Your band has had such an amazing debut, with your singles ÔÇÿNothing MattersÔÇÖ coming out in April and ÔÇÿSinnerÔÇÖ in June ÔÇô how has the response to these releases been for you?
ItÔÇÖs been better than we could ever have even dreamt of. WeÔÇÖve been working on these songs for years, practicing and honing our craft for as long as possible. When it got around to releasing ÔÇÿNothing MattersÔÇÖ, we were like ÔÇ£oh God, maybe all this build up has been for nothing and no one is going to like it and no one is going to listen to it, and itÔÇÖs going to be terrible and weÔÇÖll be really embarrassedÔÇØ, but luckily the response has been really good. Particularly with the music video, people have really engaged with that. So yeah, itÔÇÖs been better than we could have ever hoped.
The MV for ÔÇÿNothing MattersÔÇÖ was so visually stunning, will there be a music video for ÔÇÿSinnerÔÇÖ any time soon?
There is the live performance video online, but we kind of want to do a higher budget one as well, at the moment though, there is no video MV.
I know as well that ÔÇÿNothing MattersÔÇÖ has been added to the FIFA 24ÔÇÖs soundtrack, are you much of a FIFA player yourself?
When I was a teenager, because IÔÇÖve got two little brothers, it was mainly telling them it was going to be a FIFA song ÔÇô it was a good moment. Because, you know with FIFA, the soundtrack to that is so iconic. They have whole student club nights that have been on that soundtrack. ItÔÇÖs a whole different world, and a whole different audience, so itÔÇÖs really funny ÔÇô but I think itÔÇÖs really cool.
How would you describe the creative process behind your music?
ItÔÇÖs very collaborative, so a lot of the songs will start with Abigail playing a song on the piano, or one of us will come into the room like ÔÇ£oh! IÔÇÖve got this ideaÔÇØ. As thereÔÇÖs five of us, we all have ideas of how they can take shape or develop. Nothing Matters started as a piano ballad basically, and now itÔÇÖs got a guitar solo, and harp and trumpets and really up-tempo vibes. Our songs always end up becoming very maximalist from that process of us all being like ÔÇ£what if thereÔÇÖs a synth breakdown or a choir outroÔÇØ, we all have really lovely ideas which is why the songs sound like they do.
You mentioned about there being harps and trumpets in your songs, are there any other non-traditional instruments that you want to incorporate in future songs?
Definitely, weÔÇÖve already recorded album one, so weÔÇÖre starting to think about album two now. I donÔÇÖt know if thereÔÇÖs any specifically, but we all want to be more experimental again, we all want to learn how to play new instruments. WeÔÇÖre always going to be pushing ourselves creatively to make something that sounds fresh, we donÔÇÖt just want to make album one again.
So what can you tell me about your upcoming album?
Well, I canÔÇÖt say necessarily what itÔÇÖs called or when itÔÇÖs going to come out, thatÔÇÖs all in the pipeline. It is eclectic, maximalist, euphoric ÔÇô thereÔÇÖs a really diverse range of sounds and songs. Sinner and Nothing Matters are both quite up-tempo, you can have a good dance, you can have a good sing along to them, but weÔÇÖve got some that take quite a heavy turn, theyÔÇÖre a bit more moshy, some that are slow and heartbreaking, thereÔÇÖs some instrumental stuff on there. ItÔÇÖs a really ambitious album, and thatÔÇÖs why weÔÇÖre all so proud of it because itÔÇÖs something that we would love to listen to.
IÔÇÖve noticed that you do different dress themes for each show, so for your Cardiff performance itÔÇÖs Folkore and Fairytales ÔÇô what inspires you to come up with these themes?
ItÔÇÖs kind of just come from our love of literature, of film, of poetry and theatre ÔÇô all things quite theatrical, I think thatÔÇÖs the thing that ties it all together. We also just like dressing up, weÔÇÖre just kids at heart that want to wear ball gowns and extravagant tailcoats. We take inspiration from what we want to dress up as.
Has there been a particular outfit that has been your favourite so far?
