COCKNBULLKID'S POP THERAPY

COCKNBULLKID – that’s it, that’s her name now.
Dropping the prefix “the” is the first sign something’s different about Anita Blay.
Known for her electro tunes of the past, Anita’s turned to pop for her debut album.
Single Hold on To Your Misery (out March 7) is every bit the snappy pop song to which she aspires.



Anita – as CocknBullKid – is part of talent-pushing festival HMV Next Big Thing, a concentrated chance to see the picks of the future – across venues including Camden Barfly, Jazz Cafe and Relentless Garage for the flat rate of £10.
She plays Upstairs at the Garage alongside James Yuill, Trophy Wife and Visions of Trees (Feb 10).

Also chalked up at various venues are Jessie J, The Airborne Toxic Event, Skepta, The Chakras, and Chilly Gonzales (full line-up – www.hmvnextbigthing.com).
In fact, Anita has just settled in a deli after recording vocals for the eclectic Canadian musician Gonzales – who worked on her album – when she speaks to Grooves.
She said: “He’s charismatic, good fun to work with, very much an artist and quite independent. He pretty much makes things happen for himself so he’s good at giving tips and advice on how to make sure everything is yours. It’s becoming harder for people to control what they do. He’s quite old school in the sense that he takes care of every aspect of his career.”

While Anita absorbs his advice, she is well aware of the fortunate position she is in: “Although I’m signed to a big label (Island) I’m with an independent (subsidiary Moshi Moshi). It’s not like everything has to be turned up to 11 and have bells and whistles on. I’ve got the best of both worlds, the muscle of a major but the creativity of an independent.”

Album Adulthood touches on life as a Londoner of Ghanaian descent and some good old teenage angst – to an upbeat soundtrack.
She said: “My parents split up at a very early age and I was separated from my mum when I was about 12 so I grew up with a male patriarchal figure. I wasn’t raised by a woman in the most important times in my youth. While he was doing a stellar job – I love my dad to bits – there are certain quirks/things you can’t help but sometimes attribute to not having a female figure.”

Her father, a bus driver, is so proud of Anita’s work that he keeps all her cuttings.
She said: “Considering he was from a different background, from Ghana, quite traditional, he’s still quite open-minded and I think that’s shaped me.”

Anita grew up in Hackney, torn between where to ally herself – and her confusion over her origins –is detailed on the album.
She said: “The older you get it’s less of a clash and more of a fusion. There’s good and bad but I’ve learned to straddle both, be proud that I’m British and proud to be Ghanaian.”

An explanation of her stage name is also on the album: “A lot of people ask why I called myself Cocknbullkid. I’m not talking about anatomy I‘m referring to a cockerel and bull – it’s another way of saying to spin a yarn, tell a tale, bullshit someone. Something I’m fascinated with.”
At the moment it’s all about pop: “It is a craft writing a pop song – it’s a lot easier to be experimental and waffle on for nine minutes. Now three minutes, there’s something very satisfying about a pop song.”

Making the album has doubled as therapy. Said Anita: “If you’re old enough to be honest about how you feel and put it on a record, hopefully you feel better for it – almost exorcising your demons. I do feel a lot better. I listen back to songs and think wow I don’t feel like that anymore. I’m happy I’ve been honest about it. “

She added: “My dad’s really proud. I’m definitely a hard worker when it comes to music. That’s the only way you can feel any sense of achievement for something because you work for it. My dad’s a bloody hard worker. That’s part of the reason I’m so ambitious because I want to make him and my family proud. I want them to be comfortable, he struggled for so long.”
• CocknBullKid’s website is www.cocknbullkid.com and twitter name is @cocknbullkid