INTERVIEW: NYX (Sian O’Gorman)

By harnessing the sublime power of the collective human voice, the NYX drone choir have crafted a unique form of psychedelic rebellion. Originally formed by New Zealand-born composer and director Sian O’Gorman, the ensemble – made up of multi-talented vocalists, artists, musicians and movement specialists – use electronics to layer and manipulate their vocals, creating their own idiosyncratic sounds and expanding what a traditional choir is capable of.

I have witnessed the immense musical alchemy of NYX many times. I saw them perform their collaborative work Deep England with Gazelle Twin – originally at London’s Oval Space back in 2018 – and I’ve seen them showcase their own work at Southbank Centre’s Queen Elizabeth Hall. Their sound enraptures, inspires and intrigues the more that you engage with it. The collective have now harnessed this deeply emotive listening experience on their debut eponymous solo album, which they have just released via their own label.

NYX is a body of work that has been years in the making. When I spoke with collective members Alicia Jane Turner and Philippa Neels on our Soho Radio show back in 2023, they hinted that we could be expecting a solo record in the near future, as well as sharing stories about their experiences of recording the soundtrack for the Diablo video game. The last time I spoke with Sian O’Gorman was in 2021. We took a deep dive into her own experiences of listening to and creating music, as well as her inspirations for forming NYX.

A lot has happened since then – most recently Sian curated the score for acclaimed BBC drama Dope Girls – but one thing that has remained a constant is her holistic and deeply human approach to singing. This becomes especially clear when we begin discussing the vocal workshops that she facilitates: “Tones, Bones and Drones”. The workshops are for singers and non-singers of all ages and genders and are focused around using the voice as a “vessel for connection”. They have been a part of her practice for a long time.

“Singing is free and anyone can do it anywhere. It seems such a shame that it’s locked out of most people’s lives,” Sian reflects. She finds it strange that people will go to a gig or a club and move their bodies and dance together despite not being technically “good dancers,” but the idea of singing or using your voice in public doesn’t seem to be as socially accepted. “It’s always made me really sad that there aren’t many public spaces for people to use their voice in a way that isn’t speaking,” she continues. “Speaking is very cognitive and thought based and heady. The way that some people speak and use their words is very embodied, but I would say in general, we’re only really using a very small percentage of our voices.”

Sian is quick to acknowledge that sometimes these opportunities – like joining a choir – are limited to those who have a technical singing ability or who can read music, but she also thinks there are other barriers to this type of expression too.

“There’s something about the voice that’s just so intimate to people,” she extrapolates, visibly passionate as she does so. “Every single time you think you’ve said something wrong, or used your voice in a way that wasn’t how you planned, or you made a noise that you think you shouldn’t have – the actual muscles shut down. They contract and it becomes harder to loosen them. So when people say they can’t hold a note, well, it would be the same for me if one day I just woke up and decided I was going to do the splits. It’s going to take me a while to get my muscles ready to build up to that. Your voice is just the same. The muscular system just needs attention and practice, and playfulness as well.”

Playfulness is at the core of what Sian encourages during her workshop practices. She explains that some attendees are too nervous to even make a noise or maintain eye contact with others when they first arrive, but the nurturing atmosphere she creates with the group gently encourages them to express themselves, culminating in a collective “sigh of relief” once they have overcome these fears.

“It always devastates me when I hear someone saying ‘Oh I’d love to come to your workshop, but I can’t sing’ – and I’m like, ‘mate, that’s the whole fucking point!’,” she laughs. “There’s so much benefit in using your voice. There’s neuroscience research and research across all sorts of mental and physical health issues that proves that singing – both on your own and in groups of people – is incredibly beneficial to your own well being.”

“Everyone that comes to these workshops has some level of vocal tension that they are working with. So it’s a very beautiful meeting ground [where we] drop all of our expectations and just have a playful time together, remembering the essence of being human and the essence of using your voice. Being in a group with others [like this] always teaches me that humans do have the power to create good stuff. We can make good things together really easily.”

Together with her fellow choir members, Sian has captured this “essence” on NYX’s spectacular debut self-titled solo album. Inspired by the duality of the mythic ancient goddess they share their name with – who personifies night, but gave birth to light and day – the ten tracks that form the record take listeners on a breath-taking journey through the vast spectrum of human emotion.

