‘In the Red’, TINA DICO’s third solo album, has been available since summer 2005 in the UK and the States and is now set for worldwide release. Having graduated from the Danish Royal college of Music to start her own label, ‘Finest Gramophone’ at the age of 23, complete control over her music has previously required her ‘hands-on’ involvement at virtually every stage of its development.
Success in her native Denmark, including Grammy awards, means that this is no longer practical, a state of affairs that leaves her fully focused on the task of developing as an artist and performer. Significantly, Tina has met her latest challenge full on, choosing to embark on her first major promotional tour with little more than an acoustic guitar. Thus, the solo show highlights only her music, and with not a gimmick in sight sees Tina relying entirely upon the strength of the songs and her delivery. It’s a decision that is typical of her independent approach to making music, and one which perfectly reflects the honesty present in her songwriting style.
Two hours before taking the stage at Manchester’s Night and Day, she seemed centred and calm, finding time to ponder on the positive reaction of her audiences so far:
“The tour is going really well actually” she smiles: “It’s my first headlining tour in the UK, so I didn’t know what to expect”
“The most challenging is still to write good songs. In the beginning, when I started out, I was very much hands on with everything practical….my own press, my own distribution, everything. Obviously that was a big challenge, really hard work. Now, luckily, I don’t have to worry about too many things other than making the decisions, and concentrating on playing my concerts and writing my songs.”
Though there is a maturity about her songs now, they have always seemed to come from somewhere within that remains deeply personal. She began in her early teens with no intention or dreams of performing, instead producing a diary written on the piano at her family home. Her work still retains that strong sense of introspection, the subject matter has an intimate feel that makes the decision to tour solo a daunting prospect.
“It is, in a way, in the sense that I think every time I open my mouth to sing, I feel like that diary is present, in my voice. Like people can read me like an open book. It’s very, very deeply rooted in me now”
“I do try to take one step back” she continued: “…so, I think about writing songs in a way that I feel that other people will identify with, and feel like they were written in a more personal way. Personal, rather than general, or private I think, that’s right”
As Tina prepares to tour the world following the release of ‘In the Red ‘in several countries, she is set to spend the next year under the gaze of that spotlight, and that is no mean feat either. Nevertheless, her summing up of the immediate future tells me that she is clearly in possession of the focus and level headedness you would expect from an artist in total control of her destiny:
“I’m going to Denmark actually. I’ve got a long three week tour of Denmark, and then, I’m all over the place really… America, festivals, my home town…Last time I played in Arhus was November/December time, which is always special. The album is coming out in so many different countries now, and I’m just trying to be everywhere at once. Definitely, the next year will be really crazy like that, and hopefully by the end of next year, I’ll be ready to record another album. Gradually try to fit in a normal life” she adds after a slight furrowing of the brow gives way to a nonplussed grin - and I too wonder where on Earth she’ll find the time.
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Tina Dico walked on with just her acoustic, and her long time friend and collaborator, Dennis Alghren, who added delicate electric accompaniment.
She is huge on eye contact, and her wandering gaze betrayed an initial apprehension, as she fought to keep her speaking voice level. Momentarily her backstage calm was submerged under waves of adrenaline that reminded us all that performing was where she truly feels alive. Then we watched her relax, as it all evaporated during the opening moments.
“One” opened the show saw the fear subsiding and then disappearing as Tina’s voice and her low-key strumming utilised the tension superbly before melting it away. There was a second of silence, and then the packed house roared an approval that made her eyes dance, stretching her smile from ear to ear.
It was the kind of intimacy that requires honesty – a show which allows you to get in close in a physical sense, with songs that really do come direct from within. ‘Warm Sand’ sounded stunning, as did ‘The City’, which comes almost to a grinding halt under the weight of itself. As far as the audience is concerned, the nerves have gone without trace.
“This is a song about telling myself to relax” disagrees Tina, as though reading our thoughts, before ‘Give In’ which sounded almost ethereal, with Dennis jamming a delicate riff around her words. There was a brief flash of a smile before she remembered herself, and then the coyness returned as we shared her revelation
‘In the Red’ was written following Tina’s relocation to London three years ago, and the direct simplicity of ‘Room with a view’ was one of the first tracks penned:“It’s about looking deep into someone’s eyes and seeing yourself there” she says, although she seems to be looking beyond us all, or deep within herself. There is an understanding too: “What’s a man without a past?” she asks, with no trace of irony, or angst. Instead there is a deep maturity, powerful enough to hold us spellbound.
Without doubt, ‘In the Red’ is showcased in the best possible way like this, with both the intimacy of the show, and the acoustic versions proving beyond doubt that Tina Dico’s songwriting talent remains when everything else is stripped away.
To have made that decision herself demonstrates how aware she is that you only get out what you put in, and tonight she was rewarded with rapturous applause as the enthralled audience cheered and whistled their approval.
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