Videos : Findlay : Greasy Love
Interview with Findlay
Findlay has got to be one of the coolest musicians around. Her potent, heavy and passionate rock tunes are well worth a listen. Natalie herself took some time to chat to me on the phone about her gigs, getting punched instead of Jake Bugg, reality TV and that fantastic new single, Off and On.
Q: Hey! Thank you so much for doing this interview! Means a lot. So whereabouts are you now?
Just in my flat in London!
Q: D’you like living in London?
Yeah I’ve lived here for about two years and I don’t think I’m gonna move any time soon. I really like it. I just like how big the city is and there’s just always something to do. And I like the kind of anonymous feel of the city. Manchester’s so small! You kind of know everyone. I’d go down to get milk and then someone will be like ‘Nat!’
Q: What do you do in your free time here?
I go to a lot of gigs. Last night, Mac DeMarco. Went to see Allah-Las at the Dingwalls the day before. And then on Sunday, I caught Parquet Courts at the 100 Club.
Q: Oh I heard Parquet Courts were brilliant!
It was really good! I had wanted to see them for so long.
Q: What do you think the best gig you’ve ever been to is?
Not sure… I remember seeing The White Stripes when I was like 15 in Manchester and that was a life changing experience for me.
Q: How are you yourself at gigs? Do you enjoy getting right to the front of the barrier or do you like to hang back more?
As long as I’ve got a good spot to hear what’s going on then I’m happy. I get so sweaty at my own shows so I don’t like to get too sweaty at other people’s!
Q: Let’s talk about your own fantastic gigs! Do you have any pre-gig rituals?
We usually just listen to music and try and chill out before we go onstage. We don’t sneak a peak around the door and see how many people there are ‘cause that makes you aware of just how many people there are and you get nervous. So we just chill out and drink beer and stuff. Oh and at the moment we listen to Return of the Mack before we go onstage!
Q: Do you still get nervous before you play your shows?
Yeah I get really nervous. It’s horrible! If you’re not nervous then you have a bad gig because you’re probably too confident and you think everything will run smoothly and it never does.
Q: What do you think has been your best gig yet?
I really liked the show we did at the Ruby Lounge in Manchester. That was kind of the first big headline show that we did. There were about 400 people I think, who were there, all for us which was amazing but really scary! But yeah, that was probably my favourite gig. It was in my hometown too which was cool.
Q: You’ve toured with some artists I’m a huge fan of! People like The Courteeners, Jake Bugg and Miles Kane. Do you have any tour anecdotes you can share with us?
There was a punching incident on the Jake Bugg tour if you haven’t read about that! We were in this Travelodge in Newcastle. And we were just drinking, all of us and Jake and our crew and stuff. And I got punched by this Irish girl, for defending Jake Bugg! That’s probably the most interesting thing that’s happened on tour.
Q: Oh I read about a girl taking a punch for Jake Bugg a while back on the NME website!
Yeah, that was me!
Q: Do you think of yourself as a solo act or a band?
Probably solo because I kind of take the lead on the songwriting. But there’s quite a lot of collaborative elements to the music. We’re all trying to make good music together and that’s probably the best part for me.
Q: I love your latest single ‘Off & On’. Do you mind telling us a bit about the story behind it?
Yeah sure. I’d actually just come back off holiday. And I was really jetlagged, and really ill and it was just horrible. I kept having these really weird dreams where I’d kind of wake up but I wasn’t really awake. I had that horrible kind of lucid dreaming feeling so the lyrics are about sort of drifting in and out of consciousness and that lucid dreaming idea.
Q: What comes first when you write a song? Lyrics, melody etc.?
Probably lyrics come first. I just get some words together on the same topic and then I get the meter done first.
Q: Do you have a certain writing process?
I’m constantly writing. I always get ideas so if I’ve got a notebook, I’ll just scribble it in. Maybe I’ll just record a little melody on my phone or something like that and then at the end of the week and go through everything and realise that some of it is shit, some of it is good, I might want to rewrite some of that. It’s quite a meticulous way of working but it works for me.
Q: Have you got any upcoming releases that we can get excited about?
I just played my next single for the first time at the Great Escape called ‘Greasy Love’ and I think that’s going to be released towards the end of the summer. And then hopefully an album at the beginning of next year.
Q: You have a lot of festivals booked for the summer! Do you enjoy playing festivals?
I like the crowd and I like the day. If the weather’s great then everything that goes with it goes great and it can make for an amazing day! But you rarely get a soundcheck, you only get a line-check. The monitors are always shit and just the sound on stage isn’t that great frustrating. But you can sort of vibe on the crowd and just do it on the fly so that’s alright!
Q: Are you a festival-goer yourself?
