Introducing Interview: Rosina Buck

Having performed at festivals such as Glastonbury and Shamabala, innovative artist Rosina Buck‘s captivating ethereal soundscapes reflect on her own life’s journey, including her experiences of drug and alcohol addiction; intricately layering a folk-strewn musicality with a raw emotion and majestic splendour. With latest single ‘WITCH’ she channels a mystical feminine energy alongside lilting, sparkling melodies, creating something truly empowering and immersive.

We caught up with Rosina to find out more about her journey as an artist, the writing and recording of ‘WITCH’ and her experiences as a bisexual, neurodivergent woman in the music industry today. Have a read, and make sure you watch the beautiful video for ‘WITCH‘ at the end of this article.

Hi Rosina, welcome to Get In Her Ears! How are you doing today?

Thank you so much for having me! I’m feeling a little sleepy and at ease in my heart, I’ll be honest – I’m also experiencing a bit of ADHD / autistic burnout from the release. It’s such a whirlwind of energy and emotions, and I’ve been constantly reminding myself to slow down, rest, and lean back into the tiredness and post-release swirl without resistance.Rest hasn’t always come naturally to me, but I’ve been on a real journey with slowing down and honouring my need for it. Lately, I’ve been finding so much nourishment and peace in my little city garden – tending to the soil and just letting myself be. It’s the best medicine. Often, I’ll make a little bed out there, close my eyes, and just sink into my breath – it’s such a simple but powerful practice and the perfect way to catch myself when I’m experiencing overwhelm. 

It seems like you’ve been involved with music for a long while now, but would you be able to tell us a bit about what initially inspired you to start creating and become a musician? 

Creativity has always felt essential to my soul’s survival. I’ve always been motivated by my lived experiences of grief, hope, love, despair, beauty, by the entire messy spectrum of what it is to be human. Music and poetry have always been my way of processing, of making sense of the world when nothing else could. I guess you could say that there was always an urgent pull for me to express myself through art that I didn’t really have any control over. As a child, I was completely immersed in words and sound – writing poetry, filling notebooks with lyrics, creating radio shows on cassette tapes, choreographing dances, putting on plays, and weaving elaborate make-believe stories into everything I did. My imagination was always wild, always switched on, constantly pulling me toward creating something. I have always been in touch with worlds beyond this one, I receive a lot of information from dreams. 

Life hasn’t always been easy, and there were times I lost touch with that creativity. There were periods when my world felt too heavy, when my music and poetry was buried under addiction, survival, and heartbreak. A friend recently said to me, “It’s like being played by the strings of existence”, and I really felt that. The most pivotal moment in my journey as a musician was when I finally picked up a guitar at 28. After breaking free from an abusive relationship, I bought a guitar and spent every single day teaching myself basic chords. Almost instantly, songs started pouring out of me – I couldn’t stop. It felt like suddenly the floodgates opened and all this creative energy began to flow again… I was alive. With time, I built up the courage to start performing live. Then, in 2014, I made the leap – I quit my job as a teaching assistant to fully pursue my dream of being a songwriter. At 30, I began studying for a degree in songwriting at BIMM Bristol, determined to give my music the space it deserved.

Creativity has always been my refuge, but also my fire. It’s held me in my most fragile moments and given me the strength to keep going when I thought I had none left. Every time I write, it feels like I’m answering that same call – the call to share, to heal, to pour out love, to express who I am, and to weave the threads of collective healing that come with it.

And are there any artists or musicians that particularly influence you?

Musically, I was raised on Queen and The Carpenters – their harmonies and storytelling left a deep imprint on me. The first cassette tape I ever owned was The Bangles, and as a child, I was completely obsessed with them. I went to a tiny primary school where there were only 6 other children in my class, and I would spend hours making up dance routines and performing them in school assemblies. Then The Spice Girls came along, and I was immediately all in – not just in a casual way, but in a full, all-consuming, deep-dive kind of way. When they burst onto Top of the Pops one Friday night, I can still remember the feeling: “I think I’ve been waiting my entire life for this“. It was everything I had been craving – girl power, big personalities, the unapologetic energy of it all. They weren’t just a band; they were a movement, and I felt that so deeply in all my soul. They made me believe in the power of being bold, taking up space, and celebrating who you are. Alongside them, artists like Erykah Badu, Jill Scott, Alanis Morissette, No Doubt, Tracy Chapman and a whole lot of ‘90s R&B played a huge role in shaping my younger years. Then, when I hit 16, my world became all about Drum & Bass and Jungle. That music was everything and it took me on a deep journey of self-discovery. We’d go to mad free parties in the woods, dancing all night and staying up all weekend, completely lost in the energy of it all. If I had to name one of the most influential albums of my life, it would have to be the soundtrack from Baz Luhrmann’s Romeo and Juliet. That album felt like a world within itself – so cinematic, so emotional. It hit me in a way that still lingers and I still blame Leonardo DiCaprio for me starting smoking (though I’ve been smoke-free for five years now!). Then there’s Amy Winehouse. Her music got me through so many heartbreaks, she’s one of those artists where it felt like she was speaking directly to me. The rawness, the pain, the truth in her voice – she didn’t just sing songs; she bled them. She made heartbreak feel poetic, and there was something so real and unfiltered about her that I’ll always hold close.

