Reviews and Quotes

"A singer and songwriter who has been part of the local music scene for many years, Cindy was pursued by several major record companies during the late 80's,...a beautiful smoke laced voice and some great songs place her head and shoulders above many of her younger compatriots, as shown on her excellent album 'Portraits of life and love'".
Venue 2010

"exceptional song writing conveyed by her airy and exquisitely controlled voice"
Bath Chronicle

"Stratton is a force to be reckoned with - a sensitive and accomplished artiste, her songs are self-contained examinations of life and love..."
Time Out

"Cindy sings with power, assurance and a voice that can both cut and melt..."
Bristol Evening Post

"the purity and stark beauty of her songs totally destroy you. Watch out!..."
Detour

"The songs are still of the very highest quality and that glorious smoky, sensual voice is as good as ever…This part of the country is particularly well served by female singer songwriters, but ‘Missing Pieces’ proves that Cindy Stratton is still up there among the very best."
Venue magazine.

"This album (‘Missing Pieces’) is 12 lovingly produced examples of Cindy’s exceptional song writing conveyed by her airy and exquisitely controlled voice".
Bath Chronicle

"Cindy Stratton has become one of the leading forces on the contemporary acoustic music scene, with her vital blend of brilliant self-penned material and a voice that can both cut and melt.
Cindy’s repertoire continues to grow as does her list of credits: from BBC Radio 1 sessions to performance on network television, gigs ranging from international folk festivals to some of the most prestigious live venues here and abroad.
However, Cindy keeps in close touch with her performing roots, and her appearances in small, intimate clubs and pubs remain an unmissable experience.
As Cindy’s last CD demonstrated, she is cast firmly in the reflective singer/songwriter mould, and is as good as just about any of them"
Comment from 'The Prom Wine Bar' website

Interview by Tara Sexton

So I heard you have a new CD coming out called Portraits of Life and Love, what inspired the name of the album?

Well, it’s always quite tricky thinking up the name of a new album, as in you want it to reflect the music but not be tacky or cheesy! This simple title seemed to sum up what the songs are about, .eg: life, love and all those bits in between…

Is there something that you do or think about when you start to write a song?

That’s a really good question! If I think about it I suppose I’m often in a reflective mood, or I just really get the urge to be creative and then sometimes if I’m lucky the songs almost write themselves…although I have trained myself to try and stick with an idea even if initially it doesn’t seem to be working that well, rather than always starting again.

What do you come up with first for a song, the title, the theme, or the tune…etc

It can be different with each song, but often a melody will come to me first, or a riff, and if I’m lucky words will occur at the same time that seem to go with it. That’s just the beginning!

What first made you want to be a singer/songwriter?

I don’t think I ever decided that’s what I wanted to be until I found that I was already doing it, had been for a long time, and couldn’t imagine myself not doing it! I always really enjoyed being expressive, but really suffered with a lack of confidence in my early days.

Do you get nervous when you are performing live?

Oh yes! The one good thing about having performed lots and lots of times now though, is that I know that even if I make a mistake, which I frequently do, I will be able to make it all part and parcel of the live performance, so my nerves are no longer completely crippling.

What do you like best about performing?

I really love connecting with the audience and sharing my love of singing and being on stage with them. There’s just nothing else quite like it. It’s brilliant.

Did you always want to be a singer/songwriter?

No. It sort of crept up on me! When I was at school I fantasised about becoming an actress, or a fashion designer, but when I left school my options were quite limited and one of my first jobs was in a supermarket on the till, which I absolutely hated! I quickly found another job in a screen-printing and design company, and at least some of the time I could be creative as I was very good at art and drawing, so used to love helping to design the posters for bands that we printed. The job came with the perk of being able to see for free all the bands that came to the City Hall every Saturday night. Thinking back, this may have planted the seed of wanting to become a singer myself, although I didn’t actually start singing then.

You teach singing and I know you teach some students at Hayesfield, do you think anyone can learn to sing?

I’d like to think so! Some people are naturally talented, and talent is a hard thing to teach, but everyone who has a voice could learn to use it and go on a voyage of discovery with their voice if they want to do it enough. Most people want to explore their own voice rather than be taught how to sing like someone else which is a very good thing, because if a person tries to sound like someone else they usually fail and it’s missing the point about discovering their own voice. I think shows like X Factor and so on can be seriously misleading

You are running songwriting workshops for 14-17 year olds, what would happen in a workshop?

Well, the workshops are to be run for small numbers of participants at a time, and are to be tailored to the different individuals needs, so one workshop might be quite different to another. Each person would bring whatever ideas they already have and that would be the starting point for exploration and shaping. If it was a workshop for people who had never even tried to write a song before then various exercises and techniques would be used to help get some ideas flowing initially, such as taking the tune to a well known song and altering the lyrics, or vice versa.

Do you ever get writer’s block? How do you get over it? What inspires you most?

Yes, I have had times when writing a song has seemed to be the most difficult idea in the world. In the past I havn’t worried too much, because I’ve known that eventually I’ll start writing again, and the fact that it’s not happening there and then could well be just because other things are more important at that particular time. However, sometimes a bit of self-discipline is required, and I just have to make myself sit down with the guitar or the piano and try out ideas even if they seem like rubbish. I do this because I believe that good ideas and inspiration will come more often if I’m at least trying than when I’m not. I don’t know what inspires me the most, what a good question! Probably courage, little personal stories, the things people have to deal with in life sometimes like rejection or a challenge of some kind. Overcoming obstacles, joy, the truth, all sorts really!

What five top tips would you give to somebody who wants to write a song?

1.Think about what you want to say. Is there a way of saying it that hasn’t been said like that before?
2.Be brave! Let your ideas come out and try not to censure everything in advance.
3.Think about who the song is for. If you are hoping to sing and perform it yourself think about what will be needed to make that happen. You probably have a head start if you can accompany yourself on the guitar or piano for example, or think about teaming up with someone else who might have those skills that you don’t, or maybe a group of people. Form your own band!
4.If you are writing for someone else have an idea of who this person might be.( eg: Madonna, Elvis Presley, Norah Jones, Regina Spektor….you can see from this list that they don’t have to be alive!) This helps even if you think they may never even hear your song let alone sing it, because it will help you define the structure and genre of song, eg: rock, ballad, country and western, whatever!
5.Keep making time to try out new ideas. Your own style will emerge eventually.