Lauren Pritchard ‘I do dream sometimes…’
aaamusic | On 27, Sep 2010
AAAmusic: You’ve had a pretty interesting uprising within this industry, moving to LA at a young age, trying your hand at reggae and living with some pretty amazing people! Do you think these experiences have an impact on the songs that you write now?
Lauren Pritchard: Definitely. When you listen to the album you can hear that there are a few musical styles that inspired the songs and the I’ve written the songs honestly about what my life’s been like these past few years, the craziness of it all. I hope people listen and take all of that with them.
AAAmusic: Writing with Ed Harcourt must have been pretty exciting. How did that come about?
LP: His manager is a friend of a friend and mentioned the idea once over a dinner. I jumped at the chance to work with him, I’ve always loved his music and his writing. So beautiful and dark.
AAAmusic: Island records have got some amazing success stories at the minute like Mumford & Sons and Florence and the Machine. Do you even dare to dream that you could one day share that success?
LP: Yes, I do dream sometimes.
AAAmusic: Who do you think the biggest influences are on your music?
LP: Neil Young, Billy Joel, Billie Holiday, Ryan Adams, Jay-Z, Joni Mitchell.
AAAmusic: You have supported a lot of hugely popular people on your way in the UK. Have any of these artists had any influence upon you in terms of your attitude towards performance or composition?
LP: Yea, watching them perform night after night and watching them thrill people, to be able to see that from backstage, you see what is expected of you. It’s cool to get to watch.
AAAmusic: Do you think having performance experience on Broadway gives you an edge in terms of performance?
LP: It’s a very intense job. The same thing every day, 6 days and 8 times a week, it puts your endurance to the test and pushes you farther than you think you can go. But you come out of it feeling like “if I can do that, I can do anything”.
AAAmusic: You have just released the video for ‘Not The Drinking.’ What were the ideas behind the video and the song as a whole?
LP: The song is about a break up I was going thru. There are a lot of peaks and valleys. Disagreements happening left and right and the blame game starts but the reason for all of it isn’t “the drinking, it’s not the drugs, it’s not the money”. It’s the simple fact that one of you has fallen out of love and you’ve gotta give it up. The video tries to capture this without making a “literal video” of the situation. The down points during the verse are to show the low moments, the dancing and outbursts are to show the few happy moments during that time. The time is the water is a baptismal, a rebirth or restart sort of signifying the end of the break up and starting over. It’s always tough remaking something that is based on life, reliving it is interesting.
AAAmusic: What advice would you give to someone who is just trying to find their feet in this industry?
LP: If you believe in your heart of hearts that you should be in the industry, don’t give up.
AAAmusic: What is the next step for you?
LP: Touring til I’m blue in the face haha! And I’m always writing, always thinking ahead. But the next 6 months are going to be focused on touring here and in the US.
Catch Lauren Pritchard on tour with fellow label mates Tinashe, Pete Lawrie and Pearl and The Puppets on the Island Life tour on the following dates…
Oct 1 – Birmingham, Glee Club
Oct 2 – Cardiff, Buffalo Bar
Oct 4 – Bristol, Cooler
Oct 5 – Cambridge, Haymakers
Oct 6 – Brighton, Audio
Oct 7 – Leeds, Cockpit
Oct 8 – Glasgow, Oran Mor
Oct 10 – Manchester, Deaf Institute
Author: Josie Payne