Before her gig in Brighton on Tuesday, we managed to grab a chat with Lucy Rose backstage at Concorde. The singer-songwriter from Warwickshire has risen up through the music industry after moving to London aged 18, and with her debut Like I Used To being released in 2012 she has since been constantly evolving her sound. We talked Bombay Bicycle Club, the gender divide in music, festival season and her upcoming album.
THE INDIEPENDENT: So have you been to Brighton before?
Yeah, I’ve been here a few times because it’s so close to London, it’s just a nice place to just pop to.
THE INDIEPENDENT: Have you played the great escape before?
Yeah, I’ve played there a couple of times over the last few years its always just so so busy and I’ve done a lot of gigs here with Bombay as well, they’re awesome. I remember playing a gig here with them, one of my first ever gigs with them, and it was winter and it just snowed like a foot of snow everywhere, all along the seafront
THE INDIEPENDENT: Did that help propel your career working with Bombay bicycle club?
Yeah I guess so, definitely. I’m sure a lot of people heard me through that
THE INDIEPENDENT: I think someone told me one of your brothers was in Bombay? Is that true?
Haha, that’s a great rumour, I don’t even have a brother. Me and Jamie are both ginger so maybe that’s where it came from
THE INDIEPENDENT: Yeah think it might have come from that. So did you do festival season last year?
I didn’t really, I had like a year off, I did a couple things like Hyde Park British Summertime, and Glastonbury on the other stage. It was kind of like a quiet summer of just writing and finishing the album I guess.
THE INDIEPENDENT: When is the album out?
July 13th
THE INDIEPENDENT: That’s exciting, have you been evolving your sound because the older stuff is more acoustic and the new ‘Our Eyes’ one is a bit bigger I think.
Yeah I know I felt like it’s a bit rockier and bigger, less acoustic more electric. It’s just what I wrote, I don’t normally think about it, I’ve written so many songs on the acoustic guitar, I guess I was trying to go in a different direction and see what happens, just playing more electric and more piano and writing more stuff on drums and stuff and see what happens.
THE INDIEPENDENT: So how’s the tour going?
Yeah, it’s been really good so far
THE INDIEPENDENT: Where’s the best place you’ve been so far?
Oh I don’t know, I’ve literally just been basing it on crowds and so far I’ve been really lucky and had loads of good crowds, literally every gig so far has been amazing so I’m kind of scared for the one that’s going to be bad.
THE INDIEPENDENT: Have you done a US tour before?
I did a couple last year I did a couple, 3 ones we did 2 8 week ones there in a van, it was awesome
THE INDIEPENDENT: What’s the difference, I guess the distance?
Yeah you wake up at 6 in the morning and you drive till like 5pm to do soundcheck, it’s like 10 hour drives every day
THE INDIEPENDENT: You did south by southwest?
Yeah I did that as well, that was amazing 3 gigs a day. Everyone was there, I remember it was just as the 1975’s ‘Chocolate’ had just come out and I was like guys everyone’s loving your music, I was like you guys are going to be huge in like 2 weeks and now they’re massive but they were lovely, I remember them lending me equipment for one of the shows but it was nice cause there was lots of bands and I guess you don’t know who is going to blow up
THE INDIEPENDENT: Who have you toured with who have just suddenly blown up?
I did a tour with Ben Howard just as his album came out, like small shows going round in his van, I saw him at Jersey Live last year cause we did a gig, had a catch up
THE INDIEPENDENT: What are the differences between your new album and the first ones?
Got some collaboration’s, my friend Sam Brooks is singing with me and Rae Morris is singing on a track. Just different songs I guess, like louder, heavier, more electric .
THE INDIEPENDENT: What bands did you grow up listening to, any inspirations?
Like Neil Young and Joni Mitchel are my two main ones. I guess they did help, like when I’m really scared like now about revealing new music and maybe isolating some of my original fans, I kind of look at my heroes and lots of bands did completely different things that pissed people off but kind of made them who they are long term, you got to keep expanding your music and write what you want to write like when Bob Dylan went electric, that sort of stuff. Like there’s always everyone turning against you cause they like what they like and don’t want change.
THE INDIEPENDENT: Yeah, well most of your fans are liking your new stuff so far so that’s good. What festivals are you doing this year?
Um, Somersault and Kendall Calling, (another one was said which cannot be revealed yet)
THE INDIEPENDENT: Did you see that thing the other day about the gender divide on that Reading and Leeds line up? There was literally like 3 bands containing women, it’s really bad.
Yeah it’s really depressing. For festival’s it would be nice to see more girls on things, I’d love a Jools Holland full of girls, limited edition show.
THE INDIEPENDENT: That would be great. I didn’t think it was that bad until I saw that massive gap.
Yeah you have the classic things, I remember when I was seeing if anyone was interested in the industry and they were like oh we already have signed a girl this year and can’t sign anyone else and it’s like you’re going to sign 50 guys in bands, they just think all girls are the same and like we’ve got a girl so we can just concentrate on that, it’s like we’re all completely different
THE INDIEPENDENT: Yeah it’s like you have to have one women in each category, like one in acoustic, one in pop and for guys you can have however many in each one.
It’s like they think we’ve got a girl and it doesn’t matter if she’s acoustic or anything it’s like you could be writing different music but they just see you writing the same songs cause you’re a girl
THE INDIEPENDENT: It is so bad. So what is your favourite festival to play?
Glastonbury the other stage, I did it last year. it was awesome. I was only there for the day, I remember doing a Dermot session for radio 2 and then Bombay, I sang a song with them. It’s literally like a big blur, not that I was drunk I just can’t remember anything, it was a lot to take in.
THE INDIEPENDENT: So what bands or artists are you listening to now?
War On Drugs, Real Estate, Warpaint, Future islands, The National’s new record is great, loads of stuff really
Lucy Rose’s album is out July 13th and she’s touring all throughout the rest of March.