Some of the artists who deeply inspire me aren’t necessarily the ones I listen to every day, but it’s their authenticity, creativity, and energy that move me the most. Björk, Madonna, Lady Gaga, Sinead O’Connor – they are all fearless women in their artistry, constantly reinventing themselves while staying true to who they are. More recently, I’ve been drawn to Amyl and The Sniffers and Doechii – the sheer force of energy, that unapologetic presence, it’s electrifying. What I love about these artists is their ability to take up space so fully, to express themselves without hesitation. It’s not just about the music – it’s about the way they embody their art, the way they channel something real and unfiltered. That kind of creative freedom is what inspires me the most.

You’ve just released your new single ‘WITCH’ – I love its lilting folk musicality and ethereal splendour! Are you able to explain a bit about the meaning and themes running throughout the song?

Thank you! ‘WITCH’ is a song that came from a really deep place when I was moving through a lot of my own pattern disruptions and conditioning. At its heart, it’s about reclaiming power – particularly the power that has been feared, shamed, and silenced for centuries. The word ‘witch’ itself is loaded with history; it wasn’t just about women practicing herbal medicine or following the cycles of nature, it became a way to demonise and punish those who existed outside the control of patriarchal systems. Women who were independent, who didn’t conform, who loved freely, who trusted their intuition, who trusted nature and the wildness of existence – they were seen as dangerous. And that threat had to be erased. For me, ‘WITCH’ is about taking that power back. It’s about the ways women, and the way they love, have been disregarded, punished, and controlled and how much has been lost because of that. The idea that love should be soft, self-sacrificing, and endlessly giving, that women should take up less space, quiet their instincts, and ignore their hunger – that conditioning runs deep. But the truth is, love is wild. Love is powerful. Love burns things down when needed. And for so long, that kind of love, the untamed, unapologetic, fully embodied love, has been feared.

Musically, I knew I wanted ‘WITCH’ to feel hypnotic, like a spell – something that lingers in your bones, but I never intended it to sound like a lilting folk track. I love that the song weaves in the elements and is rooted in something ancient, like a story passed down through generations, while the ethereal layers create this dreamlike, otherworldly atmosphere. It’s a song of remembrance, rebellion, and return. This song is for anyone who has ever been told they were ‘too much’ – too emotional, too wild, too powerful. It’s a call to step into that power fully, to own every part of who we are, and to refuse to be silenced any longer. 

It sounds like the songwriting and recording process were quite unconventional! Can you tell us a bit about this and what techniques you used to create the track’s unique sound? 

Yes! The creation of ‘WITCH’ was deeply unconventional and truly an organic process that unfolded over time. The song was born out of a transformative period in my life, where I was working with an incredible womb healer, Rhia Pratsis, who also plays violin on the track. Rhia guided me toward the teachings of poet, healer, and teacher Maya Luna, and I began immersing myself in her online journeys like Sacred Rage and Holy Fire. Around the same time, I was reading WITCH by Lisa Lister, and all of these influences began to weave themselves into the spirit of the song. The song emerged naturally and at the speed of light! Almost as if it had been waiting for me to listen. I didn’t set out to write a song about this theme, it just unfolded. I wrote it sitting on the floor, in a very ceremonial way – incense burning, cushions around me, candles lit. It was just me and my guitar. Looking back, that feels so fitting for the essence of the song. It carried a sense of ritual and reverence from the very beginning. When the line, “Oh, they could’ve learnt love from her,” came to me, and I knew something powerful was happening underneath my creative process. It felt like the song was revealing itself to me rather than me writing it. During the summer of last year, I went deeper into this process while doing Maya Luna’s Inner Oracle course. It was at this time that the song and the video truly began to take shape, almost in a shamanic way. Everything felt raw, sacred, and intuitive – something much bigger than just me and even as I was going through some really uncomfortable months with my mental and physical health, this song and its spirit was determined to be in the world. 

The recording process was also incredibly unconventional and felt like such a wild unfurling. Produced by the phenomenal Annie Gardiner, we set out to create a sound that went beyond the sterile confines of a studio. We embraced real-world sounds and environments, weaving them together with analogue and digital textures. It wasn’t just about creating music – it was about creating an experience, a world that felt tangible and alive.

The essence of ‘WITCH’ was birthed in my kitchen, where we created a cauldron of magic on a four-track cassette player. From there, we moved between spaces, from an old quarry at Troopers Hill to recording a choir in St. Anne’s Church, and back to the kitchen. Each place brought its own unique resonance, adding depth and texture to the sound. Annie calls it a “deliberate patchwork,” and it became clear that this was a perfect mirror to the song’s story and the many layers of the witch archetype. It’s a song about timeless love, unbreakable strength, and the spirit that transcends time and space, I’m still in awe that Annie captured this in the recording. The final mix includes everything from ASMR elements to raw recordings from Zoom, phone, and cassette, making the track feel more than just something you hear – it’s something you feel. Annie says, “Once I’d cracked the mix, it created such an unusual world.” Through this intricate layering, storytelling lyrics, and choosing to record in these nuanced spaces, the track doesn’t just play – it breathes, like an ancient story that’s been brought back to life. 

The song also has this deep connection to England. So many ‘medicine songs’ borrow from other cultures, but we wanted to create something authentic to our own land and roots. The winds, the woods, the ancient stories – they all weave through and influence the sound and the spirit of the track. We wanted the song to feel connected to the land, to the soil, to the cycles of nature that are present in our natural environment, honouring that and making it our own was important to us. 

