Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another Music Monday. Today I’m featuring the fabulous Zoë Wren and her recent album Reckless River.
Zoë is originally from London, where she used to busk on the London underground but she now lives in Switzerland. She is one half of folk duo Roswell but releases solo music too. I first discovered Zoë (you guessed it) through twitch and was immediately blown away by her beautiful voice which is just stunning. Zoe is one of the nicest streamers on twitch as she’s always very welcoming despite having a fast moving chat.
You can follow Zoë on twitch and social media by clicking on the links below.
Zoë has written some truly wonderful music which is perfect for relaxing to. Her music is mainly folk songs which have some lovely melodies in them. Zoe says her music was influenced by the unorthodox harmonies of Joni Mitchell and the honest storytelling of Tracy Chapman.
I have included the music videos for two of my favourite songs from this album, Smoky Sunrise and Elephant and Drum. These videos were both shot in Zoe’s new home town in Switzerland and contain some absolutely beautiful scenery in them. I’ve also included Don’t Touch My Guitar as it always makes me smile.
You can listen to Zoe’s music on the main streaming platforms or you can purchase it from Bandcamp.
When a depressed, alcoholic single mother disappears, everything suggests suicide, but when her body is found, Icelandic Detective Elma and her team are thrust into a perplexing, chilling investigation.
When single mother MarÃanna disappears from her home, leaving an apologetic note on the kitchen table, everyone assumes that she’s taken her own life … until her body is found on the Grábrók lava fields seven months later, clearly the victim of murder. Her neglected fifteen-year-old daughter Hekla has been placed in foster care, but is her perfect new life hiding something sinister?
Fifteen years earlier, a desperate new mother lies in a maternity ward, unable to look at her own child, the start of an odd and broken relationship that leads to a shocking tragedy.
Police officer Elma and her colleagues take on the case, which becomes increasingly complex, as the number of suspects grows and new light is shed on MarÃanna’s past – and the childhood of a girl who never was like the others…
Breathtakingly chilling and tantalisingly twisty, Girls Who Lie is at once a startling, tense psychological thriller and a sophisticated police procedural, marking Eva Björg Ægisdottir as one of the most exciting new names in crime fiction.
Girls Who Lie is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
‘Chilling and addictive, with a twist you won’t see coming. I loved it!’ Shari Lapena
‘An exciting and harrowing tale’ Ragnar Jónasson
‘Eerie and chilling. I loved every word!’ Lesley Kara
Giveaway:
Im lucky enough to have a paperback copy of Girls Who Lie to giveaway today. This giveaway is for UK people only but do look out for international giveaways soon.
To enter all you have to do is like and share my post, then tag some bookish friends.
This giveaway will end at 9am (BST) on Monday 19th July 2021. Good luck!
About The Author:
Born in Akranes in 1988, Eva Björg Ægisdóttir studied for an MSc in Globalisation in Norway before returning to Iceland and deciding to write a novel – something she had wanted to do since she won a short-story competition at the age of fifteen. After nine months combining her writing with work as a stewardess and caring for her children, Eva finished The Creak on the Stairs. It was published in 2018, and became a bestseller in Iceland. It also went on to win the Blackbird Award, a prize set up by Yrsa Sigurðardóttir and Ragnar Jónasson to encourage new Icelandic crime writers. It was published in English by Orenda Books in 2020. Eva lives in ReykjavÃk with her husband and three children and is currently working on the third book in the Forbidden Iceland series.
Fish friends Dab and Blenny are upset by the plastic that washes into their lovely rockpool home. Crab, on the other hand, just LOVES the shiny bright colours… But when Blenny gets caught in plastic twine, Crab finally understands the danger of plastics in the ocean.’Crab, Dab & Blenny’ is a fun, rhyming picture book with an important environmental message. Perfect for 4 to 8-year-olds.
Crab, Dab & Blenny is available in paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
My Review:
Crab, Dab & Blenny is a beautifully illustrated book with fabulous characters and an important message at its heart.
