Lucy May Walker – 'I just want people to feel something'

By James Garbett

“For me, it’s always the songs that have a deeper meaning than something that’ll just make you bop your head. I always value the lyrics in a song more than anything else and if it makes me feel something, it’s a winner”.

Lucy May Walker’s second EP drops today and from the very first title track grabs you with its personality and wit. “Bad-Day” kicks off the album and is one of the freshest break-up/fuck you songs we’ve heard in quite some time. With Lucy May Walker buoyantly telling the object of her loathing that she hopes they step on Lego, miss their train, or have difficulty scanning their items at the self-checkout. It’s petty in all the best ways. 

The rest of her EP shows a variety of tones and styles to the young singer/songwriter, being an eclectic selection of tracks from odes to beautiful cities to more gentle ballads, we had a chance to talk to her about making the EP and what the songs mean to her.

Tell me more about Bad-Day, what made you decide to take that tone and style with the song?
“Sometimes, situations are so painful that if you really went into how you feel you’d break down. I felt like this was a really healthy way of expressing anger in a way that is too playful to cause too much damage”.

Why did you decide to choose a variety of feelings to showcase within the EP?
“My last EP was called Heartbreak Songs and I’m sure you can guess the theme of that one… for a while I thought sad breakup songs was my brand, but then I started making wiser choices in my love life and ran out of inspiration to write about that. Over the past year or so, I’ve gone through a lot of major changes in my personal life and that’s naturally what I wrote about. I wanted to share different themes and feelings in the EP in the hope that people would relate and connect to each song differently”.

Your tracks have some outstanding production values, how do they develop from an idea to the finished product usually, or does the process differ each time?
“Thanks so much! I have to credit Joe & David Dunwell (The Dunwells) for the production - they are amazing at what they do. We’ve been working together for years and they just seem to ‘get’ me. I take the songs to them, record it acoustically, and then add to it. I always have a vision of what I want out of a song, and try not to overcomplicate it by adding too much. The recording process with them is always super relaxed and we have a lot of fun. It’s so important to find the right people for you”.

As a fellow lover of Edinburgh, can you tell me more about how you created "Home from Home" and what it was like to write a track about a city, was it difficult or was it something that came naturally?
“I wrote Home From Home with Joe Hammill from Cattle & Cane. We had a writing session at his home up north and we had about an hour and a half left before my train home. I knew what I wanted the song to be about, and referenced 'under the weather' by KT Tunstall. Joe sat down at the piano and just came out with these gorgeous chords and time a signature he thought I said I wanted (I hadn’t) and the song just came. I wish every song was that easy to write!”

 What's your biggest musical challenge would you say?
“I’ve always found it quite difficult to motivate myself to write on my own. I absolutely love writing, it’s my favourite thing to do - but normally I’m busking in London for about 2 hours every day, the last thing I want to do when I get home is pick my guitar back up. I get around that by booking in writing sessions with other people so I have to write. Being in quarantine during the pandemic and not having the pressure of going out busking every day has definitely made me more creative. I've allowed myself more time to write when I feel like writing instead of booking something in - which has built my confidence up in writing on my own again”.

What do you think needs to change about the music industry?
“I still think there’s a big inequality for women in the music industry. I believe every woman in music has a story to tell of a time she was treated unfairly or differently because of their gender. There’s a lot of men in power that think they’re indestructible and there’s a lot of artists who don’t question how they’re treated for fear they’ll get blacklisted. I think if someone is doing something you know is wrong or needs to be challenged, it’s time to speak up. If more people were named and shamed (like the festivals who only represent men as a majority) there’s a chance we might see some change”.

How do you want your music to make people feel?
I just want people to feel something. I always find it interesting how people interpret songs differently - sometimes you hear a line in a song that just hits you. I try to be really honest in my writing and this EP especially I’ve shared some deeply personal feelings I probably wouldn’t have done if it wasn’t in song form - I hope it'll connect with people who might have felt they were the only ones who felt that way.

What would be your words of advice to aspiring artists?
Chase every single opportunity you get, and if you’re not given one - make your own. I always go back to the story of being discovered busking by Jeremy Vine. It led on to some amazing things for me including playing live on BBC Radio 2 and a TV performance… but none of that would have happened if I didn’t chase Jeremy repeatedly to make it happen. Never be shy or embarrassed to ask for something - the worst that can happen is they say no.

Link to Lucy May Walker’s music here.