You’ve described the track as not only a song, but as ‘a spirit, a ritual’ – what do you mean by this?

When I refer to ‘WITCH’ as “a spirit, a ritual”, it’s because I believe art itself is a deeply sacred process. In today’s world, especially in Western culture, we’ve lost touch with the idea of sacredness and ritual in our everyday lives. We live in a culture that often separates the spiritual from the mundane, but I see everything I create as sacred. Art, to me, is not just about the final product; it’s about the process of becoming, of transforming, and of tapping into something larger than yourself. Art is a ritual. My body is the altar, my voice is the song, and the creative process is the prayer. Every step of the journey, from the first note to the final mix, holds meaning for me. I feel like in creating ‘WITCH’, I wasn’t just writing a song – I was engaging in a spiritual act, one that connects me to something ancient, raw, and in this case deeply feminine. This is where the idea of ritual comes in. It’s about the energy, the intention, and the sacredness of the act itself, not just the end result.

In many ways, I think we’ve lost this connection to the sacred in our daily lives. We’ve become disconnected from the rituals and practices that once helped us tune into something greater than ourselves. But when I create, whether it’s music, poetry, or anything else, I try to bring that sense of sacredness back. I’m not just making something for the sake of making, it’s a way of reconnecting to my soul and my heart to the earth, to the aliveness that flows through us all. So, when I say that ‘WITCH’ is a spirit and a ritual, I’m speaking to the essence of the creative process itself as well as the ritual of receiving and listening to the song. When I tap into the sacred act of creating, of connecting, and of transforming both myself and the world around me something profound can happen.

Oh my goodness! The spirit of this song literally took me, and everyone involved on a journey. It wasn’t just something we were creating – it felt as though the song itself had a force, an energy that pulled us into an entirely different realm. As we worked on it, we were completely swallowed up by this otherworldly space where the boundaries between the music, the process, and ourselves began to dissolve. It was like we were all taken to a place where illusions were shattered, and the identities we had clung to were stripped away. In many ways, the song guided us, rather than us controlling it. It became a living being that transcended the individual and connected all of us. There was this sense of collective surrender to something bigger than any of us, and it was both humbling and empowering. We were all in this together, swept up in the ritual, letting go of the need for control and trusting in the unfolding process.

Creating ‘WITCH’ wasn’t just a collaboration – it was a spiritual journey. Every person who worked on it, from the musicians to the women in the video, felt that. It was as if we were all being called into this sacred space, stripped of the superficial layers, and drawn into a deeper understanding of ourselves and the power of the feminine energy we were channelling. That’s how powerful this song became – like an ancient force that reshapes everything it touches! 

The single’s accompanied by a beautiful video, are you able to tell us a bit about it and how this was made? 

The video for ‘WITCH’ is more than just a visual accompaniment to the song, it’s an extension of the song’s spirit, a spell. It’s a celebration of feminine power, woven with truth, reverence, and mystery of the natural world. This video is for all women, all bodies, all ages, all stories – standing in their fullness, stripped of expectation, moving as one with the earth beneath them. In a world where content is consumed so quickly, where thirty second reels have taken place of living breathing pieces of art, I wanted to create something that could endure beyond fleeting moments. Something tangible, something that could be felt in the bones, that could hold space for deeper meaning and exist forever. I have always loved visual art, and I knew that ‘WITCH’ needed to be something that wasn’t disposable, something that could cross borders, a piece that would live and breathe. The idea was never to create something just for the algorithm, but to allow it to stand on its own, to echo far and wide.

The film is set against the raw beauty of nature in my hometown of Bristol, invoking a dreamscape where time folds in on itself, where past, present, and future merge into one. You can see this strength in the faces, the hands, the movement of the women and girls in the video. Their presence speaks volumes, and I still cry every time I watch it! There is so much power in their softness, their strength, their vulnerability. This is a power that doesn’t seek to conquer, but to remember. It’s about shattering the veils of patriarchal conditioning and stepping into something wilder, truer, and unapologetically celebrated.

I collaborated with Amie Nowlan, also known as Cut Film, on the video for ‘WITCH’, and from the start, we knew we wanted something raw – something that spoke of resilience, connection, and reverence for nature. Amie’s unique style brought the vision to life in such an evocative way. She was inspired by archival footage of Vietnamese female soldiers standing strong during the war, capturing that quiet, unshakable power. Drawing from Michael’s footage, Amie wove that energy into the visual language of ‘WITCH’, creating something truly potent. Michael Sides, who I’ve known for a long time, played a huge role in creating an environment where everyone felt comfortable and confident in front of the camera, especially since many of the women and girls involved weren’t experienced with acting or filming. He made sure it didn’t feel stressful or rushed, which was key to capturing the authenticity and warmth of the moments. Michael’s use of vintage Russian KMZ lenses and his careful attention to lighting and focus gave the video its dreamlike, ethereal quality. The collaboration between Michael, Amie, and everyone involved really brought the spirit of ‘WITCH’ to life, creating something that feels both beautiful and timeless.

