It's the viola's day in Bryan Ferry's studio in London. When the interview is over, viola player Marina Moore will record new parts for Ferry's and Barratt's upcoming album.
But "Loose talk" has barely been released and the duo is already working on a new project.
"Loose talk" is the first time I've made new music to someone else's words. I have many cover songs behind me, but have never collaborated on lyrics. I've always written the words myself, slowly and laboriously, he says, describing a sense of relief.
On paper, it's an unlikely collaboration. Bryan Ferry has a more than 50-year-long career behind him as a solo artist and with Roxy Music. Amelia Barratt is a relatively unknown artist who uses spoken word elements in her work.
A chance meeting
Ferry heard her perform a short piece in London by chance. It led to a collaboration that, among other things, resulted in the unexpected single release "Star" in 2024 – and now a whole album where Amelia Barratt's cool voice is woven together with Bryan Ferry's music.
I like the sharpness in Amelia's delivery and that the texts are so captivating. They have a kind of mystique, even though they're about everyday things, says Bryan Ferry.
Both are old art school students – maybe that contributed to the immediate contact, he reasons. Ferry attended art school in Newcastle, with pop artist Richard Hamilton as one of his teachers, and has always viewed music in the same way as he once did with art.
I think of my work as painterly: colors, textures, and ideas. I make references, play with musical styles, and explore new paths. It has to feel like an exploration, that you're doing something different compared to what you've done before.
"Last time"
He laughs at the fact that libraries in Sweden once covered up Roxy Music's album covers because they were considered too provocative, but doesn't long for the 1970s when the band was portrayed as decadent and slightly dangerous.
It was a dangerous time. More experimental, but also harder and more urban than the 1960s. But you develop, and I hate the thought of doing the same thing all your life. Think about having to be a punk forever! It would be wonderful for a year maybe, but not until you're 90 years old.
A few years ago, Roxy Music reunited for a jubilee tour – but Bryan Ferry doesn't want to promise more concerts with the legends.
I think it was the last time.
Born: 1945 in a working-class family in northeastern England.
Background: Studied art at the University of Newcastle. Was in various bands during his school days, but it wasn't until 1970 that he, together with Graham Simpson, Andy Mackay, and Brian Eno, started Roxy Music.
Roxy Music: Released their debut album "Roxy Music" in 1972 and got their big breakthrough on "Top of the Pops" a year later with "Virginia Plain". Their second album "For Your Pleasure" came in 1973. In total, Roxy Music released eight albums before the band members went their separate ways in 1983 – including "Stranded", "Flesh and Blood", and "Avalon".
Solo career: Ferry began his solo career as early as 1973, parallel to his time in Roxy Music. On his debut album "These Foolish Things", he interpreted others' songs – a recurring element throughout the years. The solo album "Boys and Girls" with Ferry's own songs reached number one on the English charts in 1985.
Current: With the album "Loose Talk" together with Amelia Barratt.
His way of writing music:
I think all my songs start with me sitting at the piano. It usually happens at home, I almost never write in the studio. There, I improve things, add colors and textures from other instruments. But first, it's just the piano and me, and no one else, just an old cassette recorder or a mobile so I can record.
About the song "Big Things" ending with the sound of a cassette recorder:
I like the texture of old analog things. I still have my cassette recorder from – oh, goodness – the early 1970s. It still stands on the piano at home. I get attached to things.
About whether there will be a tour with Amelia Barratt:
I haven't thought much about it because I just want to keep working. And we're recording the second album right now, which gives us more material. After that, who knows? I think I'm a bit too old to tour now, but maybe some concerts here and there – we'll see.