NYX use their ‘Bright Tongues’ in unison to inspire a deep sense of ‘Awe’ within their listeners, shifting seamlessly between celestial sounds and potent bursts of primal noise. It was important to Sian to capture the complexities of NYX’s sound in this way, as she didn’t want the collective to be viewed through a singular lens, both musically and aesthetically.

“I think especially after Deep England and the work that we did with Diablo the computer game, it was becoming quite clear that we were being cast as these very cool, very dark witches,” she shares. “I really love that, and that’s very much a big part of me and of us – but I think it’s very limiting to just have that dark witch connotation and description when it’s women and gender non-conforming people using their voices in ways that aren’t traditional. It’s quite easy to just be like ‘you crazy witches’ when really I think there’s so much more breadth and so much more possibility in embodying all of the spectrum of emotions. So through this project – because we’re presenting our own body of work – we can choose what colours of that spectrum we want to share with the world.”

This freedom has bled into all areas of NYX’s solo record, from the “breadth” in sound that Sian describes, to the vibrant eye-catching album artwork created by NYX member Shireen Qureshi. Sian believes that her friend and collaborator has managed to capture the “deeply psychedelic” quality of NYX’s sound through her art.

“[Shireen’s] paintings just draw you into this really intensive, magical, liminal space and they shock me a little bit sometimes,” Sian reveals. “She really dances this line between the psychedelic and the very human, and I think that’s the other thing; a lot of this music is deeply human. It’s been crafted and manipulated through electronics, but it is very viscerally human sounding.”

“I think the colourful aspect of it is [also] really important to me, because I really visually see music,” Sian continues. “When I’m composing, or when I’m listening, or when I’m performing; it is a very visual, quite psychedelic, quite altered state of consciousness. So it felt really important to get those colours in. It’s really for people to go on their own personal journey with it. One of my favourite things ever is people sharing a story about what they saw or imagined [when they were listening to our music]. I think that’s the benefit that comes with having music that doesn’t have any kind of specific lyrical content.”

Talking about this visual element and feeling of transience that underscores NYX’s music prompts a formative childhood memory for Sian. “I remember being at school, and the teacher would put on a piece of classical music and didn’t necessarily say what it was, then they got the class to write down what they imagined was happening and that’s always stuck with me as being a very powerful way of consuming music. Offering it to people. They can sense what frequencies we’ve put in from our bodies into the music, but then it’s up to people to kind of interpret that as they will. It’s the same for us when we’re performing it and the same for me as I’m listening to it – a lot of these songs we’ve been performing for six years now – and some of them just mean a totally different thing to me than they meant six years ago.”

This shape-shifting extends into the physical positions that NYX assumed when they were recording the songs for their debut album, particularly for the track ‘Awe‘. “I always love recording in a circle,” offers Sian. “It’s not technically a very good idea and it’s actually really annoying to mix because you’ve got ten different microphones, but I like the energy of standing in a circle. I think it’s got that kind of ancient connective magic and the focus inwards is really powerful.”

“So, we were all standing in a circle and I just had the synth part running on a loop and then everyone went round and improvised and occasionally I’d get people to kind of blend together and sing over the top of each other. So in a way, it really felt almost like a sharing circle, so someone would just share and then everyone would hold them in that and be fully focused and fully present with that person until they’d shared what they’d needed to share. I think the version [of ‘Awe’] that you hear on the album is six minutes, but we probably did that exercise for about forty-five minutes, which is a really magical way of doing it. There’s probably about four or five different versions of that song that we could have made.”

Another song that demonstrates NYX’s unique collective talents is ‘Silent Union’. Sian describes the moment of getting the song to sound “perfect”, but she doesn’t feel fully comfortable with that word, as NYX don’t aspire to be “perfect” in any way, shape or form.

“I think that’s also another thing that makes us slightly different from most vocal groups – people aren’t chosen based on their capacity to blend with others, we’re all in the group together because everybody has their own personal musical vocal practice and electronic practice as well. In most choral groups, certain timbres of voice would be chosen for their capacity and their way of making sure the collective sound was even. So when we’re all singing together, I think it’s really nice that you can hear individual voices pop out from one another.”

