Hawkins goes out on a limb. By Katrina Fox.

In 1992 she had a huge hit with a song called 'Damn I Wish I Was Your Lover' on her debut album Tongues and Tails which turned her into an instant heroine for lesbians, thanks to the line 'I lay by the ocean making love to her'. Having taken the risk of publicly declaring her 'omnisexuality', Sophie B Hawkins released another hit album two years later, before taking another risk - one that few artists in the music business dare to do - she dumped her major label, Sony, and formed her own company, at a time when her career was at an all-time high. The obvious question is why?

"The world just became so corporate and the lowest common denominator status quo," she explains. "The world has become so formulaic in terms of music that is promoted. Sony said 'We'll support you but it has to be on our terms now - you have to start writing with formula producers', and I said 'no way'. I felt this huge sea change in the world of music and I thought maybe this is my chance to get off and be a musician, be an artist, because if I don't, I'll be something watered down, I'll lose all my credibility, my fans and it won't be worth it - I'll hate myself."
Now at the helm of Trumpet Swan Records with her manager Gigi Gaston, Hawkins released her latest album Wilderness last year. She admits the business side can be "very taxing and difficult" but says it has made the creative work special. "It's made me so appreciative of being creative and being an artist. I honestly think a lot of artists become jaded and get angry - but I'm so appreciative of every show I do, every record I sell and it's given me a groundedness, and at least now I know what kind of people to hire and how to build relationships based on respect and trust, whereas before, people were stealing from me and I was afraid to look. Other artists sense something's going on that's bad but they don't want to look and instead become angry with everyone. I really trust myself now."

Despite Hawkins championing overtly gay lyrics, few artists have followed suit, preferring to keep their songs genderless - something which doesn't surprise Hawkins. "Even though there are artists that will come out, they're really still in the business and their art shows that, whereas I put my art first and if it's called a sapphist lyric, I'm going to be absolutely truthful in my work even if it makes people say 'I'm not going to buy that record'," she says. "I think there's a beauty in being absolutely truthful. It's so exciting for me to be able to be political and accurate - I can't tell you how liberating it is to not have to skirt an issue with my art, because that's the place where you have to be most truthful. Sometimes you'll hear a songwriter from way back when who may hint at a gay lyric and it's very exciting to hear, but I think other people who don't do it are conscious of selling records - I could be wrong, but I can't think of any other reason. Also I want to give to women, give the credit where it's due - if a woman has inspired the song, then goddamit, I want the world to know!"

It's not surprising to learn that Hawkins, who is currently in a relationship with a woman, has experienced her fair share of homophobia from mainstream society. What is surprising though is that she's got it from the gay community as well. "People get confused about me, I guess," she says. "I experienced homophobia a lot when I was on the major label. When I was first signed, 'Damn' was the song they signed me on and that lyric was there so I thought everyone was ok, so I talked about my omnisexuality with Sony executives and they loved it. When you talk to straight men, they understand - there's very few people who can say they've never had a fantasy about someone of the same sex. But I've also experienced homophobia in the gay world where people say I'm not gay enough. I understand it because I understand the struggle - my mother was with women. I grew up with older gay people and they really struggled, so that's another reason I try to be so clear in my lyrics - like 'Sweet Sexy Woman' [from Wildnerness]. That's about an older woman and I wasn't going to take it away and say 'sweet sexy somebody'."

Hawkins is equally outspoken about other issues close to her heart. On her website sophiebhawkins.com, she has an activism section which highlights causes she feels passionately about, from environmentalism to campaigning to end animal experiments. "It's the one thing that makes me cry," she says. "It is the one thing that means so much to me - this is why I want to be so special. I can sell a few records and that's satisfying, and doing small shows as a musician is satisfying, but how do I help all these animals and the environment? I can't stand how humanity treats the earth and animals, I can't believe it. I think, goddamit, I want to do well because I want to give $5 million to the Jane Goodall Institute [for wildlife conservation] or whales or dolphins."

So how does a nature-loving free spirit like Hawkins stay optimistic in a world that favours technology and profit above all else? "For people who have the opportunity or the confidence to be creative, there's something renewing about it - you can get so upset around people, then if you go in your room and do something, it's like a fountain renewing you - it feels like it comes up from the earth and I think it's universal. I think that's what love is, what god is - it's a universal truth that we can all tap into and that's what art is - the interpretation of a creative truth. You know when it's art and when it's bullshit."

While she may be more comfortable taking long walks with her dogs at her home in Venice, California, Hawkins still turns up occasionally to music industry events, but even then she still manages to cause a stir - she once showed up at the Grammys wearing an evening dress and flip-flops. "I'm a very peculiar artist," she says. "I'm very 'un-business' in that a lot of professional artists have a way of being and I'm not that way. I'm very creative, spontaneous and childlike and it's hard for me to be different, so I accept it and accept that success for me will probably come and go, but you can't say I ever did it on anyone else's terms."

SX News is one of Australia's leading gay and lesbian arts, entertainment, news and culture magazines For more information visit the magazine's website at www.sxnews.com.au