Erika is one of those very rare artists who unite their flash fires of inspiration with the propensity for hard work and critical concentration of the pondered perfectionist.

I don't even get to hear her demos until she's finished not only with crafting the lyrics and melody-line but honing the whole song-structure, a task usually left up to the arranger!

I've worked with some of the best, and I assure you that many singersongwriters - even among the most gifted - will often hand me tapes full of sketchy (if occasionally brilliant) melodic ideas, verses and choruses unfinished or haphazardly strung together, with "provisional" lyrics, to put it diplomatically, assuming that I'll "cook them up" something tasty. Now, I do enjoy cooking, but sometimes they make me feel as if I'm having to build a new kitchen and make my own pots and pans every time!

Erika only submits a piece when she's at least 90% satisfied that it's her best. Nine times out of ten, throughout our collaboration on "In my bed", I happily agreed with the general direction taken by her musical homing instincts, and the odd man out usually turned out to be the track she had doubts about herself! So I received stacks of first-class material ready to have real fun with from Erika, rather than bits to puzzle over and tinker with.

Of couse, this doesn't mean I never mess around with the harmony and structure when working on her stuff; I do experiment a lot, often with Erika herself present and taking an active part, and many a time we end up with something thrillingly unexpected. What it does mean is that I always start with every arranger's (and producer's) dream fantasy: a well-turned and polished tune with strong lyrics (sung by a looooovely voice).

You can get her CD (click on SHOP), peruse lyrics, reviews, interviews, articles and more (READ), check her out in 30-second snatches of her songs (LISTEN), see photos, videoclips, artwork (LOOK), and join the fanclub (WRITE)!

You'll be hearing more and more of Erika as her career takes off, and if you want "the story so far" this is the place to find it!

MARK HARRIS