This is one of many things that Sian is proud of about NYX’s debut album. She is evidently enthused by the fact that this body of work has developed in a natural way and how it’s harnessed what she believes to be something that feels “uniquely us”. She also acknowledges that releasing a record on their own label has come with its challenges. She speaks with a deep sense of gratitude about the community of friends and professionals who helped bring NYX’s creative vision to life, including Philippa Neels, Andrew Ellis, Isis O’Regan, Elizabeth Bernholz, the team at State51 and many, many more. She also shares that learning about and interacting with the technical infrastructure of the digital platforms that listeners use to engage with, share, and consume new music has left her “struggling” at points.

“I really wanted to do it just as us, and not go through anyone else. But then you start doing it, and you’re like ‘Oh, this is why there’s offices full of people working on one release’”, she laughs, reflecting on the process. “I think a lot of the time, it’s shown me just the kind of annoying social media barriers that get put on you unless you’re already at a certain level [as an artist],” she shares. “Apparently, it’s much easier to get your streaming numbers up if you get playlisted and get pre-saves on your songs, but in order to get pre-saves on your songs, you have to have 10,000 minimum listeners. So there’s functions on the apps that you can’t even use until you’re at a certain level. A lot of the time, it does feel like the algorithm is against you. You’re making all this stuff and you’re like ‘is anyone even hearing it?’ so it’s been hard, actually. It’s been a lot harder than I thought.

But, in saying that, a lot of it is just kind of surrendering to the fact that we’ve made this body of work and we’re really proud of it, and all the people that were involved absolutely love it as well. It’s just so lovely to hear the feedback from the people that we know. Again, coming back to that thing of people listening to it and being like ‘wow, I was listening to this and I felt like this…’ that to me is the most important thing. We’ve also had this television soundtrack for Dope Girls come out at the same time, which has been a massive learning curve as well. It’s really nice to have both of those bodies of work come out together, so now that if someone does search for us, they can hear a big range of sound.”

NYX will be demonstrating their expansive collective talent at their upcoming headline show at London’s ICA on Friday 23rd May. It will be a celebration of their new album and I can’t wait to experience it.

To close our conversation, I ask Sian what advice she would give to artists who are considering releasing their music on their own label. True to form, she actively encourages people to connect with each other. “Just try to get out there and meet people,” she offers warmly. “Talk to people, connect with people, and see how you can collaborate and skill swap. It’s just finding people to help you, finding these relationships and keeping them going.”

Buy tickets for NYX’s London headline show at ICA on 23rd May here

Listen to NYX’s debut album here

Follow NYX on bandcamp, Spotify, Instagram, X & Facebook

Photo Credit: Joseph Lynn 

Kate Crudgington
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Introducing Interview: Calva Louise

Having been big fans of London based international band Calva Louise‘s colossal soaring metal inspired sounds for a number of years, we’ve been loving the recent run of cinematic sci-fi inspired singles. Set in the alternative universe laid out in previous singles ‘La Corriente‘ and ‘Under The Skin‘, latest single ‘WTF‘ showcases front woman Jess Allanic’s fierce vocal with an immense power, showcasing the band’s innovative creativity; an evocative fusion of fantastical fiction with a searing sense of urgency.

We caught up with Jess to find out more about the recent singles, the band’s inspirations and their recent tour with Indian metal band Bloodywood. Have read, and watch the video for ‘WTF’, below!

Hi Jess, hope you’re well! Thanks so much for speaking to Get In Her Ears. We’ve been huge fans of Calva Louise here at Get In Her Ears since first hearing your debut album, Rhinoceros, back in 2019! But for those who don’t know, are you able to tell us a little bit about Calva Louise and how you all got together to start creating awesome music? 
Each of us grew up in three different continents and landed in London at the same time looking for the same musical experience. I came from Venezuela to France and met Alizon when I was 16, then met Ben in London and together we formed Calva Louise in 2016, looking to build a solid musical project. When we were struggling to understand more about the music industry, we felt as if we were living a kind of absurdity, like the characters in Ionesco’s play La Cantante Calva -in Spanish – which combined with Louise – the name of the main character of the Lore – resulted in Calva Louise.

And are there any particular musicians or artists who inspire your writing?
The sound influences for us evolves continuously, but started from bands like Muse, SOAD, QOTSA, Molotov, Calle 13, Cafe Tacvba, Carpenter Brut, Ghost and currently Spiritbox.

