss you,” and make it as big of a statement as a song about war. So it was always about the energy in the voice.

You could be living large in Denmark. Why did you move to London?
I knew from the beginning I wanted an international career. That’s why I sing in English. I really do appreciate the fact that I can blend in here and be completely anonymous. I can’t do that in Denmark. It’s shocking what that does to your life. I can’t actually meet anyone without them having some sort of preconception. Nothing is from scratch, ever. Everybody has an opinion. Everybody thinks they know who I am. That’s a bit weird because my music is melancholic and people think I’m a sad person. I don’t want to be known as the Queen of Melancholy.

Listen:

Watch:
Tina Dico “On the Run”

Don’t have time to search out this week’s essential MP3s, streams and viral videos? That’s why we’re here.

Radiohead: “All I Need (Live at the BBC)”
The best track from In Rainbows gets a faithful makeover in front of a reverent BBC audience. But listen closely and you can quietly hear Thom Yorke baring his soul on the lyric, “I’m an animal/ Trapped in your hot car.”
(via Six Eyes Media)

Dizzee Rascal “Sirens (Acid Girls Can Hear It Too Remix)”
As if this British rapper’s thick-accented rhymes weren’t mind-blowing enough, someone has gone and turned this song into full-tilt old school rave anthem. Anybody have a glo-stick we can borrow?
(via Online Home)


Flight of the Conchords “Business Time”
The funniest HBO singing comedy duo since Tenacious D delivers the least sexy slow-jam ever, plucked from its forthcoming Sub Pop album. We so want to hear R. Kelly cover this.
(via Julio Enriquez)


The Kooks “Always Where I Need”
The only flop-haired U.K. band worth keeping around, The Kooks return with another deceptively scrappy rock tune featuring chugging guitars and a shout-it-from-the-rooftops chorus.
(via Done Waiting)


Cut Copy “Lights and Music”
With its dizzying beats and driving bassline, this New Order-ish track is capable of transporting you to a booming nightclub without ever having to leave your couch. What are you going to do with the 15 bucks you just saved?
(via Sean Ryan Online)


Hayes Carll “I Got a Gig”
While Ryan Adams busies himself trying to win his model ex-girlfriend back with sniveling blog posts, the rest of the world can move on this Texan songwriter whose Townes Van Zandt style of barroom rock sounds so authentic it’s kind of freaking us out.
(via Left Over Cheese)


Tina Dico “On the Run”
The occasional Zero 7 collaborator and full-time Danish pop star breaks out of her down-tempo shell, convincingly rocking out on this burly new track from her latest solo album, Count To Ten.
(via box.net)