Sophie Ellis-Bextor: ‘I like giving myself new things to do that are a bit scary’

Sophie Ellis-Bextor’s latest album, The Song Diaries, has been described as more of an “audio memoir” than a straightforward best-of collection – and with good reason.

Rather than simply assembling a dozen or so of the singer’s highest charting singles, the record features new orchestral interpretations of songs from throughout a career that began in the late 1990s, with the indie rock band Theaudience and has continued via six solo albums.

“I think there were a few strands really at work,” the 40-year-old explains. “I didn’t want to do a traditional greatest hits because I didn’t think there was much value in that anyway, you can access all the songs you want any time with Spotify and things like that, so I wanted to give something that would give a different twist to songs that people already knew.

“But also for me I wanted it to give me a bit of a challenge, to sing the songs again and put a little bit of a different spin on them for my head really as well. It’s been fun and I love touring it, it’s a dream come true.”

The album’s string arrangements hark back to the golden age of disco, something Ellis-Bextor has frequently referenced in songs such as Groovejet, Murder on the Dancefloor, Heartbreak and Music Gets The Best of Me. Yet she says she hadn’t long harboured an intention to work with an orchestra.

“No, that’s not really how my mind works,” she says. “I have an idea and then act on it and then something else will happen. I don’t really have any long-term plans about anything, really. I think it was born out of a few different feeds and this was the right time to do it. But then you’re right, it does link back to disco because when you put the band to it that’s what disco songs used to sound like, with an orchestra as well. Those are nice songs, aren’t they?”

Amy Langley’s arrangements give the songs a romantic flourish – something that Ellis-Bextor was looking for. “I think Amy’s done some really clever stuff,” she says. “I suppose yes, orchestras do bring out the romance of songs and because I wanted to do it where I didn’t use too many backing vocals or too many layers, she’s done clever things bringing out vocal melodies and different instrumentation as well. It’s romantic but also really delicate and quite nuanced, I was really impressed with what she managed to do.”