We love the immense, ferocious power of your latest single ‘W.T.F’ – can you tell us a bit about the track, and what inspired it?
It turns basically around the concept of the human duality represented by the existence of two sides in the human life experience. Following the characters from the Lore of the story that I started to write when I was 10 years old, the both sides are identical in appearance and are called ‘The Travellers’ and their counterparts ‘The Doubles’.

The single is linked to your previous releases ‘La Corriente’ and ‘Under The Skin’, all set within a science fiction alternative reality – are you able to explain a bit more about this and the story behind the tracks? 
As the music videos form part of a larger science fiction project to provide an immersive experience for the audience, all Calva Louise’s songs are linked as prequels or sequels of the first of their Lore’s video production – ‘Camino’, which was released in 2020. The video graphic sequences are constantly evolving with each new song, following the new effects skills that I’m learning continuously, and also dependent on the budget that the band can afford for each new video production, which is currently practically 0… Linked to this part of the story, the conflict arose when the Travellers met their Doubles before the arrival of the hybrid predators coming from other worlds. The sequels continue showing how some Doubles were corrupted with addictive substances injected by the hybrids under their skins, to steal the life energy from them and in consequence from their avatars that are the Travellers, who are the organic human beings like us. The Doubles are their inorganic source of energy, and the hybrids are half organic and half machines, who steal life energy as food to their survival in the hidden worlds.

And how has the songwriting process been for these recent singles, has it been quite different from your previous recordings? 
Since the beginning, I had a plan for the releases based on three different perspectives, where the lyrics represent our experience as we the humans live in this world. The symbolism represents portals to new perceptions of reality through our dreams, and the music and videos represent the unification of both sides in an unknown dimension where all perceptions are intertwined, including foreign energy predation coming from other worlds.

You’re originally from Venezuala, with your band mates Alizon from France and Ben from New Zealand – a truly international band! How have you found the music scene compares in those places to here in the UK? And how do you find all being from different places affects your experience as a band? 
British and American rock music are the common basis for all of us since we were kids, but the Latin rock music is the most particular and individual influence on me as songwriter.

I’ve been lucky enough to catch you live a couple of times (over here at a John Kennedy event at Omeara, and in New York supporting Slothrust in 2022), and both times have been completely blown away by your incredible energy and fiercely immersive musicality! Has there been a particular show over the years that stands out as a highlight for you?    
This current tour supporting Indian metal band, Bloodywood. It’s been the best experience ever!

Generally, when you’re out on tour, are there any particular essentials that you like to take with you to keep you going?
My computer in a custom case that Alizon built for me so I can finish the new videos between the soundchecks and the shows and on the days off.

As we’re an organisation with a focus on supporting new and marginalised artists, I just wondered how you feel the industry is for them at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of female and queer artists? 
It still needs a lot of work, it’s a fact that artists are always at the bottom of the industry. Things are slowly changing, but more needs to be done! 

And are there any other exciting bands or artists that you’d recommend we check out at the moment?
Bobby Wolfgang! 

Is there anything else you’d like to add about upcoming plans or particular thoughts you’d like to mention?
We’d love to tour the US again!

Huge thanks to Jess for answering our questions! Watch the cinematic new video for ‘WTF’ here:

Calva Louise are currently on tour with Indian metal band Bloodywood, catch them live at Kentish Town Forum on Thursday 27th March – tickets here.

Photo Credit: Henry Calvert

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Five Favourites: Clara Mann

Having charmed our ears last year with the sparkling emotion-strewn sounds of single ‘Stadiums’, and having previously shared stages with the likes of Bat For Lashes and Bill Ryder-Jones, London-based artist Clara Mann has now announced the release of her debut album, Rift, next month. A poignant exploration of the space between the light and dark, it offers a heartfelt ode to hope; an exquisite rumination that ripples with the stirring grace of Mann’s evocative vocals, alongside twinkling folk-strewn melodies.

We think one of the best ways to get to know an artist is by asking what music inspires them. So, ahead of the release of Rift, we caught up with Clara to find out about the five albums that have inspired her the most. Read about her five favourites, pre-order the album, and watch the beautiful new video for latest single ‘Doubled Over‘ below:

Paul Simon – Still Crazy After All These Years
Some of the best songwriting in the history of ever. One of those writers who makes me pause the track to think “HOW did he do that?” My mum used to play this album in the car on the way to the dentist/big supermarket when we were children, so it’s special to me; and maybe I’m biased, but I think it’s magic. The actual title track makes me cry every time. Paul Simon’s particularly good at metaphor, if I’m being dry about it, but it never feels contrived, just true and poignant.