Yeah, for the upcoming tour we all have some very, very over the top outfits ÔÇô but I donÔÇÖt want to give it away too much. But my favourite thing that IÔÇÖve worn over the festival season has been by our friend Sophie whoÔÇÖs a designer ÔÇô her designer name is Rabbit Baby ÔÇô and she makes a lot of those lovely flowy white dresses that we wear.
Are there any artists that you would like to collaborate with in the future?
Definitely Lana Del Ray, of course, she does do collaborations so not entirely out of possibility. Florence and the Machine would be great, Charli XCX and FKA Twigs too. Just incredible powerful female artists would be amazing.
As you are an all-female band do you feel that thereÔÇÖs a lot pressure on you to be or act a certain way?
Ithink thereÔÇÖs definitely things we feel, sometimes we look at each other and we ask ÔÇ£do male bands feel this?ÔÇØ or ÔÇ£do male bands experience this?ÔÇØ a lot of the time the answer is no, we donÔÇÖt think so. We obviously draw attention to our outfits, but thereÔÇÖs a lot of focus on our appearance. You think about bands like Yard Act or Sports Team, who are great bands, that just go on stage in trakkies. I think that there is pressure for female performing artists to be beautiful, to dress well, to wear makeup, to be dancers, to be singers, to be all-round performers. Whereas with male bands, I donÔÇÖt think that thereÔÇÖs as much pressure to be an all-round performer, they can get up and do it and then get off.
You got your start through performing live shows at different venues, do you think itÔÇÖs very different to what people expect now with the rise of TikTok, and how artists get famous that way?
Absolutely, I think thereÔÇÖs a whole generation of artists who get really successful online, you know they might just upload a song that blows up on TikTok or they might just have loads of fans and a following, interest from record labels, PR companies and management ÔÇô but theyÔÇÖve never played a single gig in their lives. So, when they get out on stage theyÔÇÖve already got an audience, but they donÔÇÖt know how to perform. Whereas we wanted to do it the complete opposite way, honing our craft as performers, performing as much as we can, multiple times a week lugging all of our stuff around London. Then by the time we got noticed by the music industry, it was because of our performance and passion that we had on stage, rather than a trend on TikTok ÔÇô which I think is a bit less romantic. Nothing against artists who find success there, but we never use TikTok anyway, not in our day to day lives, so it would be weird if we started using it to promote the band.
Is there anywhere you really want to perform but havenÔÇÖt done so yet?
My ultimate goal is to perform in Sydney Australia, which is where IÔÇÖm originally from. WeÔÇÖve done a bit of travel for work, like playing in different countries in Europe, but I think going back home and performing there would make my life complete.
Has there been a particular venue or festival that you have enjoyed performing at?
I absolutely loved performing at Electric Picnic, which was just outside of Dublin. IÔÇÖve never been to Dublin before, and the festival was absolutely beautiful. The crowd was so enthusiastic, they were so ready to just sing and cheer. WeÔÇÖve never had cheers louder than that ÔÇô and the tent was completely full. Then after we went home, we had a big night out in Dublin and it was just a perfect way to cap off the festival season.
Your band met at university, so do you have any advice for any uni students currently involved in bands or live music who are hoping to get a start?
I would say that, in our experience, but this applies, go to as many gigs as you possibly can. Have fun ÔÇô but treat it like research. Make mental notes of thing that you think really really work and things that donÔÇÖt. Once you do start playing, play as many gigs as possible. If thereÔÇÖs offers take them, if you can make it work, take them. The only thing thatÔÇÖs going to improve your song writing and your performing is seeing how other people react to your music, even if thatÔÇÖs a crowd of fifteen people. If thereÔÇÖs one song that you play that makes them all light up when they hear, then you know that thatÔÇÖs a great tune. DonÔÇÖt worry too much about recording stuff before youÔÇÖre ready, and donÔÇÖt spend all your money going to a recording studio, because you need to be ready first ÔÇô and that only comes from playing live.
Interview by Genevieve Gunn
