PJ Harvey has kept a low profile since releasing 2016 album The Hope Six Demolition Project in April but she gave her first interview to the BBC’s political magazine programe The Andrew Marr Show on Sunday.
Harvey gave a performance of album track “The Community of Hope” after giving a brief interview to the show's host. Dressed in a long black dress with flowing sleeves she stood alone, playing the song on guitar.
Speaking about the creation of the album, Harvey said: "Working closely with the photographer Seamus Murphy who has done a lot of work as a travel journalist, I began to travel with him. The first country we went to was Kosovo, we also went to Afghanistan. Then we thought about another country to visit before we felt we'd finished a project of an album. We felt that Washington DC would tie up the ends."
She continued: "A lot of the decisions were made there that affected Afghanistan and Kosovo. As a writer I was looking at the similarities I could find. We ended up spending most of our time in a part of Washington called Anacostia which is a very poor neighbourhood. I spoke to the people, listening to what they had to say and collecting notes."
However, Harvey still sees herself as a musician over a journalist. "I still call myself a songwriter, really. I gather information for songs and the biggest drive in my life is to want to sing to people. That's the way I get across the things that interest me and concern me." Watch the performance and interview above.
