WORDS & PHOTOGRAPHY EVA PENTEL - MAKEUP ELAINE LYNSKEY - LOCATION DULCIE - SPECIAL THANKS BEE THOMAS
Tipped as a rising star to watch for 2022, if Lucy Blue isn't on your radar yet she soon will be. The bewitchingly beautiful singer, songwriter and producer grew up in Dublin and moved to London during lockdown. After a year at home she quickly took over the festival circuit this summer and just played her first ever London headline show. Eva Pentel invited Lucy round to her mums house in Camden for a day of shooting, chatting and talking to cats!
Eva Pentel: Lucy! It was so great to shoot you, can you tell me a bit about the bunny ears?! Lucy Blue: Thank you! The bunny ears were a gift but they’re kind of an ode to one of my favourite movies ‘Gummo’, and one of my favourite filmmakers Harmony Korine. The bunny ears are worn by a boy in the movie and I just like wearing them sometimes.
EP: You were a dream to photograph, does the visual side of things interest you? Do you enjoy being creative with your artwork and videos or would you rather just focus on the music? LB: Yes visuals are a big part of my process. Writing is my first love but I feel like the two are really intertwined. Making music feels like a really visual thing to me so I feel the need to be involved with them. I just really enjoy it too, I always have.
EP: Can you tell us a bit about your new single ‘First Man on the Moon’ & what to expect from your upcoming EP? LB: 'First Man On The Moon' was one of the first songs I wrote after coming to London. It feels like a stream of consciousness of me trying to understand the feeling of homesick and loneliness. The upcoming EP is a group of songs I wrote over the last year. I didn’t really plan on it having a theme but all the songs on it feel very cohesive. I like writing from different points of views and songs like Taxi Driver and Pilot were kind of the beginning of this project. It feels like a celebration of the ordinary in a way to me.
EP: We really enjoyed your headline gig at The Grace last week! Did you have much experience performing live before we went into lockdowns? Is getting back to gigging exciting or a bit daunting for you? LB: None at all really, I’d only played like 1 or 2 really small informal gigs before lockdown. Doing festivals this year was my first proper experience of live which was kind of crazy. I think it’s really exciting being able to connect with people through music face to face again. It’s daunting as well and I do get nervous playing in front of people but I love getting to share the songs with new people and seeing their reactions.
EP: Well you were amazing! You began by teaching yourself how to produce your own music, are you hoping to collaborate with lots of other people or do you want to continue to develop your sound and working solo for now? LB: I think collaboration is good but I don’t like too many inputs on something at once. I think I like working with a close knit group of people that I really love working with and trust. That being said there are a lot people I’d love to collaborate with and I’m still open minded. I love producing, I think it’s as much of a creative outlet so I’m always working on stuff on my own too.
EP: You moved to London during lockdown, how have you found it? LB: I definitely moved at a weird time. No one was able to go anywhere for a few months and it was very quiet. But now things are a bit more normal again I’m meeting new people and going to cool gigs and stuff which has been fun. London introduced me to some of my main collaborators and I’ve wrote some of my favourite songs over here so it has a special place in my heart.
EP: Some of the clothes you brought along to the shoot were amazing, especially the vintage Moschino skirt, have you got any favourite spots for vintage shopping? LB: The skirt is one of my faves - I got it from Portobello market, I get a lot of my things there. I think most of my clothes consist of the market finds and there’s lots of good charity shops round here too. Also my mum's old clothes.
EP: You grew up in Ireland and I’ve seen you’ve had support from The Script and some other Irish musicians, are there any other Irish artists that should be on our radar? LB: Yeah!! There’s so many great Irish artists I’ve been listening to some I’ve been loving are Newdad, Aby Coulibaly, April, Monjala, Efe I’m probably leaving out some but they’re a few I’ve been loving.
EP: We’ll check them out! What should we expect to see from you in the future? LB: Lots and lots of new music I hope. A tour? I’m just really excited to put out the music I’ve been working on and connect with the people who are listening to it along the way. I have too much in my head I need to get out and I just want to keep creating constantly.
EP: AND what’s your favourite F word?
LB: First (man on the moon)
Lucy's new single First Man on the Moon is out now. She can be found on socials for updates on her up coming EP and future shows.