The visual language of the video pulls heavily from the natural world. We used time-lapse archive footage of mushrooms unfurling, pea tendrils dancing, and roots creeping – these living elements pulse with the same rhythm as the song. It mirrors the organic nature of the music and the raw, interconnected energy of the video’s contributors. The plants, the earth, the very landscape of the land itself, is alive in the video, just as it is in the song. The twisting, reaching, and expanding of these natural forms reflect the unseen forces at play in the track: the magic of growth, the quiet persistence of life, and the unstoppable emergence of power. Every frame is alive: wind catching in loose hair, skin pressing into tree bark, firelit eyes brimming with knowing. The video feels like a return to the source, a deep reverence for the wisdom carried in our bones, blood, and connection to the earth. It’s a moment of gathering, of becoming.

One of the most special things about the video is that my mum is in it – something I hold very dear. It’s a beautiful full-circle moment, having her involved in this project. Along with my mum, some of my son’s teenage friends also joined in, adding even more layers of personal significance. And, of course, my dearest friends were there too, all coming together to embody the essence of the song. This sense of connection and community is woven into every frame.

You’ve previously played at festivals such as Glastonbury and Shambala – that must have been really exciting! What do you like most about the experience of performing live? 

Performing live is honestly the only place in the world where I feel completely, undeniably myself. It’s where I feel most connected, to my heart, to the spirits around me, to god, to something far beyond words. In that moment, nothing else matters. All my worries seem to dissipate, as if they never existed. The weight I carry, the overthinking, the overstimulation – it all dissolves into the music and the stories and my expression. I feel my heart open. It’s funny because I’m such an introvert. I don’t like being in big crowds, and as an autistic person, I get overstimulated so easily. The noise, the chaos, the small talk – it can all be too much for me. But when I’m on stage, I feel free. It’s the one place where I’m in my truest essence, stripped of everything that binds me in day-to-day life. It’s my happy place.

And it’s not just about me, it’s the energy of the audience too. When I see them feeling the music, when it moves them, it moves me. It’s like an unspoken language, a sacred exchange. We become one and it’s so beautiful and can feel deeply spiritual. The moment I start playing, it’s as if time bends, and we’re all just there, in the purest state of being. I miss it so much. I haven’t been performing live that much since I went to rehab and then lockdown happened, and it aches in me. I love it, all of it. The energy, the movement, the surrender, the connection. I crave it deeply. 

I’m not going to lie, having to talk to people afterward and connect after I’ve played can feel incredibly uncomfortable! But in that moment, when I’m lost on the stage, I am exactly where I’m meant to be. I do believe it’s my gift to the world. It’s how I can give back something, how I can share all that I am with others in the hope that they meet parts of themselves there too. The stage is where I feel like I belong. Standing there, nervous and scared, it’s also the only place that feels right, the only place where everything aligns. It’s where I feel most alive.

And has there been a particular performance that stands out as a highlight for you over the years? 

One performance that stands out as a highlight for me was my first time playing sober, at my friend Tom Fortes Mayer’s sober festival in Essex. It was such a wild experience, and it completely broke my heart open in ways I never knew were possible. It’s crazy because I had never performed sober before, and that experience changed my life. I remember I kept asking Tom what time I could play and the moment the heavens opened and torrential rain began to fall, Tom smiled and said, “You can play now if you would like to?” The space smelled like a farmyard, with the remnants of a feast, ten different cheeses, still laid out, and the smell of straw bales lingering in the air. I already felt completely broken open from the past forty eight hours; I had been surrounded by friendship and love, by other human beings fearlessly and joyfully sharing their souls in celebration. It felt so big. So, there I was, sitting in front of the most beautiful, warm, welcoming faces. My hair was soaking wet, mascara down my face, and the aroma of my unwashed armpits made me smile… We must have danced like wild things the night before!

I played my songs with my heart on my sleeve. I shared stories of love, and the tears started rolling down my cheeks like the rain falling from the sky moments before. It was as if I had arrived. No hiding, no pretences, and nowhere else I’d rather be. I had no agenda or expectation of what was going to happen. Then, as each moment unfolded, I felt pure medicine in the air. Everybody was crying, we cried and laughed together, our hearts overflowing into one deep ocean of togetherness, and I was shining from the inside out. It really was the most profound live performance I’ve ever had, and it’s also where I met Mike, who is now producing my album. He loved that moment so much that he knew he wanted to work with me.

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?

I haven’t been on tour since getting sober, so I can only tell you what I think I would take with me now… Before, things would’ve looked a little different! I’d bring a whole little sanctuary with me. I’d have plenty of snacks and fruit, mineral water, redbush tea, proper coffee, my moka pot, and dark chocolate with orange to keep me going. I have an alter at home in my bedroom, so I’d make sure I had all the little touches of beauty I need to create a traveling alter – my crystals, incense, of course, but I’d also love to pick up little treasures along the way to add to my altar. I’m all about the details. Each stop would be an opportunity to gather something special, perhaps a stone, a feather, or a piece of bark to keep that connection alive. I’d bring my tarot cards and my big teddy to bring me comfort and remind me of home. I’d also have my notebook, pencil case, poetry books, and a bag full of all my favourite toiletries – even though I often forget to shower for days I really do enjoy toiletries! I’d also bring my Minirig and my ear pods for long journeys and meditation, and plenty of comfortable clothes, big socks, hot water bottle, and soft blankets for maximum comfort. My laptop is essential as I do most of my poetry writing on there, as is the chance to watch movies and TV when I’m burned out. Oh, I’d also bring my yoga mat and my swimming costume, as any chance I can get to swim in the sea I’ll be jumping in! 

