We Interview Singer-Songwriter Carys Calling

These days the word haunting is cliche and overused, but when it comes to the super talented singer-songwriter Carys Calling, it is the perfect fit. Her latest track, ‘Seeing Red’, is an extremely beautiful and powerful song which makes you want to play on repeat. Carys Calling makes the sort of music that sounds intrinsic, raw and familiar, yet her path to music was less straightforward. The Clothes Maiden recently interviewed this musician about her influences and career path as an independent musician in the UK.

Hi Carys, tell us all about yourself – we’re dying to get to know you!
I’m an electro dark folk singer-songwriter: Carys Calling. I don’t play an instrument, I’m all about lyrics and the vocal melody. I self-released my debut EP last summer and have just released my first single “Seeing Red” from my new Video EP.

I’m completely in love with visuals and song, when they’re put together, it is magic to me. That’s why I chose to make this a video EP. I can really express myself, my story and my vision through the video camera lens in ways that vocals and instrumentation can’t do. Everything adds to it, from location to make-up, my hair, to the clothes I wear and the accessories I chose. I self-directed the video alongside my videographer Steven McIvor. When I watch a music video, it can make me like a song I wasn’t fussed about, or make me fall in love with a song even more. The layers of a story that are added through video are incredible, I think the same for artwork too. If it catches your eye, you’re hooked.

Where are you from?
Originally I am from Wales, I was born there, hence my name. I moved to Allendale, Northumberland just before I was three years old. I then moved to London for a year to a vocal school that wasn’t right for me; I then moved to Newcastle and now I am living on the coast. Something about the beach keeps me right, there’s less distraction here so I’m really focused on my writing and music – just the way I like it.

Can you tell us a little bit about your childhood?
I grew up in the dust of Allendale, Northumberland. This place shaped my lyric writing which started when I was nine years-old. Allendale also made room for the patience and clarity needed for vocal melodies which came many years later. So really, those lyrics were poems. Reams and reams of words I’d written over 11 years, through growing, troubles, accomplishments, disappointments and everything in-between. I still have about 30 notebooks with tons of scribbles in. I read them now and then, and constantly take inspiration from my younger-self and use her lyrics. I’m the youngest (and tallest!) of four, and I lived with my two older brothers. They would constantly blast Eminem. I would listen to his songs from the age of nine and they would absolutely break my heart. “Love You More”, “Crazy In Love” and “Kim” had me obsessed with what crazy love can do to a person. Eminem is a huge inspiration for my lyrics. His brutal honesty and vulnerability was something that made me realise it is okay to speak your mind and heart – even if you say the wrong thing. Writing lyrics was my way of dealing with a lot of things that went on in my childhood years. Stuff that I haven’t put out there yet and things that I’ve not really spoken about, because writing about those things got me through. I think it helped me to deal with things calmly and quietly instead of acting out. A lot of that is down to where I grew up, I was free in my words and in my writing.I was rarely without a pen in my hand.

What made you first realise you wanted to pursue a career in music?
Music was always in the back of my mind, one of those ultimate dreams. But I was so shy I never thought I would ever do it. I was easily embarrassed and awkwardly tall. But I remember showing a middle school teacher my lyrics once… He had seen me writing and writing when we had a task to do, and he was hugely impressed… Possibly because I never said a word in class and then he read this notebook full of emotions and meaning. I remember then thinking “I wish I could actually write and make something of myself doing this”. High school was pretty much the same, except I sang at a music night and a teacher who found me difficult was blown away by me being on stage. He couldn’t believe that this silent student had got up and sang. But people didn’t understand that on stage I was different. I could be myself on stage, performing is where I found myself, but outside of that I always felt a little lost.

After that, I started performing covers much more. I began to find confidence in myself, in my style of clothes on stage and truly loved pouring my heart out to an audience, and was honoured that they would listen to me. I’d fallen head-over-heels for live performance. I kept up the performing of covers but still wrote lyrics almost every day. Then when I was 23, a vocal melody for a song called “Never” came to me after taking an evening songwriting course in Newcastle. From then, I’ve known this is all I love and know. When I look back, the fact I wrote lyrics constantly for nearly 14 years before actually being able to produce vocal melodies just makes me more sure that I never would have stopped until it happened. I believe in the words I write and that words can change the world and make a difference.

How would you describe your music for the public audience if they have never seen you before?
My music is honest. It’s honest, dark and haunting with a sprinkle of electro. I want to let people into my world and take them away from whatever they need to hide from. Every lyric in every song is about something I have gone through and if I can reach someone and save them even for an hour, I am honoured to soundtrack their nights. My sound has evolved from folk, to dark folk to electro dark folk. The electro element in my songs gives life to the lyrics and echoes the stories I’m telling. The instrumentation and electro vibe give the songs bigger meaning. Clashing drums and intricately plucked guitar express the quietly loud chaos I sing about. The imagery of my songs is incredibly important to me, and I want people to imagine the songs in their own way using my words but through their own eyes. I’m a little free spirited and I never settle, I am always tempted by a new place and a new feeling, yet I live in the past. My live shows are intense, honest and true. I want to be the purest form of myself for people who choose to spend half an hour watching and listening to me; it means more to me than they know.

