Dolores O’Riordan has been talking exclusively to hotpress.com about her debut solo album which is due in 2004.
"I’ve started working with this English programmer called Matt Vaughan," she divulges. "When I joined the Cranberries I used to write everything on piano – I didn’t play guitar properly at all. So, 14 years on, I’ve come up with these piano-driven songs that I’m recording using Pro-Tools and all that other computer-y stuff.
"It’s completely different to the Cranberries – very experimental and out there. A couple of tracks have a David Lynch movie soundtrack feel, but they’re fully developed songs. I’m going to Toronto for an extended holiday, so Matt’s going to fly out for a week and do some mixes with me in the Metalworks studio.
"I’m going to put real guitar on some of them, and redo the vocals which at the moment are rough ones that I did in the kitchen in my little gate lodge. The staff in the farm here thought I was bonkers roaring away on my own!"
In one of the year’s more unlikely rock ‘n’ roll liaisons, O’Riordan is also planning to collaborate with AC/DC’s Brian Johnston on a rock opera version of Helen Of Troy.
"It’s always fun working with other artists, especially when they’re operating in a totally different area to you," she enthuses. "He’s such a darling, not in the least bit arrogant or full of himself. I ran into him last month when we were both supporting the Rolling Stones. Don (Burton, Dolores’ husband) had to tell me who he was ‘cause I didn’t recognise him!"
Despite all this extracurricular activity, O’Riordan is adamant that the Cranberries are still a going concern.
"Very much so," she resumes. "They’ve heard a couple of the piano songs I’m doing and are cool with it. Everybody needs a bit of space because we’re at that different place in life. We’re not a bunch of kids just starting.
"As well as opening for the Stones and playing Killarney last week with Counting Crows, we’ve recorded four demo songs for the next Cranberries album. We’ve got another three really beautiful ones in the pipeline, so it’s shaping up well."