Former Catatonia singer Cerys Matthews on her contempt for politicians and not being as successful as Barbra Streisand

You're judging a literary award, aren't you?

It's a new category in the Dylan Thomas prize that has been created to support unpublished novelists under 30. To enter, you need to have used electronic book formats throughout the writing process. The prize is £5,000 and the chance to get the novel published as an ebook.

What else have you been up to?

I have my own show on BBC 6 Music, which has been just brilliant. I wrote and presented a documentary for the BBC poetry season called My Life in Verse. I was invited to do a lecture for the National Library of Ireland celebrating the work of WB Yeats. I sang at the Womad festival. I've also got my own record label, so I've put out a double release: an album of my own songs in English, with a Welsh version too, and a collection of traditional Welsh songs I've recorded.

Phew! And you had a baby last November?

Yes! I've got three children now. It's been busy, but so satisfying.

So are you a workaholic?

No, I have fun as well. A lot of fun. We went to France recently and immersed ourselves in great food, and we go to Ireland quite often because my partner [her manager Steve Abbott] has an Irish background.

Are you happy with your balance of work and family life?

It's challenging with three kids under seven, but there's also something great about the chaos. And when you put a lid on it for five minutes, it feels like you've done something really good.

Do you take them on tour with you?

I did take the two oldest ones with me on a tour bus for months when they were three and one and a half. It wasn't easy. If you're going to tour with children, you need to be like Barbra Streisand with millions in the bank and a parallel touring party with nannies and lounge buses and recuperation buses and laundry buses. I'm not at that point yet!

Has your attitude towards being a rock star changed since the Catatonia days?

I love it just as much. My love affair with music is ongoing. She's a hell of a mistress to have.

But do you still have the hellraiser in you?

You do if you've still got passion in you and I'm definitely still passionate, yeah. I've still got a terrible habit, if somebody says you have to do it one way, of kicking against it if I think it's not the right way. But I don't think it's a bad thing to question, especially these days. You need to question the motivation of what's being fed to you by the media and political spin.

Do you still enjoy being in the public eye?

There are definite advantages to it. You get treated nicely sometimes.

What has been the most exciting moment of your career?

It's doing things like that talk I gave on WB Yeats.

That was more thrilling than playing to big audiences with Catatonia?

In a way, because it means pushing myself a bit more and doing something unexpected. Playing songs on the back of chart success is a bit ABC, whereas this is more of a curve ball and I like curve balls. I'd never put down what I've gained from all the success with Catatonia – that was an amazing time – but what I'm loving more now is the surprise element of things. I'm off to Cuba in four weeks to make a documentary and I don't know what to expect. I can't wait.

Do you like the current generation of female British popstars?

I'm very excited by Laura Marling. She's a fantastic songwriter. When we were covering Glastonbury this year for 6 Music, she came on the show and played beautifully.

What's your take on Tom Jones's transformation from naughty boy to singer of hymns on his new album?

I don't think that it's a transformation at all, if you spend time with him. He's another person who shares my absolute love for the roots of music; we've spent many nights singing these old spirituals together.

Are your older children properly Welsh?

It was funny. England were playing USA in the World Cup this summer and they were asking who they should support. Because they're growing up in London, I'm Welsh and they've got American family too. It's a modern problem, isn't it, these cross-cultural families? It's something that they're going to have to battle later on.

Are you political?

Don't get me started. I can hardly watch the news without screaming and pulling the TV off the wall. If I was allowed to rule the world I would do a better job.

How do you feel about the coalition?

I'm not very convinced. I don't get it. I think we're strangled by bureaucracy. It's ridiculous. Common sense has completely gone in British culture. You need a woman – not Thatcher, a working mother or something – to just come and sort things out. It gets on my nerves so much.

So it doesn't matter to you which party is in charge?

It's just politics. They like the sound of their own voices. Instead of making decisions, it's all just talk. I've been told to keep my mouth shut, but… I think a 10-year-old could run the country better than these politicians.

For information on the Sony Reader Award, visit www.sony.co.uk/reader