How autobiographical or confessional are your lyrics?

It varies, so it’s hard to say it’s one way or the other. I don’t like the connotations of the word “confessional.” But I can only write about what I know and what I observe. I spend a lot of time people-watching, and I spend a lot of time listening to my friends, watching their ridiculous lives.

Have people ever misinterpreted your songs as autobiographical, and how do you deal with those situations?

Yeah. On the occasions when I meet someone who’s been particularly affected by one song or another—and I don’t often get the opportunity to say this—I do feel motivated to tell them that those ideas are only a shadow of what I know. I’m listening for and writing about the ups and downs and the explanations to things.

I understand that the lyrics to “Salinas” [off A Creature I Don’t Know] were inspired by John Steinbeck.

I happened to pick up a book he’d written about the West Country in England. It was a history of the Knights of the Round Table, and his widow, Elaine, wrote the forward of the book. It was really strange. Like hero worship. Obviously he was a phenomenal writer, but she was very talented as well. I found that really interesting.

What were some of the major factors and circumstances of your childhood that led to you becoming a musician?

My father was very musical. He used to run a recording studio and taught me guitar. I also had two older sisters who were into music, and I used to listen to their CDs. I grew up listening to Bob Dylan, Neil Young, and Joni Mitchell. I wasn’t interested in anything besides music, which was the deciding factor.

You recently won the 2011 Brit Award for Best Female Solo Artist. Congratulations on that. Did winning it bring you any overnight fame?

When I won the award, there were two days when people recognized me on the street. Then life went back to normal again, which is the way I like it to be. I still do the things I used to do, and I still have my quiet life in London. It’s nice.

Do you ever see yourself becoming the kind of famous where you can’t even go out on the street?

No. Absolutely not.

You’re about to embark on a brief North American tour to support the album. Some of the songs, like the latter half of “Sophia”, sound pretty immense. How do you recreate those moments live on stage?

I recorded the album with the band I toured with at the time. We recorded it all live. We did it all in one room, so we can pretty much do exactly what we did on the record. But we actually just found out that, under very unfortunate circumstances, our drummer can’t come. So when we tour, we will be without a drummer.

But you’ve found a replacement drummer, right?

No, we can’t. We don’t have enough time. We’re going to recruit friends along the way to provide percussion. But it won’t be exactly like the record.

Laura Marling – “Sophia”

And the obligatory question: Do you have any new material in the works, and when can we expect a new record?

I’m actually in and out of the studio at the moment, so, realistically, the beginning of next year.

Thanks for your time and good luck with the tour.

No worries. Thanks a lot.