Mary Margaret O’Hara – Miss America
Mary Margaret O’Hara is my heroine – I love the balance she finds between the strange, the playful, the painful…. Her voice is so clear and true, and her (rather rare) performances that I’ve dug up from YouTube are highly charged; almost difficult to watch, they’re so intense. It’s almost like performance art, but less self-aware than that implies. This is the only full length album she ever recorded, and I’m so glad we have it. 

Blake Mills – Heigh Ho
I remember where I was when I first heard this record; I remember how much it affected me. Again, it’s full of humour, as well as pain, and the production is almost cinematic. Though maybe that word makes it sound less subtle than it is – I just mean it paints colours. 

Les Filles de Illighadad – Les Filles De Illighadad
In the village where I grew up in the south of France, there was a yearly culture festival celebrating North African and Saharan music, literature, and art. I guess it was a celebration of the immigration from Morocco and Algeria, a way of welcoming people and making a start on mending the fraught relations between France and that part of Africa. The village was suddenly full of exhibitions, market stalls and instruments that I’d never seen before, all brought by musicians and artists representing their regions. I remember, as a child, being particularly struck by the indigo robes that the Tuareg people wore – I thought the colour was so beautiful and so striking as they walked around the centre-ville. Even then, I think I was aware that I was lucky to be being exposed to the music they brought with them, music so different to what I heard at home. Fatou Seidi Ghali, the guitarist in Les Filles De Illighadad, is the first female Tuareg guitarist. But, apart from anything else, the music is just so extraordinary, and so feeling, and I listen to this record all the time. I love the agility of her playing and of the voices – it’s magic, and it reminds me of the village in the summer, and the blue robes.

Iris DeMent – My Life
A country classic. Another amazing female voice. Country music is profound and also profoundly silly, sometimes you can hear the laughter in her singing. Iris DeMent is so good at telling stories; stories of home, love, death, landscape… She breaks my heart again and again.

Huge thanks to Clara for sharing her ‘Five Favourites’ us! Watch the beautiful new video for her evocative latest single ‘Doubled Over’ below:


Rift, the upcoming debut album from Clara Mann, is set for release on 7th March via state51. Pre-order here.

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Introducing Interview: Brain Leak

Centered around the complex introspections of Manchester-based Tara-Gabriella Engelhardt (Adjustments, Julia Bardo), Brain Leak are a brand new project bringing together like-minded musicians from the scene, and already creating quite a stir. Enlisting the help of Giulia Bonometti (Working Men’s Club), Jess Branney (Peaness), Sidonie Hand-Halford (Orielles) and Ellie-Rose Elliot (Blanketman), Engelhardt transforms poignant contemplations on life into gloriously hazy indie anthems. Combining a glistening raw emotion with a fizzing gritty energy, debut single ‘Trying‘ is propelled by the delicate celestial power of Engelhardt’s vocals, offering a beautifully resonant reflection on attachment and the challenging emotional experiences that can accompany it. We’re super excited about this new project, and can’t wait to hear more from Engelhardt and co. this year!

To celebrate Brain Leak’s debut single release, we caught up with Tara about how Brain Leak came to be, her main inspirations and writing process, platforming marginalised artists, and more. Have a read below, and make sure you watch the gorgeous new video for the ‘Trying‘ below!

Hi Brain Leak, welcome to Get In Her Ears! How are you doing today?
Hello! I’m really good today, thanks. It’s a very bright and clear winter’s day in Manchester, which makes me happy. I hope you’re doing well!

