Worldwide acclaim is beckoning for Brooke Fraser. After scoring a #1 hit in her native New Zealand, she now finds herself touring Europe-wide in support of her most recent album Flags. A majestic soaring example of pure folk-pop, Flags has been a critical and commercial triumph. Just before jetting home to doubtlessly pick up a brace of gongs at the NZ Music Awards, she’s hitting Brighton’s Concorde 2. A good reason to give her gentle probing we thought.

Tell us about the inspirations for the new album.
I was so desperate to write and the material seemed so stubbornly elusive that I was basically snatching frantically at the air for months on end trying to trap any inspiration I possibly could.  Mortality and people's relationship with the land ended up being the two chief informers I would say.

It seems like more collaborations are occurring between major artists nowadays. Is this right, and if so, how would you explain this?
I don't think there are more now than there have ever been.  Art begets art and I think collaboration has been a natural and probably inevitable reoccurrence as long as humans have been creating, building, thinking.

There seems to be an enormous surge of popularity for folk-based music in the UK recently. Is this the same all over the world? Or is the UK simply catching up with the rest of the planet?
I think every action will have an equal and opposite reaction.  From what I hear in taxis and airports, pop radio seems to have violently disintegrated over the past decade.  There are lots of "tracks"... not that many "songs".  People want tracks for entertainment but need songs for survival - melodies, stories, and sanctuaries.  Perhaps that goes some way to explaining or perhaps I'm just talking out of my behind.

How would you describe your music to my grandmother?
"You know Elvis Presley? Not like that." (Note: I love Elvis Presley. I just don't sound anything like him.)

What was the last song you listened to? …and what will probably be the next?
Last song I listened to was an M83 song that my band was playing over and over in the green room.  The next will probably be a song from Laura Marling's new record "A Creature I Don't Know".

Who would you consider the most underrated musician around today?
Sufjan Stevens and/or Laura Marling.  Laura's new record is blowing my mind. Though they are highly rated now... I think it's nothing compared to what they'll give us in the next decade.

Do you think music can be a force for good?
Absolutely.

Your blog and Twitter feeds are often highly entertaining. Are these simply promotional tools to you, or are they fulfilling an irresistible urge to share your thoughts and experiences?
Firstly, thank you.  Secondly, I took some convincing to get a Twitter account, but over the past couple of years it's proven undeniably useful.  Though once my 'Brooke Fraser' public life subsides, I will happily sink back into anonymity and oblivion.

What do you like to do when you get some time to yourself?
If I'm on the road, I like to go for a walk, find a cafe and read quietly.  If I'm at home, I like to find some new recipes and bake/cook the day away.

Who is the most admirable person you’ve been compared to, musically or otherwise?
Postman Pat.  Just kidding.  But I have had his theme song stuck in my head all day.

What’s next for you? Have you got any interesting projects lined up for 2012?
A couple of final tours for "Flags", time off (fingers crossed) and then writing writing writing for album #4.