Tori Amos - Interviews Archive

3D World (Australia)
A free gig guide available in Sydney
May 25, 1992 (Issue 94)

Enchantress
Tori Amos

Hello guilt, hello misery, hello Tori Amos. Weird chick, pop's deep therapy, the list of maudlin and bizarre titles ascribed to this lady are many. Not one says magical, yet that is precisely what this delightful singer/songwriter truly is. One of her close friends is the writer of the classic Sandman series for DC Comics who has sent to her books about magic and witchcraft. It fascinates her.

Tori has a deep and abiding belief in the things she can't see, in the hidden creatures of her childhood, returned to her after losing them when she was younger. "I ditched them, I didn't want to be a nerd, so I let go of those thoughts that I truly believed in, but not anymore. Now they're with me all the time constantly. I see my fairies from my tummy (laughs)"

This belief in magic also strongly affects her writing of songs, and in fact her most recent effort, Little Earthquakes has given her an entirely new perception on the subject. "It (magic) is all internal. It's the funniest thing that I discovered while writing the album, you don't have to believe in it at all. It depends what you define as magic."

I worry at one point that perhaps our interview is straying from her singing as we continue to discuss the supernatural. "It all comes down to the music anyway." Tori replies "People read this and they're going to get it, thats what I think. It's much more where it comes from. What inspires someone to write anyway. It all comes down to the true spirit of something."

"I think I work with energy." she continues " and understand how to do that. I did when I was really young and through my adolescence, there was a time, when I was so open and loving - I was a little imp, but I didn't understand cruelty and it really crushed me when I came across it. That was the point when I gave up on my beliefs."

They returned thankfully and are one of the main reasons that this latest album has come about. Her songs, as painful as they are at times, all comes from within, instilled with something unique but intangible. "I'm the same person as in the song." she says, "All the characters are a reflection of me, like the Sandman is a reflection of Neil. The songs stalk me really. They become living entities unto themselves and I can't get away from them. These things just take you. It (the song) says I want to be played by these people, and I just say bloody hell, do you know how much this is gonna cost."

As she herself admits "People think I'm crazy, (you've read my press)." but whether you slip into this comfortable denial of her beliefs or not, there is no doubt that she is one of the outstanding singer/songwriters of the moment. Her haunting vocals and beautifully played pieces stealing into areas that most others never touch. And it is this music that has fed her beliefs, kept them alive throughout her life. "Playing the piano, always just playing. I think thats the thing that kept me connected to the true realm." she says a realm we can all share in the cool darkness of her music.

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