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?

This is definitely a complex and layered question, and I’ll approach it from my own perspective as a bisexual woman in recovery from addiction, living with a low income; perimenopausal, and neurodivergent. Ha ha! 

The modern music industry has always been a challenging space for marginalised artists, and while there has been progress, it’s been slow and far from enough. When it comes to female and queer artists, things have shifted in some ways, but I wouldn’t call it a radical transformation yet. There are certainly more conversations about inclusivity, diversity, and representation – but many times, these conversations feel more performative than substantive. The structures of power, the biases, and the gatekeeping remain firmly in place, and they often leave marginalised voices to fight for space at the table. For me, it’s been about carving out a space where my art feels safe to breathe, where I can stand in my truth unapologetically. But the industry tends to try and place women and queer artists into neat little boxes, diminishing the complexity of our voices and pigeonholing us into roles that limit our creative freedom. The truth is, the industry still favours a very narrow, commercialised vision of femininity and queerness. There’s a pressure to conform to certain expectations about what we should look like, how we should sound, and what stories we should be allowed to tell. This is incredibly frustrating, but it also fuels me to push back and continue creating art that feels true to who I am and what I believe in.

I think what has changed is that more and more artists are refusing to fit into those boxes, and we’re seeing an explosion of raw, authentic work that isn’t afraid to dive deep into lived experiences and collective conditioning – art that reflects the messy, complex realities of our identities. It’s about reclaiming our power and owning our narrative. The beauty of art in this moment is that it’s not about fitting in – it’s about standing out, speaking to the truth of who we are, and creating with authenticity. We’re seeing more women and queer artists creating work that pushes boundaries, and that’s inspiring. These artists aren’t shrinking; they’re expanding, they’re creating space where there was none, and they’re showing the industry that we exist in all our messy, beautiful complexity. As a culture, we really need artists who speak the truth, and we must invest in marginalised artists, as their voices are courageous enough to push necessary boundaries to disrupt the system – go to their live gigs, support them online, and buy their work!

Has the treatment of female and queer artists changed? Yes, in some ways, but we still have a long way to go. The dance is far from over, and the need for inclusive, open spaces has never been more urgent and also more available. There’s still a lot of work to do to dismantle the outdated systems that continue to shape the industry and ensure that artists of all backgrounds can thrive without being stifled by narrow standards. I believe that as artists, we firstly have to get out of our own way. We have to be willing to be “cringe”, to embrace the raw, vulnerable parts of ourselves that feel uncomfortable. To be authentic and true, we must stop worrying about being popular or validated by a fake world that thrives on surface-level approval. The real magic happens when we trust the current flowing through us and allow it to move us without trying to control it. It’s about surrendering, letting go, and getting out of the way so the art can come through in its purest, most powerful form. That’s the antidote. 

But I think what’s also true is that the rise of these unfiltered voices, the artists who are unapologetically standing in their power and creating beyond the limits placed on them – is exactly what the industry and the world needs. Artists have always been the one’s showing the world that the way forward is through bold authenticity, rejecting the conventional, and embracing the beauty of creative freedom. And that’s the kind of world I want to be part of: one where all voices, especially those that have been marginalised, are heard and celebrated.

And are there any other exciting new artists that you’d recommend we check out?

One million percent, most definitely check out Annie Gardiner, who produced ‘WITCH’ – she’s got so much incredible music out and new albums coming up, and she’s an absolute powerhouse of talent! Also, my dear friend Shannon Major, who’s just started recording her music, is one to watch – her voice and message are deeply healing, and I can’t wait for the world to hear more from her. And of course, I must mention Katey Brooks, she’s a phenomenal queer songwriter, and we’re planning to record together soon, which is beyond exciting! I also had the privilege of seeing Bristol artist Cestra perform at a Gaza fundraiser I did a few weeks ago, and she absolutely blew my mind! Her energy, presence, and music are something else! Another artist I adore is Aisha Vaughan, her electronic nature soundscapes are like a blanket wrapping around your heart. She creates these incredibly immersive, soothing pieces that feel deeply nurturing and emotional. 

Is there anything else you’d like to add about upcoming plans or particular thoughts you’d like to mention? 

I think for the first time in a long time, the future really feels like it holds so much magic for me, and I’m alive with excitement! I’m in the thick of writing my first poetry pamphlet, which is incredibly close to my heart. It’s a raw, honest exploration of my journey, touching on themes of self-love, relationships, recovery, magic, and spirituality. This project feels like such a beautiful invitation to share my story, to be vulnerable, and to create something that speaks to the messy, beautiful, and deeply human parts of life. On top of that, I am over the moon to be releasing my full studio album! After so much work, it’s finally coming to life. Mike Trin, my incredible friend, producer, and musical director, and I have crafted a twelve track album that reflects everything I’ve experienced and learned this past decade. It’s been such a wild journey – an exploration of the energy that flows through me and the world around me. There’s a raw beauty and playfulness that I absolutely adore, with moments that feel light, mischievous, and full of joy, but also a depth of heartbreak and tenderness that comes from the hard-earned wisdom of navigating life’s ups and downs. The energy is wild and free, yet deeply grounded and rooted in truth. It’s a celebration of everything that makes us human – the struggle, the joy, the liberation, and the vulnerability of being a big human mess! The album follows the release of ‘WITCH’ later this year, and it feels like the perfect next step. It’s truly a piece of my soul, and I can’t wait to share it with the world.