Yeah I love it! I’ve been to Latitude festival for the last three years I think. That’s my favourite festival I think.They have cool new bands playing as well as the well known ones. I guess it’s quite a twee setting! It’s in a field with loads of sheep and woods and things like that. But it’s really chilled! The kids that are there are pretty well behaved too! I grew up going to Leeds Festival and the kids there were just off their face!
Q: Speaking of kids – did you always know from a young age that you were going to do this?
I think so. I really wanted to do this but in the back of my head I told myself that it would probably never happen and that I should really make a back up plan. But I never did make one and so I just went with it and I guess it’s worked out!
Q: As a writer for a bunch of online magazines and blogs, do you think an online presence as an artist is important?
Absolutely. I think it’s really important to interact with your fans and as a music lover myself, I love it when fans or artists will reply when I tweet them. It’s a great platform to have a voice too. It’s nice to be able to say what you want to say to the people who actually give a shit!
Q: How do you consume music? Are you one for Spotify, iTunes, Vinyl or something else?
All of the above! I have everything. I don’t actually buy CDs anymore though. If I like a record, I’ll usually download it and then if I really, really, like it then I’ll buy the vinyl.
Q: That’s the same for me. Because vinyl is so expensive!
Yeah it’s so expensive. But then if it’s a great album and a great band then it’s nice to have the artwork and everything like that. And it’s good to help out the band and help them to make more music.
Q: What’s the best album you’ve bought this year?
(Hesitation) Did the Allah-Las’ record come out this year or late last year? I love it – just the sound and all the weird beach vibes are great. It’s just really cool! I love the maracas, tambourines and all that kind of stuff.
Q: Do you like reading reviews of your own work?
Only if they’re good! I guess I’ve been trained to say that I don’t read my reviews because obviously you become some ego maniac or depressed! But yeah, I read the odd one.
Q: Well you’ve definitely been given high praise! You’ve been compared to the likes of some of my favourite artists like PJ Harvey.
She’s one of my favourite artists. She’s an absolute goddess. You can’t fault any album. The last one she did would probably be my favourite. She changed the voice and everything but it still worked so well. I was very glad she won the Mercury. I remember her outfit too, which was amazing! I’ve never seen her live which is such a shame.
Q: And you’ve been compared to Regina Spektor. I adore her.
Growing up she was my go-to girl. I probably have everything she’s ever released, all the live recordings and everything. She’s just amazing! I’ve seen her live about five times – it’s a bit embarrassing.
Q: So does it scare you being compared to these artists?
I guess it’s quite intimidating to be compared to someone who I hold on a pedestal because in my head I think that I’m never going to be her or this band or that band. And so if someone says I remind them of an artist like that it does get you kind of nervous and makes you wonder what you’re going to do next. But absolutely, it’s an amazing compliment.
Q: Do you pay attention to the whole style aspect that comes along with being in the media?
At first when I started doing shows I kind of shunned the idea of dressing like crazy to do a gig. I kept telling myself that it was definitely all about music. But then you get other artists out like Grimes, who dress like fucking crazy! In some ways I think that it can distract from the music but sometimes I think that it’s a package. You have to have the music, and great style and this and that so I’m kind of coming round to the idea. For me though, the music and the sound is always going to come first over how I look. It’s just another way to be judged. It’s still confuses me what I should be doing in this industry. There are some days though when someone will give me a crazy pair of shoes and I’ll think they’re cool so I’ll get into it more!
Q: Do you like being advised by people what to wear or how to conduct yourself in the media in general?
I’ve never really been advised, I’ve more just been encouraged to explore different alternatives.
Q: What’s surprised you the most about the music industry?
Probably the amount of promo that I have to do. When I show up to a gig I think, I’ll do my soundcheck then just chill out for a bit but then I get there and my tour manager says I’ve got to do these three interviews before soundcheck and then you get off stage and you have to do this and that which has been surprising.
Q: Sorry, that’s me!
Haha that’s fine! I enjoy it. At first I was really nervous about doing interviews and I thought I’d put my foot in it and say something really terrible or do a Sinead O’ Connor and say something about the pope or talk about Margaret Thatcher.
Q: What interviews do you like doing? Hopefully this has been a good one!
This is a good interview! Probably just an informal interviewer. If they just keep asking my opinion on this and what I think about that. I prefer a two-sided conversation because you get better answers that way.
Q: Fantastic! I’m glad to hear it. I don’t want to take up any more of your time so here’s a couple quick questions. Do you prefer tea or coffee?
Coffee.
Q: What’s your breakfast of choice when you’re on the road?
Coffee!
Q: Finally, what’s your TV guilty pleasure?
Oh god, I have so many, it’s embarrassing. There’s this show called Breaking Amish where they take these Amish kids and put them in New York for the first time, it’s brilliant!
Huge thank you to the amazing Natalie Findlay for taking the time to talk to me as well as Adam at Toast Press.
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Sources : Findlay Photo | Greasy Love Video | Findlay Interview | Findlay - Off & On Video | Listen To Your Sister
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