KT Tunstall, the rebirth of a pop star

KT Tunstall is living in Los Angeles, where she’s making music in tune with her surroundings.

The Scottish-born singer released her latest album, “Kin,” in October and in doing so made a return to the record charts. “Kin” reached the top-10 in the U.K.

“lt was hugely influenced by California-made music,” Tunstall explains. “It was really driving around all the canyon roads and listening to Fleetwood Mac and Tom Petty that made me write the new record.”

The album’s sunny disposition was also probably inspired in part by Tunstall’s recently reclaimed peace of mind. After going through ups and downs in the music business and unease in her personal life, Tunstall reports that she’s in a good place in each of those worlds. “Reset” is the word she uses to describe the chronological events of quitting the pop-music business, moving from the U.K. to L.A., working in the film-scoring industry and ultimately getting back into the game with “Kin.”

“I was coming at it from a carefree place, and I hadn’t really been in that space since the first record. ‘Kin’ absolutely felt like the beginning of part two of my life. My life has changed drastically, partly by nature, partly by design. This record really felt like a bit of a spiritual followup to the first record,” she says.

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That first record, 2004’s “Eye to the Telescope,” featured Tunstall’s two biggest hits, “Black Horse and the Cherry Tree” and “Suddenly I See.” The latter popped up in TV commercials and the movie “The Devil Wears Prada” and was used in Hillary Clinton’s 2008 presidential campaign. Tunstall became a pop star. Looking back, she says she felt trapped by that life.

“It got to the point of it not being a healthy relationship with my work. It’s very difficult to take time for yourself when you have that level of success, and you’re just working constantly. It’s very easy to split into two separate things. One is someone who works, and one is someone who nurtures one’s self, and the balance is lost,” she says.

In hindsight, Tunstill might have made different choices regarding the direction of her career in the wake of her initial success. But she says most artists don’t get to call their own shots.

“The more success you have, the more you’re in that position,” she says. “Katy Perry, for example, is a brilliant character. She’s absolutely herself. I feel like she’s someone who’s out there 100 percent making her own decisions, taking advice from great people. She picks a good team and is loving what she does. Someone like Beyonce or Sia, these great women, Rihanna, brilliant women who choose their teams and really delve deep into their integrity and self-expression, I think they’re doing a fantastic job of that. I think it’s possible, but it’s a graph with money. If you’re not making the record company enough cash, they’re not going to give you enough freedom.

“The first time it came around for me, I did sabotage it to some extent. I just couldn’t really handle it. I was a bit overwhelmed. And this time around, making this record, I felt absolutely ready for anything and would be delighted with whatever came my way and would certainly jump at the chance of playing a huge crowd or whatever. I’m touring great venues, and that’s fine. I feel at peace with whatever comes, to be honest. But I don’t feel a deep ambition to turn it into something stadium-like,” she laughs. “But if it were to happen, I’d embrace it with open arms.”

If you go

What: KT Tunstall

When: 8 p.m. Saturday, Feb. 18

Where: Live at the Ludlow Garage, 342 Ludlow Ave., Clifton; 513-221-4111

Tickets: $35-$65