And then, there’s the next chapter as I’m planning a transformative trip to South Africa to work with my creative mentor, Yana Fay Dzedze. I have this incredible vision of turning my songs and poems into a theatre show, and I’m so excited to see where that takes me. After that, my dream is to tour the world, bringing my music and poetry to as many places as I can. There’s so much ahead, and I feel like I’m just scratching the surface of what’s possible. The future is alive with possibility, and I’m ready to step into it with an open heart. Trembling and alive!

Huge thanks to Rosina for such in-depth answers to our questions! Watch the beautiful new video for ‘WITCH’ here:


Mari Lane
@marimindles

INTERVIEW: Becky Laverty (Roadburn Festival)

Founded in 1999 and celebrated as an inimitable showcase of heavy and experimental music, Roadburn Festival has been on Get In Her Ears’ radar for some time. Although we’ve never attended the Netherlands festival in person, each year we take note of the eclectic line-up and kick ourselves for not organising a trip to Tilburg to see the unique presentation of new and established artists from alternative music scenes.

This year, GIHE favourite American multi-instrumentalist and audio engineer Madeline Johnston aka Midwife is one of the festival’s Artists in Residence. She will perform three different sets across the weekend (17th-20th April), including a premiere performance of her collaborative EP, Orbweaving, with slowcore/shoegaze visionary Vyva Melinkolya. Other GIHE faves on the line-up include Penelope Trappes, LustSick Puppy, Faetooth, The Body & Dis Fig, SUMAC & Moor Mother, Tristwch Y Fenywod and Witch Club Satan.

Whilst we are enamoured with the idiosyncratic and unusual sounds of each of these artists, we were also curious to know how the team behind Roadburn put together these immense line-ups every year, as well as their side programme of Q&A events and discussions. Originally attending the festival as a fan back in 2013, Becky Laverty is now a key member of the Roadburn booking team. Her enthusiasm for showcasing experimental and heavy music is evident from the moment we begin speaking on Zoom and so is her unwavering dedication to the Roadburn community..

“I’ve met so many people through Roadburn who have enhanced and enriched my life in ways I could never have imagined,” she shares. “Of course people might think that’s an obvious thing to say – this is my job – I spend hours, weeks and years of my life thinking about this festival. But I felt this way even when I was just attending Roadburn. I would meet people and make connections with them and it was always a magical experience to be at the festival. Now that it takes up more of my life, I feel that even stronger.”

Originally from East London, Becky now lives in a town called Glossop on the edge of the Peak District. “I’ve started putting on shows here which is madness,” she laughs. “The Saturday before Roadburn, I have Thou playing in a pub in Glossop. When they announced the tour dates, people were losing their minds. They were like ‘Where the fuck is Glossop? Why aren’t they playing somewhere normal like Leeds?’” We joke that she’s determined to put Glossop on the map and with her extensive experience in booking and press communications, she’s the right person to do it.

Taking a leap of faith like this is something that has fortunately paid off many times for Becky. Before she became a freelance music publicist, she worked in admin at a University. She would occasionally help friends who were in bands to organise shows and tours, but she had never seriously considered a career in music. It was a brief conversation in the back of a tour van that effectively started it all for her.

“I had booked a tour for two UK bands – a grindcore band called Narcosis and a sludgy band called Mistress – and I went on tour with them,” she shares. “The drummer from Mistress is a guy called Mick Kenney, and he was setting up his own record label with his long time friend Shane, who is the bass player in Napalm Death, and he asked me if I knew any journalists.” Becky laughs as she recalls reading the press release that Mick had drafted and telling him it was “rubbish”. She ended up re-writing it herself. “I didn’t really know what I was doing, but I did know some journalists just from being involved in music and meeting people in bands. So basically I just started emailing people. Then other bands started approaching me and offering to pay me for this work and I said yes and kept going.” Since then, Becky has worked for Earache, Relapse and various other labels as a freelance publicist over the years too.

It’s this combination of tenacious music fandom and learning on the go that led Becky to meet Roadburn’s Artistic Director, Walter Hoeijmakers. She’d been attending the festival in a work capacity for a few years by this point, which led to the pair being introduced. Shortly after that, Walter came to London for a Roadburn related trip and asked if he could crash on Becky’s sofa. “He hung out with my cats and we went to see Godflesh together,” she remembers, two things that cemented their early friendship. “Then a couple of weeks after that, he called me and asked if I would be interested in working for Roadburn, and I was like ‘YES, I would!’ – so I went and told my partner and they were like ‘a job doing what?’ and I realised I had no idea. Hopefully it was something I knew how to do, because I’d already said yes.”

The role that Becky had accepted was that of International Press & Communications for Roadburn. “I’ve always said that the ‘communications’ part of that title did a lot of heavy lifting. It basically means you can be emailing anyone about anything,” she laughs. “So although a big chunk of my job was publicising the festival and inviting press, I started to take on more things every year. I started to arrange the side programme, which consists of artists Q&As and panel discussions and things like that. I was in close contact with Walter throughout, and he would ask my opinion on bookings. It was a quite natural process where my role just got bigger and bigger. It was a bit of a fuzzy time during the pandemic, but it was around then that my role [as a booker] became more formalised. So I’ve been doing that for a few years now.”

