Singer Stacey Kent makes her major label debut this month with a new album that marks a change from her traditional reliance on the Great American Songbook and features a songwriting collaboration with Booker prize winning writer Kazuo Ishiguro. Peter Quinn talks to Stacey.

If making music and travelling count as two of life’s most enriching experiences, then Stacey Kent might just be feeling a surfeit of riches right now. With singer and band currently in the middle of a frenetic global trail of interviews, showcases and signings to promote the release of Breakfast On The Morning Tram – Stacey’s first album in four years – you suspect that even the most travel-hardened Lonely Planet writer would weep at the sight of her schedule. And yet, when I catch up with Stacey and Jim Tomlinson (her husband and musical collaborator) at their north London home, on a rare day off from the manic merry-go-round, the pair exudes an almost Zen-like calm.

So, how is life on the road? “The pace is full on, there’s no doubt about it, but we all know what we’re up for, and we all like each other – not just musically but also personally. Even when it’s 4.30 in the morning, it’s dark and we’re not quite ready to be up, there’s laughter and there are people propping each other up with that. This is a fun band to be in. The hardest part for us being on the road is that you don’t have the home life, you don’t have a routine. But human beings have such a great way of adapting that we get into this rhythm. That first day when you leave home and are about to go on a big tour is very hard, it’s hard to tear yourself away. But once you’re in it and you’re also thriving on this music that you love, you just find a way to keep going. And right now, I have to say, we’re pretty happy, we’re pretty up.”

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