Singer-songwriter Lauren Housley will release her new record – Girl From The North – on April 23rd. We interview Lauren ahead of the album release, about the process behind the recording and what she wants fans to take away from the project. The record is available for pre-order now here.
10 days to the album release!
I know I can’t believe it.
It must be great to finally be able to release the record, particularly after the year we’ve had.
It feels a bit odd that we won’t be going straight out on tour, but I’ve got my head around that. I really wanted to just get the music out, we could have waited til the tour and things were back up and running at he end of the year, but I just I think people need music now.
We all need new stuff, particularly with the end now in sight. It must have been nice over the past year to have something to work on and focus on.
Yeah, I mean I actually had a baby as well.
I was going to say!
The timing just sort of worked out really. I’d already recorded the album, so it got finished during the first month of the pandemic, because when the lockdown hit, the album wasn’t mixed yet. My husband does a bit of mixing, but when they announced lockdown, Tom said, ‘I’m just gonna move the studio into the flat and then I can finish the album, if this is going to happen and the world is going to shut down.’ Luckily, he brought the studio into the apartment and then just mixed the album for the next couple of weeks, and then it was finished – that was a really good time. It was just before Noah was born as well – the plan was obviously to release the album a bit sooner than it ended up being released. I’m so glad I’ve gone with April, because it feels like a really good one.
There’s so many sonic elements that come into this record and your music, from Americana and roots to a more soulful 80s vibe, particularly in the latest single. Was that a natural evolution?
I guess for this album in particular, because we weren’t working with anybody else. My husband – who’s my longtime collaborator – we just didn’t set any boundaries whatsoever. We’d been listening to loads of great music, and we just moved back to our hometown as well – we weren’t quite sure where we were going to end up. We didn’t set any boundaries – we just said, ‘let’s just write and we’re gonna make a record’. We’re gonna build a studio and we’re going to record an album down here. It felt like a really mammoth task at the time, especially when you are independent and you do it yourself. We’re starting with zero, plucking ideas from thin air and you’re trying to capture inspiration from another realm, but that’s where it starts. Obviously, the process that you have to go through to actually get it completed is a big task, but it was amazing. It was so nice to not have any time restraint in the studio.
The pressure is taken off, I guess. So, when did the idea of ‘Girl from the North’ come about? When did that get fleshed out and come to you?
It came as a bit of a seed a long time ago. I’ve always loved that song – ‘Girl from the North Country.’ I guess I’d just been thinking about my place amongst the music scene and I always had this funny thing happen where people might hear the music because it’s American influenced – in terms of the instrumentation and stuff, and the production and even the songwriting – and I would rock up to interviews sometimes where people would be expecting an American. Then, I’d start speaking and I’ve got this broad Yorkshire accent. So, I’ve just identified with that title and the songs were kind of coming from memories and moments and things that I’d been sitting on from way back when I used to live in Rotherham, I just felt I could really relate to that title.
I love the latest track – This Ain’t the Life – and the music video felt so free. How much fun was the video to record?
I wanted to bring a little bit of joy to the streets – that’s been one of the themes throughout the making of this album. We brought a lot of colour and music to the town centre when we got married and that was kind of the thing that I always thought about – if I can bring this vibe to the music, then I feel like that would be right.
What did you want fans to take away from the project overall?
My inspirations come from all over the place and I definitely feel like I connect with the two sides of myself – the fun, playful, and bubbly side – but I’m also a very empathetic person, who can be quite deep and spiritual. I feel like I’ve struggled to bring those two together and looking back, that’s always who I’ve been. I found it tough to sort of creatively bring those two together, so this album was just about being more true to myself and embrace every side of myself. Hopefully, when people hear the album it will inspire other people to maybe do the same as well and believe in themselves. I really would like to inspire a lot of the younger women in the area as well. I’ve got a lot of friends who’ve got kids and stuff now getting in touch with me saying they think what I’m doing is great, and they want to do that.
Out of all the songs, are there any that you’re particularly excited to play live and get feedback on?
Quite a few of the ones that I’ve played are already out, but I’m excited to now play some of the ones that we’ve not played yet. I’m excited to see the reaction on those, like ‘Breakdown,’ which has this psychedelic-like outro and I just kind of want to go a little bit wild on that at the end. The guys let loose on that one as well, it can get a little bit intense. I’m looking forward to doing that live and I guess I’m hoping to get creative with instrumentation as well. There’s a couple of samples on the album that will be cool to try and do live.
Apart from the album release, is there anything else you’ve got planned for the rest of the year?
I’m really hoping to be touring at the end of the year. There’s some really cool dates coming up and I’m going to be doing a live stream from my studio in Sheffield. We’ve got that planned as well and hopefully making more music – that’s the next plan. I’m trying to embrace the time, when we’ve got time and we’re not touring as much – and won’t be for at least another six months. I’m going to try and use that time and get in the studio again.
We’ll be excited to hear that when it comes out! Thanks for taking the time to chat today.
Thank you!