The core booking team for Roadburn now consists of Walter, Daan who is the Head of Music at the O13 venue in Tilburg, and Becky. When asked what kind of process the team undertakes for selecting artists to play the festival, Becky insists that most of it is based on intuition and a “gut feeling,” as well as Walter’s artistic overview of what he wants to do. “Sometimes he has an idea for a band, or an idea for a direction he wants to go in, or a particular scene that he wants to explore a bit more, then we build the festival around those ideas,” Becky shares. “So that does vary year-on-year in what direction we’re going in.”

“There’s months and months of conversations about the artistic direction and what will and what won’t work. It’s a lot of gut feeling. Of course we have to sell tickets, so we have to look at what people want from the festival, but it’s definitely based on an artistic vision much more than what’s commercially viable at any given time. One of the things that we really draw inspiration from is the underground, and a lot of the bands that play Roadburn, even on the main stage, have come up through the underground. It’s very rare for a band to come crashing out of nowhere and appear on our main stage.”

The marvellous Chelsea Wolfe played the main stage at last year’s Roadburn, but she had originally played the festival ten years prior on a much smaller stage. Becky explains that Midwife, who first played in 2022, has had a similar journey. “Her music is so gentle in a lot of ways, so delicate and very intimate, it’s almost like she’s singing just to you,” Becky recalls. “So we knew that she was a special artist from that show, so to have her back as an artist in residence this year is fantastic.”

Something that Becky and the Roadburn team are particularly proud of is how the festival has evolved and shifted the idea of what “heavy” can be. Whilst stylistically it can be argued that Midwife’s musical style is not necessarily “heavy” – it’s often sparse and ambient – the emotional gravity that permeates her music is – therefore making her the perfect candidate for a Roadburn performance. Becky explains that there’s no “formula” that can be replicated when it comes to defining what specifically constitutes a “Roadburn band” – it’s based on that important “gut feeling” and a well established level of trust and respect between the members of the booking team.

“As individuals, not just in the Roadburn team, but as music fans, most of us have very eclectic taste,” she shares. “Last week I went to see FKA Twigs, who I love and who is amazing. I’m sure if she came to Roadburn she’d have a lovely time, but I’m not sure that her performance would work at Roadburn. We have this saying that we’ve said amongst ourselves for a long time but it’s become a bit of a slogan to describe Roadburn now, which is ‘redefining heaviness’ – and I think that’s one of the core things that we’re looking for. So whilst I think FKA Twigs has a certain kind of heaviness and some of her music is quite bleak in places, I’m not sure that it fits the type of heaviness that works at Roadburn.”

Becky goes on to explain that a specific set that she feels was a “turning point” in redefining what heaviness in music could be, was when Emma Ruth Rundle played the festival as solo artist on a smaller stage back in 2017, and returned to play the main stage in 2022. “Emma performed, just her and her guitar, on what is now called The Neck stage, which is a 700+ capacity room,” Becky recalls. “It was rammed, but she just held everybody captive for an hour. For me, this was also as heavy as something with big riffs or blast beats or screamed vocals. This had an emotional heaviness to it. So sometimes, whilst there’s no fixed guidelines, that’s one of the sets that I often have in mind. It was undoubtedly heavy and it was also very gentle and very beautiful.”

Something else that Becky feels is unique and important to Roadburn is the specially commissioned projects and one-off collaborative performances that the festival presents to its attendees. This year, SUMAC and Moor Mother will present their album, The Film, on both the 17th and 19th of April. The piece is described by Moor Mother as more than an album or a collection of songs, with the core focus being to “create a moment outside of convention…in an industry that wants to force everything into a box of consumption.” Accurately promoting and celebrating eclectic projects like this is something that Becky and the Roadburn team feel especially passionate about. The team takes great care in capturing the essence of these performances through the language they use in their promotions and the aesthetics they adhere to across all areas of press and communications.

“To expect people to turn up and watch something entirely new from an artist that they don’t know for an hour and to be completely captivated by that – maybe we are asking a lot,” Becky reflects, “but I think people come to Roadburn knowing that that’s part of the experience. If you want to experience something totally brand new and see where this music is going to take you, then that opportunity is there. It’s really special.”

Something else that’s special to Becky are the curated playlists that fill the venues between artist’s sets at Roadburn. Walter originally created these playlists himself, but he has since handed this responsibility over to Becky and her colleague Joel.

“I always say I have no musical talent, but Emma [Ruth Rundle] said to me ‘that’s nonsense, your talent is your ears,’” Becky beams. “I’ve always been a music fan, I would say to the point of obsessiveness as a teenager. When you’re a teenager, did you not just want to pick the music that people listened to and tell people about the artists? That’s essentially what my job is now. Sometimes on our socials people are asking ‘does anyone know what that song was that played just before so-and-so came on?’ and I can be like ‘I do know actually, because I made that playlist!’ so I get to be that obsessive music fan. I think there’s loads of people out there like that and now I have an outlet for it.”

