PJ Harvey Plays With 'Chalk' in Our Studio

Just one day after playing the first of her only two U.S. shows this year, at New York's Beacon Theatre, PJ Harvey, who just released her latest album, the piano-based 'White Chalk,' stopped by our Manhattan studio for a four-song performance and interview. Donning a raven Victorian dress, Harvey needed little decoration for her tunes, as her solo set, much like the new album, relied heavily on only two things: a percussive, haunting piano -- a new instrument in Harvey's musical palette -- and a voice that has found no boundaries over the course of her 15-year career.

"Initially, I was [intimidated by the piano], actually," Harvey told Spinner. "I found myself avoiding playing it for about three months after I first had it. I had never had a piano before. I was nervous about approaching it for a long time, and then as soon as I got over that, it just became this wealth of inspiration, really, because I didn't know what I was doing. I've never really been a player that knows much about the theory side of music -- even to do with guitar. But I've gotten so familiar with shapes on the guitar, and I would know what shapes would work together. But with piano I knew nothing."

Watch the full performance and interview, in which Harvey discusses which of her albums she favors, what she was like as a child and why she'd like to sit down with Bjork and Tori Amos once more.

Buy 'White Chalk' on iTunes

Full Set

'Silence'

'White Chalk'

'Down By the Water'

'Desperate Kingdom of Love'

Interview