Given she has spent the majority of her career standing just a few metres away from the spotlight, it’s perhaps unsurprising that Lisa Fischer seems reticent when it comes to discussing herself.
Not that the veteran backup singer is rude – our interview is being conducted via email, and touchingly, each of her answers comes with a little flower emoji posted before the text.
So no, not rude, but almost embarrassed. She takes no credit for her achievements, appearing strikingly humble for a woman who has performed onstage with artists as diverse as The Rolling Stones, Nine Inch Nails and Tina Turner. “I had to work at [performing live],” she reveals, “but thankfully I’ve had some amazing mentors along the way.”
Fischer has nothing but good things to say about every one of her musical compatriots. “I’ve worked with [many] great collaborators and each are unique in how they share it with the audience,” she says. Nonetheless, she does have her favourites, and highlights Luther Vandross as a particularly generous performer to work with.
But the focus of the interview – and indeed Fischer’s new career – is not on her colleagues, but herself. Ever since she appeared in the 2013 Oscar-winning documentary Twenty Feet From Stardom, Fischer’s life has changed. “[The film] has given me the wonderful opportunity to be able to tour and share music that I love,” she says. “It’s given me a new sense of melodic life.”
No longer is she performing the songs of others from the background – now she is centre stage, sprinkling her own material among the covers she adores. Forgotten gems she recorded during her solo career – trembling, tortured tracks like ‘How Can I Ease The Pain’ from her Grammy-winning album So Intense – have found a new lease on life. They’re no longer footnotes or diversions. Like Fischer, they now stand in the spotlight, bare and unafraid.
This shift from extra to leading role was less troublesome for Fischer than one might expect, requiring no great change in attitude. “The focus is different because when I’m singing background, I am focusing mainly on the artist’s needs via the background parts,” she says. “When performing in the foreground, the music becomes the art in a more direct way.
“It feels like bonding with the audience through the music, so for me I would say that I am aware of the audience [but] in a different kind of way … I can feel the music become like warm water. [I love] the symmetry and synergy between the audience, the music and the acoustics.”
Although her sets are full of classics from legendary acts like Led Zeppelin, Tina Turner and Little Willie John, Fischer reveals she finds the concept of a ‘favourite’ song a troubling one. “For me, having a favourite song feels like an impossible thing, [because] I love melodic freedom. It’s almost like asking a mother [about their] favourite child.”
It’s safe to say none of this new-found fame has gone to Fischer’s head. Though she clearly draws great strength from music, she isn’t obsessed with the spotlight. She searches for beauty in the mundanity – for the extraordinary in the ordinary.
“I [have] a lovely and normal life,” she says. “I try my best to catch up on living. I try to spend time with family and friends and I take joy in simple things. Something as simple as doing the dishes becomes a very beautiful dance in warm water and soap. [Success is] closing my eyes at the end of the day and feeling that I’ve done my best.”
Lisa Fischer appears, withGrand Baton, at the City Recital HallonWednesday June 15.