You’re quite the supergroup with members from The Orielles, Peaness and Adjustments – so, are you able to tell us a little bit about how you all came together to form Brain Leak, and what inspired the new project?
Ahh thank you, that’s kind of you to call us that! I am very lucky that my best friends are also some of the best musicians I know. In January 2024 I showed Giulia one of my songs entitled ‘Hide’ and she loved it. Her excitement about the song and confidence in me was the catalyst that made me take my songwriting more seriously. I was already gigging and writing with Adjustments and had only been playing guitar for a mere year and a half by that point, so my solo stuff wasn’t massively on my radar as something to pursue. In the months that followed, I kept writing. I recorded ‘Trying’, which Giulia helped me to produce and, in the summer, I asked Sid, Jess and Giulia if they would want to play for me and they said yes! We had already recorded bits together for the other songs in the set, so their parts were already taking shape. With a good few rehearsals to learn and tighten the songs, before we knew it, we had our first gig supporting Floodlights at Deaf Institute in November. I then asked Ellie Elliott (Blanketman/Splint) if she would step in as dept drummer and she said yes, and has just nailed the gig we played in Hull. I’m very grateful for how seamless getting this talented group together has been. I’d say the main inspirations for this project came from my desire for connection and self-expression. I picked up the guitar in 2022, with a desperate need for an emotional outlet when I was going through some grief, primarily so that I could incessantly sing and play along to Roy Orbison. I found it incredibly cathartic (who wouldn’t? Roy really knew how to emote). I have always written poems and excerpts, and after becoming more comfortable with basic chords, I naturally began to synthesise my writing with melodies. There is something very powerful about the connection between melody and words, and I have found songwriting to be a radically therapeutic process. Music is so special because it helps you to connect with yourself as well as others. I really enjoy when people come up to me after a gig to talk about one of the songs. It starts a dialogue about things most people don’t generally feel comfortable talking about, even though so many of us have similar experiences. I like that Brain Leak can instigate these conversations.

You’re about to release your debut single ‘Trying’ – I love the way it combines a glistening raw emotion and fizzing gritty energy! What are the main influences behind the track?
Thank you so much! It really means a lot to me that you feel that from it. The song is influenced by the things I learned from intensively looking inward: the messy intertwining of my attachment to substances and my attachment to love; having realisations about my past behaviour and taking responsibility. When I wrote it in Feb 2024, I was six months into my recovery from addiction, in regular therapy and deep diving into YouTube videos about attachment styles, co-dependency and neurosis by a woman named Heidi Priebe (10/10, would recommend). I was connecting dots left, right and centre about where my dependencies originated from. It was overwhelming to be realising so much. It was as if I was being forced to experience all the emotions from my past that I thought I had successfully numbed out when I was still using substances. I was seeing clearly how I was responsible for my choices in life, and I was holding myself accountable. From all this combined, ‘Trying’ was born! 

And are there any specific musicians or artists who particularly inspire your writing?
When I actually write, I don’t have other artists or musicians in mind, I just write whatever comes out, if that makes sense. But in general, I have a few musicians in mind that inspire me a lot. Nilüfer Yanya is a big one. Her catchy, unpredictable melodies, emotional lyrics and incredibly tight instrumentals make her the whole package deal for me. My dream is to support her. I’ve found the songwriting and delivery of Jack Merett from Famous to be incredibly inspiring. I don’t understand how he’s managed to capture such raw feelings in recordings, it’s very special. I sincerely think he’s one of the most talented artists out there. I’m also inspired by the energy of Ought and Cherry Glazerr. Ought for their uplifting and cathartic vibes and Cherry Glazerr for the somehow both chilled and upbeat feeling she gives. I could go on.

How was the song writing process for you, was it quite a different experience from what you’ve been used to in other bands that you’ve been in? 
Yes, it was a very different writing experience. When I was Julia Bardo’s session drummer, I just came up with straightforward parts that would support the song. Then, with Adjustments, usually we are all jamming and when I’m feeling good about what I’m playing on drums, I’ll tune into the guitar sounds the boys are playing and experiment with melodies as we all play, based on whatever suits what they are playing. Then we’ll go over the jams, pick favourite parts, discuss a structure and build from there. This was totally different because every bit of the song from structure to tone is up to me, there’s no one to draw from or bounce off. It was also far more personal content that I was writing about. It was quite a weird process now that I’m reflecting on it! I came up with the bridge first, which doesn’t feel typical. It was after speaking at a Narcotics Anonymous meeting about how unstable I felt, I analogised my instability to the feeling of being on a constant seesaw. I felt compelled to start with that. I didn’t feel like it was a chorus or a verse, so I wrote the chorus and the verses around it. The whole song was also much slower. It was more of an emotional ballad. The more I played it, the more it naturally sped up, but I kept the bridge slow. Then with it recorded roughly, I thought a bit about the drums but mostly figured them out when I took it to be properly recorded with Lewis Johnson-Kellett, who gave some helpful direction. Jess came in and did some cool tremolo guitar bits, Giulia came up with a bass part and the song was finished! It was interesting to be doing it without a band and to be in the driver’s seat with so much creative control, especially as I am still very new to guitar. I’m just glad Manchester is full of amazing musicians who are happy to offer their expertise.

