Being Ira Losco

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We cut a few long stories short. By Wayne Flask

Walking into bookshops, these days, has the strange allure of a modern day toy shop. Browsing endlessly among bookshelves, looking for the title I’m sure they haven’t got, has become a welcome habit ever since I left university and the bleak corners of its adjoining stores.

We are sat in a quiet, low-key cafeteria with huge windows onto the outside world that remind me so much of those American diners. Ira Losco orders a mineral water and puts her phone on silent. Beside her lies her latest release, the sprawling 400-page mammoth photobook capturing career defining moments, live and promo shots collected by trusted snapper Allen Venables.

“The photobook was primarily Allen’s idea. At first, his involvement with the band was more of a fun thing. But as time went by we couldn’t help noticing the images captured were simply amazing. Eventually he suggested this book to Howard and myself. Will it work, I thought, a book for such a small island?

I’m glad to say it worked. At the end of the day it’s a collection of beautiful photos. Allen is very good at capturing the live atmosphere. Unfortunately much of the young audience in Malta have no idea what live concerts are about. Hopefully if they take a look at this, I hope it urges them to discover that for themselves. We’ve also included a few pictures from shoots that have never been used before.”

Slightly open handed with Photoshop techniques, the photographic journal documents the ascent of Ira from an energetic stage stomper to unplugged songwriter, fashion icon and, as we know, one of Malta’s favourites.

A slightly complicated animal, Ira Losco oscillates between the extrovert, exuberant showgirl that won’t pull punches, and the tender footed diplomat, the I-will-not-cross-that-line artiste that could do with a bit of time for herself. Yet, few are those who didn’t hear of her famous interview where she “admitted” to kissing a girl, the sort of phrase that shattered many a puritan’s glasshouse. As it comes, after hundreds of interviews into her career, I can’t help wondering whether she is an able attention grabbing magnet, or simply a naively honest girl next door who wades into murky talking points that should never even exist.

“I never really see myself as anything special because of what I do, which is music. That would be stupid. The builder who builds our houses is as important as the baker, y’know? Music is what I feel I do best, it’s my art. Entertainment is an evolution, something that tantalises an audience and you are what people want to know more about. I don’t get carried away by celebrity status. Today I was eating baked pasta at Hunter’s Bar next to a guy who was eating with a knife, which I found really entertaining by the way... I don’t put myself on any pedestal nor do I expect to be on it”.

The natural consequence is that nowadays, she has become pretty much public territory which fans, soothsayers and moralists alike find opportune to invade at their convenience. In certain moments, you’d feel that even her everyday movements are too closely scrutinised, let alone her media appearances. Drawing the curiosity of masses and classes, she remains one of the most talked about “celebrities” that everybody wants to own. Would she pay to lose that tag?

“I wouldn’t say I would pay to lose it, it doesn’t bother me. Even if I f*** up. I don’t do things because people tell me to. If I lose that genuine streak I lose an integral part of who I am. That would make me the hypocrite which I’m not!”

When asked whether she would pose naked, her reply was a flippant “Never say never,” which most interpreted as a statement of intent. She washed it down further by what seemed like a swoop at the moralist establishment, a Britney-esque “I am not holier than thou”.

“What I wanted to say there was, when asked things about my future I will always say ‘never say never’. How do I know what’s going to happen in a few years’ time?”

I ask her whether her ‘holier than thou’ could be aimed at peers in the music scene.

“That beats me, don’t know. I wouldn’t have said that comment to reply to someone else. I frankly don’t think there are a lot of artists who do that. I have a lot of respect for artists who work their asses off and do it the right way. There are only 400,000 people to entertain in Malta, and the scene is very insular.”

She might be a media darling, but definitely not your ideal role model. “I think it’s the downfall of every artist to try and become the role model. I’m all for passing on a message but I don’t want the responsibility of being a role model. Not because I’m afraid, but my role is something else. I’m not Mother Theresa. I do, however, have very strong viewpoints on issues such as bullying in schools.”

Not that my colleague at timesofmalta.com was the first one to actually ask if she would pose naked. In the steamy afternoon on that same webpage that hosted the interview, a debate of biblical proportions was only just brewing. Storm in a teacup? Hornets nest? All these expressions are hardly enough to describe the incessant online buzz the interview caused. The result was a terse exchange of views between moralists, modernists and anti-sensationalists.

“That interview kicked up a fuss because of the wrong reasons. I mean, hello, are we in Malta or LA here?”

At one point, her manager, Howard Keith intervened to post: “Nonetheless we have been offered quite a number of opportunities to have Ms Losco pose naked and without hesitation we refused them for a number of reasons... We'll stick to music thank you very much and all that goes with the industry including the creative process of image and the freedom of writing...”

Now, were the people asking you to pose naked being serious or plain ridiculous? She lets out a little embarrassed laugh.

“I’ve actually already posed half naked for a breast cancer campaign. I didn’t bring that up in the interview because the question there was different. So [the interview] was definitely not a publicity stunt.”

“I think you’d better ask Howard! I’ve no knowledge of that, Howard must have had these requests but they weren’t passed on to me, probably because he didn’t think much of them.”

But her apparent disinterest in polemics finds a counterbalance within her own camp – the omnipresent manager, who sticks up for his charge when someone throws it to the fan.

“Mind you we don’t control each other, and I’d hate it to be seen that way. Management is probably the most important role in the music industry so getting it right is very important. Believe me Howard says it as it is…and I must add I’m exactly the same. It’s as real as it gets.”

She is, we know, opinionated about almost everything yet careful not to discuss everything in public. Sex, politics and religion are out of the equation, arguing that “some things should remain personal.”

She does respond to three small questions outside of music. She finds police arraigning 21-year old Mark Camilleri of Realta as “heavy” and that the line between art and vulgarity is “when it stops being honest.” She doesn’t believe in abortion because “everything that lives should be given an opportunity.”

Insiders in music have often claimed that Ira Losco, [together with someone else who I’d rather not mention], are essential for any successful awards session to draw the crowds. Someone in Ira’s own entourage even whispered in my left ear that too many nominations can annoy an already saturated market.

“I get your point, yes. Might be you’re right in saying my name is slightly abused, but then again, once again it goes back to the point that Malta is small market. I’m proud of all my awards especially those given to me through people’s votes because I like to think there’s an element of, between huge inverted commas, honesty in that. Personally I am more concerned of having two awards events every year, very close to each other and both in playbak due to TV restraints. I really admire all the efforts to recognise local music with all its limitations, but this might eventually damage the local music scene over saturating it.”

As it comes, Ira and band are writing new songs ahead of a yet unscheduled release. “The band are more involved now. And I want to work on taking the entertainment side of things one step further. I’m working against a certain predictability, that should end. We also have a number of foreign performances coming up which we’re very excited about” Her playlist is peppered with former Tiara bandmate Jamie Decesare’s suggestions – Bat for Lashes, Florence and the Machine, Dresden Dolls. Women in control, she calls them.

It’s time to wrap it up. Her Hunter’s Bar baked pasta seems to be conjuring some bowel mischief.

“So, this interview will appear in Manic’s Valentine’s Day issue…” “How sweet!” she debuts. “…who is the lucky girl you are going to kiss on the day?”

Another small burst of mirth. “I’m not gonna kiss any girls. They’re probably scared of me by now,” she says, in the mood of someone who’s heard too much of that already.

Another patron sitting on the far side of the bar overhears the last reply, and looks at her in bewildered amusement. A price to pay, perhaps, for such unrepentant normality.