Miranda Sykes Links

Albums

Don't Look Down

Bliss

Miranda Sykes

Miranda is one of the few female double bass players in England and an accomplished guitarist and vocalist. She has her own band and collaborates regularly with the likes of Show Of Hands, Jenny Crook, Little Johnny England and the Reg Meuross Band.

She has played the double bass since she was nine and has gone on to dip her toe in many musical genres. Being female initially worked against her "When I was 18 I saw a poster up at College saying 'Bass player wanted for country-rock band - with passport'. I went along to audition but the band - Young Country - declined. But then they called up my college chasing me. they admitted they had turned me down because I was female, but had changed their minds and wanted to give me a try. I went on to earn good money with them for two years!'

Her rich vocals and musical ability have ensured her constant recording and touring work with some great bands. She has recently played on the Show Of Hands album Witness and is touring the UK and Canada with them.

Her solo recordings are backed by a fine collection of musicians and friends, the latest album Bliss showcases her passion for jazz. 'My first album Don't Look Down was fairly broad but Bliss was more challenging.... An exploration of so much great music from some great singer-songwriters, some of whom, like Steve Knightley and Kirsty McGee, I've had the pleasure of working with.'

Spiral Earth interview August 2006

We caught up with the ever busy Miranda in the Summer...

What are you up to at the moment
I'm recording in Banbury with Little Johnny England for their new album due out next year, which is all going very well, we've done a few gigs together, it's good to be playing in a folk rock outfit. I'm doing lead and backing vocals and electric bass.

You've had a hectic year
Yeah! it's mostly been with Show Of Hands this year, which is really dominating my career at the moment. It started off in the spring with recording on Witness and then touring. We're off to Germany soon and then back to the UK for the Autumn tour. Pretty busy up till Christmas now! Then the Albert Hall next year, the ultimate gig of my lifetime I think

Actually I looked at the pics you have on your site of the Canadian tour, looked absolute hell with all the sunshine, horse riding and canoeing..
Absolutely dreadful! When we have a day off we like to sample some of the local culture, whether it be horse riding Western style or canoeing in Banff . The tour was really successful, we did Edmonton and Calgary festivals. The festivals are really different over there, they do a lot of workshop sessions where they get two or three bands on stage and you go around doing a song each all jamming in together to accompany everyone. That was really good fun. A lot of the festivals are dry, no drinking in the public areas

The new album (Bliss) is going down well
Yeah, I'm really pleased with it, I feel completely at home singing jazzy, bluesy songs. It all came together perfectly.

How difficult was it choosing the songs
Well there's only a certain type of song that works well with double bass and my vocals, I tend to know straight away if a certain song will work for me. The track 'I Wish I Knew How it Would Feel to be Free' was never intended to be on the album, it just happened because I love the song and I had a friend, Dave Jones, in the studio doing a session on piano. We were jamming it and it worked out so well that we ended up pressing the record button and laying it down.

where did the jazz influence come from
I've always loved jazz and found myself attracted to those songs more and more. When it came to putting an album together that's what came out. It's a classic combination of vocal and upright that works so well. I listen to a lot of jazz, the Indigo Girls are a great inspiration, I listen to a lot of Dave Matthews Band. I listen to all sorts of music, I keep a really open mind.

Any plans for a solo tour?
I'd love to do it eventually to support the album, at the moment there's no room really, but I'd love to tour solo with a pianist. At the moment I'm so satisfied musically working with Show Of Hands and doing pieces with the likes of Little Johnny England, they give me a lot of creative involvement. I couldn't hope for anything more really.

What made you choose the double bass at such a young age?
When I was eight a group of musicians came round to my school to talk about playing instruments. I went home and announced to my parents that I wanted to learn the double bass. As my parent's are very musical themselves they went and booked me some lessons. I've never looked back really! It's a bit of a bind when you have to fly and cart it around everywhere though.