My kids love books so a new book arriving at our house is always cause for great excitement. I had to read this book as soon as I opened the parcel and had read it multiple times before bedtime. The story is told in rhyme which makes it easy to read and my kids loved the funny characters in it, especially their names which my eldest said were very creative.
There is an important message behind the fun story about pollution and the effect it can have on animals. I must admit I did think this would go over my kids heads but both my five and eight year old mentioned it in their comments about the book so the message obviously did go in. My five year old said that her favourite part of the story was the children getting the rubbish out of the sea so they can help the animals.
The illustrations in this book are simply beautiful and both my kids enjoyed pouring over them looking for the little details they might have missed before. They cover the whole page and I felt really helped add to my kids enjoyment of the story.
Overall my kids and I really enjoyed this story, which I will definitely be recommending to others. I’d say the age range from the publishers of 4-8 was perfect as my 5 and 8 year old really enjoyed the book but it was a bit too long for my three year old even though he did like the pictures.
Huge thanks to Rachel from Rachel’s Random Resources for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the author for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Peta writes and illustrates her funny picture books on the Isle of Wight, where she lives with her husband, daughter, and hairy jack russell, Archie. In normal times, Peta loves going into schools to share her books and inspire children in their writing and art. She has appeared at a number of festivals and other events, including: Barnes Children’s Literature Festival, Isle of Wight Literary Festival, Exmoor Dark Skies Festival and Ventnor Fringe. She is one of the organisers of the IW Story Festival, for children and families, which takes place every February half term.
PREPARE FOR PUZZLES, PERIL, AND PLENTY OF CAKE IN THE SECOND THRILLING ADVENTURE FOR ALEJA AND THE CREW OF THE LEGENDARY SHIP OF SHADOWS
Aleja and her fellow pirates are eager to embark on a new adventure to find the second piece of the missing magical map. But they soon find themselves panicking, bewildered by a series of confusing clues. And time is running out – fast.
When she starts experiencing strange visions, Aleja realizes that someone is trying to tell her something. But can this new knowledge be trusted? And what will it cost her to find out?
With the crew’s loyalties tested and more secrets to unlock than ever, Aleja must find a way to beat the clock and prove herself truly worthy of her place on the ship’s crew . . .
Secrets Of The Stars is available in ebook and paperback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
Secrets Of The Stars was an thrilling pirate adventure story that I enjoyed reading with my son for a bedtime story.
Firstly I loved that this book contained an all female pirate crew, though my eight year old didn’t really register this fact as we read. Our favourite character was definitely Aleja as we both admired her bravery and her cleverness at solving puzzles. Each of the crew had different skills to bring into the story which I thought was very clever and helped them work together well as a team. I enjoyed getting to know them and watch their relationship with each other develop throughout the book.
We both loved the vivid descriptions in this book which made us feel like we were actually visiting all the places alongside the characters. I felt like I could see everything they did and even smell the same things that they could. It has definitely made my eight year old want to travel to those places so he can experience them for himself.
I thought this story had a great pace to it and there was always something happening to make the book hard to put down after our planned chapter per day. I ended up having to let my son read it first as he was so eager to keep reading.
This is actually the second book in the series but can easily be read as a standalone like we did. We will look forward to reading more from this author on the future.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to the publisher for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Maria Kuzniar spent six years living in Spain, teaching English and travelling the world, which inspired her debut novel The Ship of Shadows. Now she lives in Nottingham with her husband, where she reads and writes as much as she can and bookstagrams at @cosyreads. She is always planning her next adventure and you can visit her at https://www.mariakuzniar.co.uk/ (watch out for the pirates!).
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another Music Monday. Today I’m featuring Ionse and his song EspÃritu. Ionse is a singer songwriter from Bolivia who I met on twitch. I always enjoy watching ionse’s streams as not only does his music have a great indie vibe to it he has a collection of very cute jumpers that always makes me smile.. Ionse is always very welcoming on his streams and seems to remember little details about his viewers which I think is really nice.
If you would like to follow Ionse on social media or on twitch please click on the links below.
Ionse’s music is available to listen to on the streaming platforms linked below or you can buy his music via Bandcamp. I have included the YouTube video for EspÃritu and another of my favourite songs below.
