As we stumbled the sunny streets of Nottingham at another glorious Dot To Dot Festival, we bumped into the wonderful (if a little hung-over) Ellie Goulding for the quickest of chats. ANDREW TRENDELL met up with the pint-sized pop princess to discuss Karaoke, Robin Hood, mainstream success and the search for enlightenment.
AT: How are you today Ellie Goulding?
EG: I’m alright. I’m really hungover which doesn’t happen very often but I got quite drunk after Dot To Dot in Bristol. I haven’t even had a shower yet and my make up is still from last night. Otherwise I’m good.
AT: Did you go out with a Dot To Dot posse?
EG: No I went out with a singer I am good friends with and we just did Karaoke and people kept buying us drinks, we had so many shots.
AT: What did you sing?
EG: We sang Girls Just Wanna Have Fun. Classic Karaoke number.
Ellie Goulding @ Dot To Dot 2010, Nottingham, by Sarah Louise Bennett
AT: It is indeed a tune. I’m afraid we only found out about this interview a matter of minutes ago so please forgive me if these questions are a tad lame.
EG: Not at all. Ask me anything you like.
AT: Very well. Following the Brit Award, do you look to Florence & The Machine as the template for what you need to achieve or do you just live on your own terms?
EG: Florence is brilliant. I’m friends with her and she’s lovely. She completely deserved the award and I think that when anyone wins such an award its for a good reason, regardless of what people’s opinions are about it. But I try not to think about it. Like I’ve done with everything, nothing about this is calculated or planned. I never set out to be massive pop star or massive anything. The key is just not thinking too much about what you’re doing. I think if I suddenly thought about everything that I’ve been doing then I’d probably go a bit mental. So I’m just trying to stay chilled you know – chilled vibes. Just like today. I’ll probably go the gym, have a bite to eat and just stay chilled.
Ellie Goulding @ Dot To Dot 2010, Nottingham, by Sarah Louise Bennett
AT: Are you going to see the sites?
EG: Haha, yeah.
AT: Have you seen Robin Hood?
EG: No, is it good?
AT: Apparently not. His accent is pretty deplorable, I’m not sure where he is supposed to be from?
EG: Haha, oh really?
AT: Yeah, and the Tales of Robin Hood super-brilliant-experience has closed down now. You really missed out.
EG: Oh no! That’s a shame.
AT: Indeed. Archery, stale beer, tights – it had the works.
EG: Oh God! But yeah, I do really want to see the film but I’ve heard it’s awful! I hope it isn’t because I really do love the legend of Robin Hood.
AT: I think the Disney version with the fox is probably the best rendition of the legend.
EG: Yeah, that was a good one.
Ellie Goulding @ Dot To Dot 2010, Nottingham, by Sarah Louise Bennett
AT: Anyway, the last time you played Nottingham was at The Bodega Social and the audience was of quite a wide range of ages and cultures. How does it feel to have such a broad appeal, other than just indie kids?
EG: I suppose it’s pretty humbling. Having appealed to four-year-olds with Starry Eyed and then other songs on my album are a bit more mature and head in a different direction. It’s a hard thing to do, that’s why I try not to think about it. If I calculated that I’d be able to appeal to such a broad range of people then it just wouldn’t have happened. I never tried to do anything, things just kind of worked out that way. I get messages from people all the time saying ‘I really don’t want to like you because I don’t think I’m allowed to,’ because now I appeal to the mainstream. I don’t think my style has gone mainstream, I’m not sure. Is Starry Eyed a big tune?
AT: Yeah quite big, but then Guns And Horses has a different sound and a different appeal.
EG: Yeah, that was the idea because I didn’t want people to think that I was just doing one thing, I wanted them to see that I’m an artist now.
AT: In light of that, how are you preparing for the next album?
EG: I’m just doing what I do really. There will be songs like Starry Eyed, but there will also be songs that are something different. If I can just keep doing what I’m doing and develop the ideas from my first album then that’d be great. The album’s doing quite well, it’s nearly gone gold and Starry Eyed has sold a ridiculous amount of singles. Every song I release has been done so, so people can become more aware of what’s on the album rather than going for chart positions or anything like that. I’m trying to represent the album as best I can. It’s about just constantly showing people who I am with the songs and the videos. If I can keep doing that forever then that would be brilliant.
AT: Having achieved so much in such a short space of time, do you have any other specific ambitions other than longevity?
EG: I think that as an artist there is some sort of enlightenment that I want to achieve, and I think they’ll get there one day in my life. But for now I just hope to keep touring and keep making music.
AT: Thank you for your time Ellie Goulding, see you later.
EG: Thank you very much
Interview by Andrew Trendell
Photos by Sarah Louise Bennett
Tags: dot to dot, ellie goulding, florence and the machine, google, guns and horses, interview, lights, new album, nme, nottingham, rock city, starry eyed
