Vintage sights and sounds

Felicity Ross catches up with Eddi Reader, who's due here for Womad in March.

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Return visit: Eddi Reader loved it here first time round.

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Eddi Reader's love for vintage clothing and poignant lyrics drives her love for New Plymouth and Womad. That's why the singer is coming back in March.

A few years ago, Reader visited the region as part of the winter Taranaki International Festival of the Arts and was so cold she had to buy some $5 Ugg boots, which she later wore on stage.

This time around, she is hoping the weather will treat her a bit kinder.

"I am really looking forward to Womad," she says.

"Last time, I think your summer season was starting and winter season at home was in full swing, so I saw these boots and they were the only ones left and they were like three sizes too big, but I knew that if I put on some woolly socks that they would be great and I have had them ever since."

The boots was the only new item Reader purchased while in the region, because her true love is op shopping.

"I don't believe in high prices, I think glue should be recycled and Taranaki has some great vintage shops. I got a really old raincoat, which was really wrinkled but it was really nice.

"I really like vintage stuff and I find you can get anything you like from those shops. You don't need to go anywhere else and I just like doing that."

Reader has performed at Womad festivals in Barcelona and Britain and says it is a great way to collect and attract musicians who are not just interested in becoming celebrities.

These are people who are really musicians, enjoy playing and the company of musician - just people who love what they do to the extent that they don't really care if anybody is watching or not, she says.

"I like that attitude. It's comforting to know that musicians have somewhere to go that isn't just X Factor."

Reader creates music with the hope of affecting people's emotions.

She describes her sound as organic, emotional and romantic - "hopefully something you can get lost in when you are listening and get affected by it. That's kind of what my whole bag is: if you can switch off and get lost in all the good ways. I like being able to do that with music."

Reader's lyrics are about anything that affects her or she is inspired by.

"At the moment, I'm in love with a song called Nature Boy, which is a really old song, I am finding in it something vulnerable."

Reader has just wrapped her latest project with Hollywood heart-throb Zac Efron in the movie Me and Orson Wells. Reader not only sings in the flick but has three background songs in the soundtrack.