Tell us a little about yourself?
Hello there Joanna, first of I really appreciate your interest on what I do, and i'm glad we had the chance to meet through Twitch, I'm ionse from La Paz, Bolivia I lived here my entire life, but I had the chance to travel a little bit thanks to music.
What first got you into music?
While i was studying Architecture, I was playing video games with a friend one day, but then he checked out his phone and worried, because he was late for his band rehearsal, i was so curious about that, that i asked him if i could go to his rehearsal with him, when we arrived at the place, the guitar player of the band was later, so they asked me if i could play the guitar, i had no idea on how, but they teached me a couple chords for a very simple song, and as soon as i felt the electric guitar with the amp sound i fell in love for ever with the sound, since then i never stopped making music.
Who inspired you to make music?
"Who" could be translated to "When" or "How" considering that I do music with lyrics that are related to different moments of my life and circunstances that really touch me at the moment, sometimes I imagine things that would be nice that happened me, and I just imagine myself in different scenarios, so inspiration is always there.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
Very simple but with words that mean a lot to me
What is your creative process like?
Most of the times I just grab a guitar and start playing some chords that i like then I start mumbling vocal melodys then I start playing around with words and give structure and find a point where I like what i'm singing that follows the melody.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
Anyone that shows interest I been doing a lot of collaborations this way
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
The Drums, Cigarrettes After Sex, King Krule, Silversun Pickups
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Enjoy your life is later thank you think
What is the most useless talent you have?
My lack of Music Theory Knowledge is my most useless talent, I tried to learn many times, but I always get distracted and I can't retain the information haha
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
Oh yes I do, most of the time, I do different songs it could be a very chill song like Kokomo from the beach boys or some latin song like me rehuso from Danny Ocean it depends on what I been listening lately
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn't for your music career?
Maybe being an Architect or doing profit sales
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
One of my favorite ones was when I had a music festival in Cochabamba, I was a little bit down about music, thinking that probably it wasn't for me, and I was going to this music festival without expectations, it was like a goodbye for me, but when I went to this place and I saw how people really enjoyed what I was doing, it motivated me a lot knowing that there is always someone out there who's gonna dig what you do, so since then I never stopped.
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
In the most and best positive way, which is amazing, if it wasn't for the internet I would be stuck locally probably, and I know we wouldn't have meet or know other artist that we enjoy nowadays, what's going on right now on the internet is fascinating it's giving everyone a chance to get known, breaking barriers, and connecting everyone who is willing to join in, for example something that I like a lot is that here in Bolivia artists would blame on the lack of support of the goverment or that we are a small country with not so much population and that is hard to reach other areas, but now with the internet everyone is in the same bag, it just depends on creating something that can move itself the rest is there, there is a bunch of platforms, that you can just expose your work and the rest will come if it's good, so there is no more excuses.
On the other side what i think it's inevitable is the fact that since it's getting more accessible and easier to make music it's cool that everyone can make it, even if you have no idea about how to do it which is my case, but I think in a soon future there will be tools that will allow us to make songs on the go just with melodies that you think of, and the mass production of it will maybe play against those who study music for years and give their best effort to perform, by regular people that just play around for a bit with tools to help you out making some music, I don't quite now if this will be good or bad, I have mixed feelings about it, but maybe being a music idol, or a "famous" character might not have the impact that it has right now, as you can see it's starting to show, that for example if you go on instagram or tik tok, normal people that show themselves as they really are, are growing more than the old fashioned way of an artist that has a mysterious air gimmick, that we know to little about the lifes and we only know them for them performances, so being this said i think transparency and simplicity is getting a more welcome nowadays from my perception.
What is your favourite song to perform?
From my originals I think my favorite is Isla and when I cover a song I think Pursuit of Happiness at the moment.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
Jonathan Pierce from the Drums, Tyler The Creator, Jack Johnson, Beck, and many others
What is the most trouble you've ever gotten into?
Dropping out Architecture
What is the best advice you've been given?
If you don't do it, someone else is going to do it.