What does a day in the life of yourself look like?
I’m a night owl and an early bird, so I’m constantly a bit wired, but upbeat. It’s funny, because my songs show the opposite side of that. On a typical day, I will go for an early morning walk along the beach, come home and read lots of music blogs. I often go on Pinterest and am always finding inspiration for new songs. If I am a little stressed, baking calms me down like nothing else. Recently I have been meeting with my graphic designer, doing the music video shoot for “Seeing Red” as well as the artwork shoot, and have been buying new stage outfits for live shows. So, my days have consisted of morning meetings, sending and replying to emails, and researching venues for an intimate launch date in May which is to be confirmed. Managing myself is something I am learning so much from. I have two mindsets as Carys Calling: the creative songwriter mind and the business mind. I’ve managed to master both, so I could be writing lyrics for an hour, then I’ll be writing and returning emails. 2am is my usual creative hour, and is also when I’ll be searching the internet for new artists I haven’t heard of and discovering more and more musicians who inspire me every day. My days are a mixture of the business side and writing and promoting – that is when I am not working at The Boatyard Coffee Shop where I live. Every now and again, I get myself back to Allendale to recharge my batteries and to get back to my roots. Nothing feels better than going back to somewhere that shaped me and helped me grow.

Who or what inspires you to create a new song?
When I write a new song, it is always about something I have been through. This can be inspired by a text I receive from someone, an old photo, a film that moves me, a new place, an old memory. Everything truly inspires me to write. For “Seeing Red”, I was writing about a past relationship where I came second best to a bottle. If I’m honest, I hadn’t quite dealt with it properly, and I saw a photo of a girl in the back of a car with a guy trying to drag her out. It hit a nerve with me and I wrote the lyrics for Seeing Red within about 10 minutes. Everything I see or hear usually hits a creative nerve with me and inspires the songs I write. For the Video EP, I isolated myself for a weekend in September last year and reread old messages, revisited certain places in Northumberland, looked at old photos and took myself back to my 19-year old self in order to write the songs. I have to go back to how I felt at the time of whatever I’m writing about, otherwise I wouldn’t be honest. Not being true and honest in my lyrics scares me more than falling off stage or getting hit by a bus.

Other artists also inspire me to write songs. A certain lyric of someone else’s can inspire a new line for me. Hearing new music I adore can inspire me to write. I think when something fresh and new enters your world, you’re so taken by it that it just makes you want to create magic too. Recently, that has been Halsey, Zella Day and Julien Baker, all female singer-songwriters who are breaking the music industry, killing it, owning who they are, doing it in their own way. When you enter a new relationship, or make a new friend or find a beautiful new outfit, It just makes you wanna live and it all inspires you. I think life is about being inspired and going into the world being your own fierce self.

What does a perfect weekend look like to you?
A perfect weekend! I’m all kinds of opposite half the time, so it would be a mixture of things! But the main thing would be going camping. It may be growing up in the Narnia of Northumberland, but being out in the middle of nowhere with the people you adore is something that can’t be matched for me. It would be a campfire, blankets, toasted marshmallows, bottle of wine, hot chocolates and actually having that quality time and being together having lots of laughs (and plenty of snacks!!). I spent a lot of time alone a few years ago when I had insomnia and sleep paralysis. I was constantly worried, not feeling in control, and very isolated. To have adventures and to actually live life and experience things is something I never take for granted. I’d be in my tent at 3am writing lyrics, imagining up new artwork, video ideas and lush new stage outfits for the next project. No matter where I am or what I’m doing, writing is always on my mind and nothing makes me feel more alive.

What are three things you can’t live without?
I feel so lucky to have the people in my life that I do, to be living at the beach and to be putting my music out to the world. A lot of people don’t have that luxury. In a world where so much is possible with the internet, I try to appreciate the little things that make the big difference. The things that people don’t see posted online. I couldn’t live without the little things that make me who I am: the perfume I wear, a photo frame with a picture of me with a friend I lost a few years ago, and a bottle of Baileys for good measure.

In five years, where do you see yourself?
I hope to still be creating videos for my songs and possibly having the songs produced with a new set of eyes and ears, writing with new people and touring possibly in Europe. I have been incredibly lucky to work with some truly talented creative people who understand my vision and bring extra ideas to me that truly blow my mind. We are inspired by each others creativity and without having these people around me, nothing I have achieved would be possible. From the bottom of my heart I am so thankful to those wonderful humans. I hope to still be as lucky as this in the years to come when creating my art with like-minded people who truly believe in others.

One last question we have to know: what does being ’stylish’ mean to you?
To me, your style is your identity. It’s your personality, your attitude, your reaction to yourself and to the world. I think people underestimate how much a person’s outfit says about them; it expresses their mood, and it’s a snapshot of who they are. A person’s style is the first thing you see. It’s the first impression we get of each other when meeting. I think style is even the everyday stuff we wear. A watch, the way we style our hair, the bag we carry, the way we walk, the purse we use and the coat and hat we choose. Our style adds up to what we see in ourselves, what others see in us and the way we want to be taken in by people.

My everyday style and my stage outfits aren’t really that different. I would say my stage outfits are very slightly exaggerated from my everyday style, but I want to be as me as I possibly can be and let the songs and outfits match, but let the live performance do the talking. I’d say my style was tough boho with a little edge mixed in, complete with the natural beachy waves in my hair. I like to feel comfortable but fierce in what I wear, confident and as though I can take on anything. That’s what style is to me.

Patrick Miller

Get to know Carys Calling a little more by following her on Twitter. Listen to Seeing Red on SoundCloud here.