Thursday, 5 April 2018

Interviews Ffion Wilkins by DJ Forrest



Carmarthen born Ffion Wilkins began her acting career as Hannah Bain in A Mind to Kill, starring alongside Philip Madoc, who played her Dad in the series. Since then, apart from an episode of Doctors, and her role as a WPC in Torchwood: Small Worlds, Ffion has moved from acting into music. I caught up with Ffion recently while putting an article together for the WATNOW series and last night, I enjoyed a wonderful interview with her. Thank you!

Hi Ffion, what came first, music or acting?

Ffion: Music. From a very early age really. My mother played hymns on the piano and I went to chapel. I started playing by ear from around 6 I think. Acting came later around 11 although I always performed and sung at school and chapel.

You played a police officer in both A Mind to Kill and in Torchwood. As some actors choose those kinds of roles, or military or other, was this a decision you took or was it that these roles came available by your agent?


I realise it was a long time ago

Ffion: I was offered the part in A Mind To Kill at the age of 15 as I’d previously worked for the same director who gave me my acting break. The late Peter Edwards. I auditioned for Torchwood and was surprised I got it as I’d played a high-profile cop in A Mind to Kill!

Were you in a band when you were acting, or did this come much later?

Ffion: I was in several bands as a teenager. I was a drummer.

Did you improve on your music knowledge at uni, or college, or were you self taught?

Ffion: I’m self taught as far as playing by ear but I was classically trained on the piano from the age of 6/7 and did all the exams. Went on to study music at Goldsmiths College, University of London. Auditioned on piano but came out singing. I was also classically trained on Tenor Sax.

Do you sing a broad spectrum of songs or is there a specific style of music you prefer to play?


Ffion: I’ve always listened to a broad spectrum really. Been lucky also to sing lots of different styles from all the different projects I’ve been involved with over the years. I love to sing jazz and the older styles of songs if I’m honest where melodies and harmony are challenging although simple on the surface to sing. Songs like “Smoke gets in your eyes” by The Platters is a good example. Walker Brothers, Frank Sinatra, George Michael and Rufus Wainwright are all huge influences on my singing,
More male singers than female I add!!!

Sinatra has quite a deep voice and quite powerful vocally, does that pose a problem when you're singing some of his most familiar of songs?

Ffion: Sometimes but I have a deep voice so when I work with Tuxedo Jazz often songs are in their original keys but if they need taken up that’s no problem, of course.

When I looked up initially at the band Tuxedo Jazz, I thought this was your band but it's not is it?



Ffion: It’s a band I’ve worked with since Uni over 20 years ago. My dear friend James Reader runs it and we also work together as a duo upwards to a sextet. It gave me the most perfect grounding for setting up my own band to do my original stuff. I owe that band everything and all the guys I’ve ever worked with. Very lucky. Very.

I've just been reading up on James - on LinkedIn. Wow!

Ffion: Yep top bloke. Great Jazz Piano player and songwriter too

It's pretty impressive

Ffion: I’m so lucky to work with the guys: Michael Curtis Ruiz – bass, Michael Coates – Saxophone, Jim Fleeman – drums, Mark White – Trumpet/Flugal and Nigel Hopkins – keyboard, who co produced the album with me. The other drummer who does the live stuff on Youtube is Jiffy Griffiths, Vic Bynoe on bvs and Hywel Maggs on guitar.


Do you write ALL the songs in the band or do you have other members of the band write songs too?

Ffion: I write all the songs: Lyrics, Melody and chords. I also co-produce and arrange bvs and some brass lines when required. Nigel is a genius though. He knows what’s in my head and gets on with it. He’s produced some amazing orchestrations on Chris de Burgh’s last 4 albums I think. He’s MD for him. Super talented and lovely man Nige is. Honour to work alongside him.

It's great when you find that one person who just knows where you're coming from.
Out of all the songs that you've written, what was the hardest one to put together, for whatever reason?

Ffion: “Let me Go”. It’s a tricky semi prog rock affair and that particular brass arrangement is Nige’s as he’s a huge prog fan. Bass on that features the amazing Laurence Cottle. Sublime playing from him. To be honest all the songs were a pleasure to work on and develop from scratch. I think I speak for Nige too and the boys tell me they are also great to play. That for me is the best compliment from peers I admire and look up to.

Is your music on mainstream radio, such as Radio 2 and beyond?


Ffion: My songs have been played on numerous Radio Stations both online and network here and abroad. However, when we were promoting the album initially at Radio 2 they loved it and thought it was very R2 friendly but I wasn’t or hadn’t been on their radar enough yet to warrant a slot on one of their play lists of which there are three categories: A main, B and C.
Very hard to get in with them. Very closed off and producer driven. Takes a lot of time and promoting it seems but we plough on!!!

In the coloured photo of you with the band, your recording studio looks like a church from the wooden fixtures behind the band. If it is, the acoustics must be wonderful.

Ffion: The church is Acapela Studio in Cardiff and we did the Welsh Album launch there and revisited on the tour last year. We recorded most of the album in Studios in London and Nige’s studios in Wales.

Are you working on any new songs at the moment?



Ffion: I’m always writing so yes got a few new songs on the go!

Thank you so much for the interview

Ffion: Thanks very much I really enjoyed your questions.


You can find Ffion’s album Never on Amazon by following or copy and pasting this link.



No comments:

Post a Comment