Patience comes to those who wait
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
Well, the industry it's changing itself already, labels are adapting to it, everyone can start independently and labels got a lot to pick from on who to work with, so people really needs to outstand on whatever they do, which is nature itself the "law of the strongest" can be consider here if you will like it always been, but as i mention before the best part is that everyone got the chance to try it, it's easier and more accessible, so i can't complain about the now
What's next for you?
I took this day off from producing to learn music theory and enjoy the music i always liked to refill myself on stuff to use in my own stuff, so i'm hoping next year i can come back and keep producing even more songs with more quality, i'm always aiming to improve and get better from the very beginning.
Thanks so much for answering my questions Ionse!
Music Monday Playlist:
You can now listen to Ionse and all other previously featured Music Monday artists in a special playlist I’ve created on Spotify.
A stunning novel that examines the price of loyalty, the burden of regret, the meaning of salvation, and the sacrifices we make for those we love, told in the voices of two unforgettable women linked by a decades-old family mystery at a picturesque lake house.
In 1935, six-year-old Emily Evans vanishes from her family’s summer house on a remote Minnesota lake. Her disappearance destroys the family – her father takes his own life, and her mother and two older sisters spend the rest of their lives at the lake house, keeping a decades-long vigil for the lost child.
Sixty years later, Lucy, the quiet and watchful middle sister, lives in the lake house alone. Before her death, she writes the story of that devastating summer in a notebook that she leaves, along with the house, to the only person who might care: her grandniece, Justine. For Justine, the lake house offers freedom and stability – a way to escape her manipulative boyfriend and give her daughters the home she never had. But the long Minnesota winter is just beginning. The house is cold and dilapidated. The dark, silent lake is isolated and eerie. Her only neighbor is a strange old man who seems to know more about the summer of 1935 than he’s telling.
Soon Justine’s troubled oldest daughter becomes obsessed with Emily’s disappearance, her absent mother reappears, and the man she left launches a dangerous plan to get her back. In a house haunted by the sorrows of the women who came before her, Justine must overcome their tragic legacy if she hopes to save herself and her children.
The Lost Girls is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
The Lost Girls is an atmospheric and gripping duel time novel which I really enjoyed. I knew from the start that this would be a great read for me as I love dual timeline stories especially when they are based around a creepy house.
I loved the fabulous descriptions of the lake house which had a deliciously creepy feeling to if from the start. I found myself able to envision the isolated location of the house and the abandoned atmosphere of the holiday destination in winter. The house seemed like a character itself sometimes as it seemed to slowly give up the secrets it held. I felt under its spell at times and had to keep reading to find out if there were any clues hidden in its possessions.
The story is told in two timelines one set in 1935 which followed Lucy and her two sisters. The other follows Judith who inherits the lake house from her grandmother and moves there to escape an abusive relationship. I liked Lucy at the beginning as we learn more about her childhood through her diary entries. She and her sisters definitely had a difficult childhood which was heartbreaking to read about at times. I never really warmed to Judith though or her rather selfish mother however who made my blood boil at times.
Overall I thought this was a well paced but gripping read which had lots of twists that kept me guessing as to what happened to Emily. I did prefer the older timeline to the more recent one though I did enjoy following Judith as she tried to piece everything together. The ending was very surprising and more sad then I was expecting.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Verve books for my copy via Netgalley. If you are a fan of Kate Morton or Eve Chase, I think you will like this book.
About The Author:
Heather Young earned her law degree from the University of Virginia and practiced law in San Francisco before beginning her writing career. She received an MFA from the Bennington College Writing Seminars, and has studied at the Tin House Writers’ Workshop and the Squaw Valley Writers Workshop. She lives in Mill Valley, California, with her husband and two children. The Lost Girls is her first novel.
‘Glitz, glamour and ambition … Ruthless Women is the binge read we all need right now’ Woman & Home
Ambition can be deadly
Broadcast to millions from its picturesque location off the coast of Jersey, Falcon Bay was once the world’s most popular soap opera. But with ratings at an all-time low, a new network owner, the malevolent Madeline Kane, arrives on the private island determined to do whatever it takes to get the show back to the number 1 slot.
