SALLY POTTER

The avant-garde musician, filmmaker and activist on exploring the human connection, staying optimistic in the face of uncertainty and her memories of brother and VdGG bassist Nic.

- Words: Sid Smith Portrait: Courtesy of Adventure Pictures

Best known as an acclaimed film director and writer, Sally Potter has made nine feature-length movies, including Orlando and The Party, which have starred numerous Hollywood A-listers and received critical acclaim and prizes at various film festivals around the world. She received an OBE for services to film in 2012, but has also pursued a lifelong interest in music. In the late 70s and early 80s she was a member of FIG (Feminist Improvising Group), whose personnel included Centipede vocalist Maggie Nicols and Henry Cow bassoonist, Lindsay Cooper.

Having previously collaborated with musicians on some of her film scores, she composed the soundtrack to 2020's The Roads Not Taken starring Javier Bardem and Elle Fanning, and her 2022 short film, Look At Me. In 2023 she released her debut album, Pink Bikini, a series of autobiographical songs about her teenage years and growing up in the 1960s. Her latest album Anatomy is a reflective meditation on the threat of global warming. Prog caught up with Potter via Zoom at her home as she prepared for her recent live performance at London's Cafe OTO.

Your first album, Pink Bikini, was very personal and autobiographical, whereas Anatomy deals with the forces ravaging the planet. Is that fair comment?

Exactly so. With