The passion, excitement and dedication from Becky and her team to making sure festival goers get the full Roadburn experience is something we admire profusely here at GIHE. We joke that we’re considering booking a last minute flight to attend this year’s edition and Becky is quick to support this decision. “It’s a slippery slope though,” she laughs, “because once you’ve been, you will want to come again. I know everybody says that, but it’s true. Most people come and are immediately like ‘I want more of that!’ Once you’re addicted – that’s it.”

 

You can find the full line-up info & tickets for Roadburn via their official website

Follow Roadburn on Instagram, Facebook & X

 

Photo Credit: Nona Limmen (Official Roadburn 2025 Visual Artist)

Kate Crudgington
kate_getinherears

Five Favourites: L.A. Witch

Having developed and honed their sound over the last decade, interweaving elements of Americana, rock ‘n’ roll and psychedelia, long-time faves L.A. Witch have now announced the release of their upcoming new album, which will be out this Friday via Suicide Squeeze. Recorded in Paris, and combining an eclectic array of influences and covering a range of themes – with a focus on reflecting on a cosmic sense of foreboding -, the album showcases the band’s ability to captivate and entice our ears with their dark, psych-infused soundscapes. It’s impossible not to be completely drawn in by its enticing shimmering allure.

We think one of the best ways to get to know a band is by asking what music inspires them. So, ahead of the release of new album DOGGOD, we caught up with bassist Irita Pai to find out about the five songs that inspired the writing of the new album the most. Read about their five favourites, pre-order DOGGOD, and watch the new video for majestic new single ‘Icicle‘ below:

Rowland S. Howard – ‘Dead Radio’
I actually got into Rowland S. Howard way before I got into Nick Cave. Compared to Cave, Howard’s music is just as twangy, but more edgy and raw – almost more punk – with his vocal delivery which can growl sometimes. The simplicity of this song is what’s so beautiful about it – everything is intentionally placed, the space perfectly filled with dynamics and interchanging instruments highlighted at different points. The focus here is on Howard’s vulnerable vocals and lyrics. The instrumental with the strings, before it reverts back to the chorus, is so perfect it gives me shivers. Brian Hooper’s bass acts solely as an accent piece, his subtlety and restraint is so refreshing – it inspires me to play only what is needed, nothing more.

The Jesus & Mary Chain – ‘Cracking Up’
Like countless others, I discovered JAMC through ‘Just Like Honey’. As a teenager I was obsessed with that song – I downloaded it on Limewire and would listen to it on my Winamp player. I wanted to see them live so badly, but I hardly had enough money to pay rent, let alone money for big concert tickets. When our band first started, one of our dreams was to go to Austin Psych Fest – and that dream eventually came true when we were invited to play in 2015. JAMC was headlining that year, and my teenage dreams were finally fulfilled when I got to watch them from the front of the pit. The guitar riff in this song is one of the catchiest I’ve ever heard – it pops back into my head at the most random of times. I particularly love the dead tambourine/shaker sound mixed with the staccato hits of the drumbeat.

Wipers – ‘When It’s Over’
The best thing my ex ever gave me? Not my Hofner Violin Bass, my ‘94 Camaro, nor the black diamond engagement ring I eventually ended up pawning – but the Wipers. He had been listening to them since he was thirteen, and after introducing me to them I was forever hooked. They might be one of my favourite bands of all time, Gregg Sage is an amazing songwriter and performer (my dream would be to have him produce an album of ours!). The bass riff from ‘The Lines’ off our new record is definitely a nod to the Wipers. ‘Youth of America’ felt like a transitory period from their earlier upbeat punky stuff, to the darker, post-punk vibes of their later catalogue. Similar to our upcoming album, which bridges the gap between our California garage-psych roots, and the darker cold wave energy on DOGGOD.

She Past Away – ‘Rituël’
If someone had told me that the highlight of my trip to Paris would involve being surrounded by hundreds of sweaty, screaming French goths on the hottest day of summer, I would have thought you a bit mad. When I saw that Turkish band She Past Away just happened to be playing at the Trabendo (where our album release show in Paris will be!), I wrote to our French booking agent Xavier from Persona Grata who also books them, to see if tickets were sold out. I said a Hail Mary, pressed send and prayed for the best. As fate would have it, and a proof that miracles do come true, I got into the show and to this day it stands out as one my favourites. Though they are only a two piece, their sound is so gigantic. I love the guitar tone on this song so much, it inspired me to mess around with Chorus (Boss CEB-3), mixed with a light distortion while cranking the treble tone on my bass for this record.

Black Pyramid – ‘…And the Gods Made War’
As is the tried and true formula, every metal album always has a great instrumental intro song to kick off the album. I love the sinister vibe this one has, in addition to the Eastern scale and sitar-like elements in the guitar. The perfect punctuation with the crashes and the light hits of tambourine work so well to pace the song. For me, this one really inspired the rhythm elements of ‘I Hunt You Prey’ on DOGGOD. I love the droning on this song, it really creates a very atmospheric noise that comes out a little in ‘I Hunt You Prey’. Menacing, sonic, evil.


Huge thanks to Irita for sharing L.A. Witch’s Five Favourites with us! Watch the video for beautifully dark new single ‘Icicle’ below:


DOGGOD, the new album from L.A. Witch, is out Friday 4th April via Suicide Squeeze. Pre-order here.

Photo Credit: Marco Hernandez

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
kate_getinherears