Director Farrah, leading lady Catherine and producer Amanda are the driven, ambitious women who’ve been trying to hold the production together. But thanks to their handsome but corrupt boss, Jake Monroe, Farrah is losing episodes to male colleagues, seventy-year-old Catherine is terrified of losing the public’s adoration, and Amanda is battling her desire for a forbidden affair with a handsome new employee.
As Madeline’s pressure to revive the show intensifies, she unleashes a true battle of the sexes where the women will do anything to stay in the jobs they love and on the island they call home. Can they team up to bring down their rivals? Or will jealousy, betrayal and revenge rip their friendships apart? As the story reaches its shocking climax, one thing is for certain: only the most ruthless woman will survive…
Everyone’s talking about Ruthless Women…
Ruthless Women is now available in all formats. The ebook is currently only 99p. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
Ruthless women is an incredibly addictive, fun thriller which has to be one of the best books I’ve read this year. It was very entertaining to read and was perfect for getting away from reality for a while.
Anyone who reads my blog regularly will know what a fan I am of strong female characters so you can imagine how much I enjoyed this book with its three incredibly strong, sassy and ruthless women. I went between wanting to be like them or at least friends with them to being slightly terrified of them and sure that if I was in the same room as them I’d be shrinking into the corner. These women definitely know what they want and aren’t afraid to try and get it. I loved their casual attitude towards things which would reduce most women into tears and that they didn’t take no for an answer.
The setting of a TV soap set was a perfect setting for the story and the author’s rich descriptions made it easy for me to imagine what life would be like on set. The interesting tactics that the staff have to make the soap stay relevant seemed very realistic and it made me wonder if some of them actually happen in real life. You can just imagine the high pressure, bitchy atmosphere of such a place and I felt myself tingling with anticipation as I read as I was never really sure where the next drama would come from.
The story starts off slow as we are introduced to the characters and the setting but it soon gets going and becomes impossible to put down. Its very addictive and I found myself often trying to sneak away from the kids to try and read a little bit more, almost like I was afraid of missing some of the action. The chapters are told from different characters points of view which helps increase the atmosphere and the tension in the book as it always seemed to add another layer to the story meaning I was always reading faster trying to find out what was going to happen. The twist at the end was amazing, seriously one of the best twists I think I’ve read I was completely taken by surprise which I always love. I can’t wait to read more from this author in the future.
Huge thanks to Midas publicity for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Head Of Zeus for my copy of this book. Highly, highly recommend this book!
About The Author:
Melanie Blake regularly writes columns for national newspapers and her first novel, The Thunder Girls, was a top-ten bestseller before it was adapted into a successful play. But she is best-known as the ‘Queen of Soaps’ for her success within the entertainment industry. Her London-based talent agency represents stars of Coronation Street, Eastenders, Emmerdale and Hollyoaks as well as the US drama Dynasty. A true insider, Melanie has seen everything that goes on behind the velvet rope of showbiz. And now, through her fiction, she’s sharing those secrets… Follow her on Twitter and Instagram @MelanieBlakeUK
There is a piece of cod-wisdom regularly dispensed to single women: romance will arrive when you least expect it. I had assumed it would also make its own travel arrangements too.
Emma John is in her 40s; she is neither married, nor partnered, with child or planning to be.
In her hilarious and unflinching memoir, Self Contained, she asks why the world only views a woman as complete when she is no longer a single figure and addresses what it means to be alone when everyone else isn’t.
In her book, she captures what it is to be single in your forties, from sharing a twin room with someone you’ve never met on a group holiday (because the couples have all the doubles with ensuite) to coming to the realisation that maybe your singleness isn’t a temporary arrangement, that maybe you aren’t pre-married at all, and in fact you are self-contained.
The book is an exploration of being lifelong single and what happens if you don’t meet the right person, don’t settle down with the wrong person and realise the biggest commitment is to yourself.
Self Contained is out now in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
Self Contained is a moving and honest account of the author’s experiences of being single in a world that still expects women to partner off.