You grew up in Cardiff, but are now based in Manchester – how does the DIY music scene compare in each city? 
I haven’t actually lived in Cardiff since I was 16 so I don’t know much about the DIY music scene. But from what I gather, it’s got a lot going on, with the beloved Moon club and Clwb Ifor Bach still being at the core of things. I really love Manchester for its DIY nature. People here have put so much time and effort into events and spaces that bolster the community. So much of life revolves around music here, from band stuff to DJ nights and everything in between. I’ve been to a fair few DIY parties in the various mills with some amazing DJs. Partisan Collective has been instrumental in the DIY scene in Manchester, creating an exciting but also safe community. People will often have gigs in their practice spaces which has been fun over the years. The arts and music scenes overlap a lot, putting events on together, which is very wholesome. I practice at Islington Mill, which is such a creative hub and lots of collaborating across the arts go down. It’s a very energetic and authentic place to be, especially for music.

You’ve already been playing live with Brain Leak, with a sold-out show at YES in Manchester already under your belt, which is pretty impressive! How was that for you, and were you expecting such an amazing reaction so early on? 
Thank you!! It was quite a mad experience to see the room so full. We had friends we knew were coming so I expected people to be there, and I had played Hot Take with Adjustments the previous year and it was well promoted with a pretty good crowd but that was all I expected. I really felt the energy of the crowd that night, which made it a very fulfilling gig to play. After the show, a couple of people told me they had teared up at one of the songs and I ended up talking in depth with someone about addiction and love etc and that is something I didn’t expect. It was really cool, and I hope that kind of thing continues. Love it when people cry at my songs!! Just kidding.

And what can fans who’ve not yet seen you live expect at your gigs? 
I really like this question. Expect lots of passion and emotion. I tend to feel the songs quite deeply as I sing them and get a bit lost in them. The girls are very tight. With the incredible voices of Giulia and Jess on backing vocals and the trancey drums that both Sid and Ellie nail, I think the set is quite powerful. Expect a front row sonic experience of my diary. Even if you’re at the back.

Generally, when you’re out on tour, or playing shows, are there any particular essentials that you like to take with you to keep you going?
Yes! So: Vocalzones (a must. Jess has a cute tin she keeps them in), camcorder (for dressing room messing around), herbal teas (you never know if a venue will have them), my faux fur coat (I wear it for the first song to feel comfortable and ease into being up on stage), one litre water bottle, I have a worry stone that’s very soft I like to hold when I get nervous. I think that’s it! 

As we’re an organisation with a focus on supporting new and marginalised artists, I just wondered how you feel the industry is for them at the moment? And do you feel much has changed over the years in its treatment of female and queer artists?
I have definitely noticed more female and queer artists getting noticed in the last few years, which is definitely good. There are people such as yourself who give such a cool platform for these artists and that genuine encouragement and support also seems more prevalent today. A friend of ours has put on a day festival in Liverpool for a few years called “Bitch Fest”, which is focused on female artists and that’s really cool, so there are people looking out. I think with these things, there are always going to be people boosting marginalised groups up for the right reasons, there will be people putting them forward with ulterior motives and there will be organisations that turn away from the whole thing. It’s hard for me to comment more than that when I haven’t been in the industry for very long and have never dealt with anything corporate that a label comes with.

And are there any other exciting new artists or bands on the Manchester scene that you’d recommend we check out?
Yes! Modema, Lili Holland-Frick, Dove Ellis, Wyatt. I’m drawing a blank after that but I’m sure there are plenty more!

Is there anything else you’d like to add about upcoming plans or particular thoughts you’d like to mention?
I have plans to record one song at the end of Feb and another sometime before summer, but no release plans yet. We have also just been asked to support She Drew The Gun in February at Factory in Manchester, which is very exciting!

Huge thanks to Tara for answering our questions! Watch the beautiful new video for ‘Trying’ below:

Photo Credit: Alicia Fretter

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