Since hearing the hype that surrounded this young pup after first single ‘Your Sister’ hit our HQ with a thump we were interested in seeing what would come next, where would she go, how did it start, then we thought, lets just ask her ourselves. So here we go we talk to FINDLAY, beware we talk tonsils out, school and a need to take a shower…
Where are you and what are you doing today?
Getting ready to start shooting the video for ‘Off & On’ later today. Really need to take a shower…
How did you get in to making music?
I had a really hard time at school, i absolutely hated it and music was my release and my sanctuary for a lot of teenage angst and i had a lot haha, that’s when i started to really get into music when i was about fourteen/fifteen…I was playing the clarinet before i realised that wasn’t the right instrument for me and switched to guitar, then i started singing as well. I had my tonsils out and found a singing voice. It’s probably in my head but i swear i couldn’t sing before that operation. I started writing my own music, playing acoustic shows and crap open mic nights on my own in and around Manchester before I decided I wanted to play with a band and be really fucking loud, so I went away and wrote more songs, found my band and started playing different kinds of shows where I could focus on being a front woman of a band and not sitting behind an acoustic guitar. It’s way more exciting. I like being able to move on stage.
You have been getting a lot of attention lately one of the best new voices in the country, do you manage people expectations?
I’ve surpassed my own expectations of what I’d achieve in music by actually managing to put some records out on a label but my own expectations for myself keep rising…where could I be in one year or five years? I don’t know…I think everyone wants to be successful in their field, I want to keep releasing more records and making music because it’s what I love to do. The fact other people are into my music is kinda surprising and really humbling. As long as I can make myself happy and other people are happy to listen to my music and buy it then I feel like I’m onto a winner. You’ve not seen the whole package until you see the live show either. I’m hoping the more music I release and more shows I do.. the more people will get into it.
Tell us about you new single Off & On?
This track was actually never going to be a single, I wanted to write a tune that would go down mental live but when we came to record it, it sounded so great we thought why not just put this out as a single? I wrote the lyrics so quickly, almost free styled some of it, I’d been really ill abroad and I was having these lucid jet lag dreams where I was drifting in and out of consciousness and seeing some really weird shit, the song is mostly about that experience, how different your brain sees things when you’re mentally and physically exhausted… slowly drifting into madness!
What have you got coming up for the rest of the year?
The 4 track “Off &On EP” is being released next month on Joyeux Anniversaire Records which I can’t wait to get hold of, we’re playing show’s in London & Manchester on the 18th/19th April to launch the EP I’m really excited for… always a good party especially in my hometown I have a lot of support up there. Also playing some festivals; Secret Garden Party, Live at Leeds, Dot to Dot, The Great Escape, Liverpool Sound City and some more on the way. Hopefully some more of our own shows up and down the country and at some point release the album I’ve been working on…
Any new bands you’ve been listening too that we should know about?
I went to see a Manchester band called Kult Country at The Shacklewell arms on Friday night they were amazing. Also really got into the new Unknown Mortal Orchestra record, I saw them last month they were incredible live, there’s lots of bands i’m hoping to catch at this years festivals as well, like Foxygen, Parquet Courts, The Growlers, Allah-La’s… there’s a lot of great music coming out this year we’re lucky.
Findlay live dates:
18/04 – Electrowerks – London
19/04 – Ruby Lounge – Manchester
02/05 – Liverpool Sound City – Liverpool
03/05 – KU Bar – Stockton
04/05 – Leeds Live at Leeds
16/05 – The Great Escape – Brighton
26/07 – Secret Garden Party