Firstly I had heard a lot about this book before reading so I was very intrigued by it. I did wonder though, as a married mother with three kids, whether I would enjoy the book. I need not have worried though as the author writes in a way that will appeal to everyone and quickly drew me into the story.
I really enjoyed how the author recounts her stories with honesty but never preaches at the reader. I found myself laughing out loud one moment and then sobbing the next as I read. I loved her message in this book that women have the right to live the life they want and not what others expect from them.
Overall I really enjoyed this book and would definitely be recommending it to others. I think it is a book that everyone should read as it has an important message at its heart. For that reason it would also make a great book club read as I there would be lots to discuss.
Huge thanks to Charlotte from Love Reading for inviting me onto the book buzz and to Octopus for my copy of this book.
The stunning new thriller from the No. 1 Sunday Times bestselling author
You thought no one saw you. You were wrong.
Leigh and her sister Callie are not bad people – but one night, more than two decades ago, they did something terrible. And the result was a childhood tarnished by secrets, broken by betrayal, devastated by violence.
Years later, Leigh has pushed that night from her mind and become a successful lawyer – but when she is forced to take on a new client against her will, her world begins to spiral out of control.
Because the client knows the truth about what happened twenty-three years ago. He knows what Leigh and Callie did. And unless they stop him, he’s going to tear their lives apart …
Just because you didn’t see the witness … doesn’t mean he wasn’t there.
False Witness is available in ebook and hardback now. You can purchase your copy using the links below.
My Review:
False Witness is another dark, gripping and emotional read from one of my favourite authors. It’s going to be a hard book to review as I don’t want to give anything away.
This books follows two sisters Callie and Leigh who on the surface seem very different to each other. One is a drug addict who steals drugs from her work to sell, the other is a successful lawyer. However they have a secret from childhood that they are desperate to keep hidden. The sisters were interesting characters as they were quite cruel and ruthless in their actions at times that I really didn’t like them. However at other times they surprised me with the love they obviously had for each other and I found myself feeling a bit sorry for them as their desperation to keep their secret hidden was almost palpable.
I thought this book was a very past paced, addictive read which I found very hard to put down. It is very dark in places which won’t be to everyone’s taste but I felt these moments were balanced with the emotional storyline which stopped it becoming too much. The atmosphere in the book slowly build as the book continues and there was lots of twists that kept me guessing until the end. I thought the covid references were an interesting inclusion and made the book seem more real which made the storyline a little more hard hitting.
If you are a fan of this author’s previous books then you will love this book as it is the author at her best.
Huge thanks to Anne Cater for inviting me onto the blog tour and to Harper for my copy of this book.
About The Author:
Karin Slaughter is one of the world’s most popular and acclaimed storytellers. Published in 120 countries with more than 35 million copies sold across the globe, her 20 novels include the Grant County and Will Trent books, as well as the Edgar-nominated Cop Town and the instant Sunday Times bestselling novels Pretty Girls, The Good Daughter and Pieces of Her. Slaughter is the founder of the Save the Libraries project―a nonprofit organization established to support libraries and library programming. A native of Georgia, Karin Slaughter lives in Atlanta. Her standalone novel Pieces of Her is in development with Netflix and the Grant County and Will Trent series are in development for television.
Good afternoon everyone and welcome to another Music Monday. Today I am featuring Lucy May Walker and her new single Don’t You Want Me which is a cover of the famous The Human League song.
Lucy is originally from Redditch in Worcestershire but currently lives in London where she can often be found busking around the capital. When she gets a chance in her hectic schedule Lucy also streams on twitch where her beautiful voice and great choice of songs always make for great entertainment.
I was lucky enough to get Lucy to answer my questions about her music and you can read her answers below!
You can follow Lucy on twitch or social media by clicking one of the links below.
Lucy has been making music for a few years so there’s a great back catalogue of her music to listen to. These are all available on all the major streaming platforms linked below. I have included her latest single and her song Bad Day which is a personal favourite of mine as it always makes me smile.
Hi, I’m Lucy May Walker I’m a Singer/Songwriter originally from Worcestershire but based in London.
