On her Twitter bio Laurel describes herself as a ‘musician, poet and wanderer of the world’. We think her downbeat, minimal pop marks her out as one of the great hopes for next year – just check out the incredible Holy Water EP cuts on her Soundcloud below. Here, she explains her influences, from poetry and the countryside to the moon, showcasing the natural noir aesthetic that permeates her music.
Poetry
I am hugely influenced by poetry as words for me are the most important part of a song, and although dangerous of sounding cliche it is how I express my inner thoughts. I am someone that thinks constantly about absolutely everything I drive myself near on insane, so I started to write poems from my stream of conciseness inspired by TS Eliot my favourite poet who I came across when studying English literature at college. Sometimes I turn my poems into songs but recently I tried putting my latest poem Luna to a piece of music I had composed and then I cut up old film clips i had found online and turned that into a video. You can find it on my youtube page here. I wrote this poem about myself and the music industry, I represent the moon which people may find of interest and want to watch but with out the sun (The music industry) no one would ever see me.
The Moon
This is my favourite thing of the world, it amazes me how I never fail to be fascinated it. I could stare at it forever it marvels me. Anyone that knows me well will know this! Some people feel it represents a sadness but for me it is full of hope and magic.
The Countryside
I am a huge lover of the country side, i was bought up on the south coast in a small suburb right on the edge of fields and nature. It has taken me a long time to adjust to being in london I have lived here almost 2 and a half years but I am still not quite settled. There is something about the peacefulness back at home that helps me write and completely chills me out, I have always wanted to go away to a far away place and write an entire album in a log cabin like Bon Iver did.
Sitting in the Back of Cars
I love sitting in the back of a cab or a car and listening to music, whether its one of my new songs I am figuring out or a new album I’ve just downloaded, I could sit there forever a lot of them time when I get a cab somewhere I don’t ever want the journey to end, there is something so awesome about it, but I am still not sure why.
Being Alone
Although I have potential to make myself sound like a complete loser, I can’t help it I love spending time on my own. Its where I do my best thinking and thats where I get my best songs. It can be quite torturous on ones self and make you lose your mind but the overthinking and the craziness of my head is where I find the best thoughts. I never take things too lightly which is why I think there is a lot of passion in my songs and poetry, I am the type of person who loves or hates and never in-between.
Laurel’s Holy Water EP is out on 15th December 2014 through her own label imprint Next Time Records. She headlines Hoxton Square Bar & Kitchen on December 9th.
