‘I love MySpace. I’m addicted and I’m on it 24-7. Every so often I’d put up a track and let people hear it. I just wanted a taste of how people are gonna take me, to tell you the truth. Its scary… coming out from such a successful group, not knowing what’s gonna happen to you.’ Its difficult to imagine Mutya Buena being scared of anything, let alone the intangible thing that is pop public opinion. Her beauty, the immaculate clothes, the jewellery she constantly fingers, the perfect, unbitten nails; all fail to mask an inner, streetwise toughness. But, when the 22-year-old from Kingsbury, north-west London left the Sugababes, she was leaving more than a Triple Platinum pop group with an international fanbase and a healthy haul of awards. She was leaving a life she had known, in one form or another, since she’d been eleven years old. ‘I wanted a change,‘ she states, matter-of-factly, as she sifts through the details of her departure from fellow Sugababes Keisha Buchanan and Heidi Range. ‘And I had my daughter Tahlia, and found it pretty unfair to give birth to a baby that I was not gonna be able to look after. People told me I could have a nanny. But I didn’t want anyone else bringing up my child. Its hard explaining all this to someone who doesn’t have kids, and that’s where it went wrong with Keisha and Heidi. I suffered with post-natal depression and everything was making me cry. Now Tahlia’s nearly two, its easier to balance the two things. But at the time people got annoyed at me. I made the choice to leave and I believe it was the right choice.’ One listen to Mutya’s debut album, ‚Real Girl‛, and you’ll believe too. It’s a collection of songs that unveil the R&B heart that always lay beneath Ms Buena’s Sugababes contributions, but never abandons the joy of pure pop. Its supporting cast of composers, producers and artists - including Amy Winehouse, Groove Armada and George Michael - all keep the quality effortlessly high without distracting from the strength of Mutya’s voice and personality. And, most pleasingly in a chart-pop milieu which loves to give its R&Bflavoured pop enough digital ear candy to give us all a screaming toothache… its raw. Unpretty, naked, direct, with plenty of old school soul intimacy effortlessly blended with a light and danceable pop touch. It was Mutya’s idea to keep the sound flawed and spontaneous, to show off the humanity, as well as the technique, of her vocals. ‘I like the rawness. I didn’t want to go into a studio and have them fiddling about with my vocals. I’m more relaxed with how I sing.’ Work on ‚Real Girl‛ commenced in February of last year and developed, slowly but surely, in various London studios throughout 2006. Its arrival in Spring 2007 has taken everyone by surprise. ‘When I left the band, I did wonder if anyone would sign me,’ admits Mutya, who learned all about the painful process of being dropped by a major label at the tender age of sixteen when the Sugababes were bafflingly discarded by London Records in 2001. ‘My plan originally was to take a couple of years out and do some producing and writing for other artists. I didn’t want to be in the limelight. But Island gave me the opportunity. They had faith in me. I still didn’t think I was going to be doing anything this year. I was just recording with producers and writers I knew to keep busy, making sure I didn’t get too down about anything. But we (Ali Tennant & Guz) came up with Suffer For Love. And then the whole album just fell into place from there. Nobody thought I’d have any material ‘til God knows when. So I think I’ve shocked everyone.’ The song ‚My Song‛ sets the tone. Written and produced by Red Eye, it uses a journey in a taxi cab as a metaphor for escape from a life falling apart. ‘Its not your usual track. There’s a part of the lyric where I’m talking to the taxi driver, asking him to get me the Hell out of where I am in my life. People always notice the lines about Jesus helping me out. I’m not a preacher, but I do believe in God.
This song has definitely helped me to look at other topics in my lyrics other than relationships and going out with the girls. It’s a song for people who feel life is crashing on them.’ ‚Wonderful‛ and ‚Paperbag‛ also give the album a low-level, underlying theme escape. From the present and from the past. ‘It’s not deliberate,’ ponders the recent escapee herself. ‘There’s always something we’re trying to get out of, isn’t there? If it is there… it’s not about me trying to get out of the band. But maybe the themes are related. Maybe that’s where my mind was when I was choosing and writing the songs.’ The first single from the album, provided by Full Phatt Productions, is the title track ‚Real Girl‛, and uses that beautiful orchestral hook from Lenny Kravitz’s ‚It Ain’t Over ‘Til Its Over‛ that we all adore but had to pretend we didn’t because it’s by Lenny Kravitz. ‘I was a bit scared because it’s a great Lenny Kravitz song, and I wondered if people would get it or not. Lyrically, it’s just saying that I don’t regret anything. I know what I’m doing and I know where I’m going. Real Girl should be the album title, really. Because it’s the first single, it explains everything that I’m trying to get at on the album.’ Of course, ‚Real Girl‛ already contains a hit single. Mutya’s duet with George Michael, ‚This Is Not Real Love‛, hit the charts last November and introduced Planet Pop to Mutya the solo artiste. Ms Buena still fizzes with star-struck joy at the friendship she’s forged with her mum’s fave pop star. ‘I was scared because of things I’d seen or read, but we just ended up talking about Big Brother… funny conversations about normal things. We went to the same school, Kingsbury High, and had the same music teacher… Keith Moon of The Who and Charlie Watts of The Rolling Stones went there, too. It made me feel like I knew him. When we started work, he was very unselfish, always praising me. I couldn’t really tell him just how privileged I felt to even be in the same studio as him. And on top of that being invited to be the only guest on his tour! He completely made me feel like I was part of his family. It taught me a big lesson about not judging people until you know them properly. I’d love to work with him again.’ Is it difficult singing a song of heterosexual passion to a gay man? ‘He kept making jokes about that while we were recording,’ Mutya recalls, laughing. ‘From my perspective, I was just so into making a record with him that the passion was easy to find. I didn’t want to let him down. Plus, the lyric is basically him saying that he doesn’t want to be with me anymore. Who knows? Maybe it’s because he’s gay…’ Another obvious single comes courtesy of US jazz-hip hop producer Salaam Remi and his hottest current collaborator, Ms Amy Winehouse.‛B Boy Baby‛ is the album’s funniest, sexiest moment, as The Ronettes’s classic ‚Be My Baby‛ is transformed into a slyly dirty tribute to a hip hop-loving boyfriend. ‘It’s just such a pleasure to have Amy on the track. ‚Back To Black‛ is a wicked album. She has influenced me inasmuch as, when she began, I don’t think anybody took her serious. Now, everybody wants a piece of her. There’s one bit that makes me laugh… ‚When I hear his voice/Things get wet.‛ Oh my gosh! Thankfully, my dad listens more to the music than the words! ’ More dad-friendly, but just as sly, is ‚Out Of Control‛, Mutya’s ‘80s dance pop- influenced collaboration with Groove Armada, featuring one of those ‘ain’t it the truth?’ lyrics courtesy of Karen Poole and Mutya herself. ‘Groove Armada were great to work with. I’ve never done a song before where it’s like talking… almost MC-ing. I was very shy about it. I’d never spoken on a Sugababes track… that was a Keisha job. I love it though. Very funky. Its about seeing your ex with someone kinda similar to you. And it just gets you mad and frustrated.’ But ‚Real Girl‛ isn’t all sexy laughs and infectious hooks. ‛Just A Little Bit‛, ‚Suffer For Love‛, ‚Wonderful‛ and ‚Paperbag‛ form a cabal of powerfully sung R&B-soul scorchers, a dominant musical feel which reaches a peak of intensity on the dark, distressed Strung Out. ‘Its about drugs,’ Mutya confirms. ‘Its sung from the perspective of a friend standing there watching someone kill themselves. It’s a wake-up call. I’m no saint, and I try not to judge, but I know right from wrong. I have to listen to this song about four times before I listen to the rest, I love it so much. I put a lot of emotion into singing it.’
‚It’s Not Easy‛ brings it all back to the reason this album exists: Tahlia. Mutya’s team-up with Felix Howard, Paul Simm and Sam Frank (producers and writers of Overload‛ from the Sugababe’s debut ‚One Touch‛) pays tribute to her daughter while completely avoiding the usual ‘My wuvverly baybee’-isms of more sentimental musical mothers. In fact, it’s a tough tune. ‘I don’t need to tell people I love my daughter. They should know that. But it’s different explaining how deep it is, walking around with a big belly, not knowing what will come out, trying to figure it out from a scan. That’s what ‚Its Not Easy’s‛ about.’ Like most of ‚Real Girl‛, ‚It’s Not Easy’s‛ lyrics are sharp and concise enough to ensure Mutya won’t be misunderstood. If only the same could be said of her reputation in the Sugababes days. She’s been called bitchy, moody and a fair few things besides. Mutya sighs, with the air of someone who’s got used to being bad-mouthed and has pretty much ceased to be arsed. ‘During the Sugababes people did misunderstand me. But you’ve got to remember that I started when I was fourteen. When you’re that young you don’t know much and you’re not really gonna be sitting there taking in the media training ‘cos you’re not concerned. I grew up in north-west London and I didn’t know any better! But it’s always the people who stand up and speak out who get the blame for everything.’ If ‚Real Girl‛ presents her soul credentials for inspection, it’s also a varied set, with its twelve songs giving approving nods to all manner of rock, pop and urban stylings. Blame her mum, her dad and her seven music-loving siblings. As well as the likes of Mariah and Whitney, TLC and Jon B, baby Mutya also fell in love with her dad’s T.Rex and Black Sabbath records. ‘I grew up listening to so much different stuff, from the hard rock with Guns ‘n’ Roses and Bon Jovi, and then my mum’s old soul collection… Barry White, Al Green. I had a brother into hip hop, another into jungle, another into garage and me into R&B and funky house. That’s why I can jump into different types of music.’ And music, in the final analysis, is what this is all about. Releasing herself from the duties of the Sugababes has allowed Mutya to put business distractions aside and reconnect with music, and with the joy of singing. ‘I can’t wait to start rehearsing with the band and playing live. And believe me, if this isn’t successful, I’ll go to little cafes in Camden and sing because I love singing. But obviously… I hope it goes better than that! The relief of it all is not having to answer to anyone else. Not arguing over who gets to wear what top, as girls do. Just making your own decisions about music. I have control of my life.’ Mutya Buena lets this sink in a while, and then reaches for the album promo, perusing the titles of her twelve debut solo tunes as if for the first time. She grins sheepishly. ‘I do love listening to this album. I always listened to the Sugababes stuff too. But this time, it’s different. It’s… me.’
For further information please contact shane on Telephone Email 0207 471 5132 Shane.Oneill@umusic.com