What first got you into music?
From as long as I remember I’ve always been performing – my Grandma was a singer, and my mom was a piano teacher so it does run in the family. I studied performing arts to degree level, but really started concentrating solely on music after that.
Who inspired you to make music?
For a long time before I wrote my own music, I was inspired by covers I heard on BBC Live Lounge – I loved hearing the really unusual ones that you wouldn’t expect. I remember loving Lily Allen’s version of Naive and Natasha Bedingfield did a couple of really cool ones – I remember being inspired to really to find my own sound like they did.
How would you describe the music that you typically create?
I’d say the best way to describe my songwriting is story-telling. I write very honestly from my own experiences, and I’m always careful to capture emotion in there. Whatever song I write, I want people to listen to the lyrics and I hope to make them *feel* something.
What is your creative process like?
I always tend to write acoustically, sat at home with my guitar. I like to sit down and decide exactly what I’m going to write about, I write a load of feelings down about that subject and then I base it around that.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
So many people! I’d love to write with Nina Nesbitt, Maisie Peters, Gabrielle Aplin, Lewis Capaldi, Ed Sheeran… the list goes on!
If you could go open a show for any artist who would it be?
I’ve always been pretty desperate to support Lucy Rose. I fell in love with her music after I heard her feature on Bombay Bicycle Club’s songs.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Always choose kindness over everything.
What is the most useless talent you have?
I am really good at picking things up with my feet – it actually does come into handy quite often, especially when I drop something in the shower!
Do you sing in the shower? What songs?
I definitely used to, the walls are a bit too thin in London.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
I know that growing up you’re constantly told to have a ‘back up plan’ but honestly for me, I intentionally never had one because I never wanted an excuse to not do music.
Where have you performed? What are your favourite and least favourite venues? Do you have any upcoming shows?
I have performed in all sorts of weird and wonderful places, from Thorpe Park to City hall. For me, I love an intimate seated venue – the first place I played in London was a little room in the basement of a pub called The Slaughtered Lamb which is pretty special to me. I am actually returning to that venue for my headline show on Thursday 28th October. I’m not sure I really have any bad venues to mention, but I do prefer playing gigs that don’t have distractions like people ordering drinks or hand-driers going off mid-set!
How do you feel the Internet has impacted the music business?
I actually think it’s been a great thing for independent musicians especially, as it allows us to reach a wider audience than we have access to without the support of labels and advertising etc. I think platforms like TikTok have made discovering new musicians much easier and more exciting.
What is your favourite song to perform?
It changes, but I love singing original songs where the audience sing along, so Heartbreak Songs is always a fun one – I always love leaving the stage with that buzz.
Which famous musicians do you admire?
I love seeing strong independent women in music – I think Taylor Swift is incredible, Maisie Peters, Jade Bird… but honestly, just anyone who is passionate and has something important to say, it makes me want to listen.
What is the most trouble you’ve ever gotten into?
Sorry to be very boring but I am a bit of a goody two shoes so probably the wrong person to ask!
What is the best advice you’ve been given?
I’ve attended a number of BBC Introducing Live events in London which is a 3 day event of panels in the music industry. I can’t remember specifics but I do recall someone saying there’s no one out there that is going to work harder than YOU to make you successful. You have to believe in yourself and you can’t always rely on other people to make it happen for you so put yourself out there for opportunities and remember, the worst thing that can happen is people say no.
If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?
I would love to see more women in music – I still see festival lineups being very male dominated, and the big bosses who make decisions all seem to be men. It would be great to have more diversity in the industry.
What’s next for you?
I have a few singles lined up for the next few months on the lead up to my two headline shows this October which I’m really excited about. Head to my website for ticket details www.lucymaywalkerofficial.com. I think 2022 is going to be a really exciting year for music once all restrictions are lifted and I can’t wait to get back to doing what I love to do.
Thanks for answering my questions Lucy and good luck with the new single!
Music Monday Playlist:
You can now listen to Lucy and all previously featured Music Monday artists on a special playlist I’ve created on Spotify.
Over The Rainbow Blog 