FEATURE: Spotlight: Lucy Deakin — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

Lucy Deakin

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I think that this…

is one of the most fertile and interesting times for music. Even though platforms like TikTok have meant Lucy Deakin can connect with a wide audience, this is not an artist who is a ‘TikTok star’. Her success and acclaim has come through hard work, incredible songs and an ambition and passion that is hard to ignore. Someone who is geared for many years in the music industry, she is among our most promising artists. Based in London, I have known about her music for a while now. Someone that people should follow now, there is no doubt this year will be one where she will break through. One of the names to watch closely, her latest single, BITTER, came out in December. It also ranks alongside my favourite singles of 2022. It is hard to categorise and define Deakin’s music. BITTER has this swagger and confidence combined with a catchy chorus and some wonderful vocals from Deakin! Her music is always so fresh, with every track offering something different. I could not find any interviews with Deakin from last year, but there is some press from 2021 that taught me a lot. Revealing layers to this extraordinary young artist. I will end with a bit of news/a feature relating to BITTER. I know Deakin has plans to release more music this year. I can see her doing podcasts, lots of live dates and featuring heavily on rotation at various radio stations. It is clear she has an international audience. It would not be so far-fetched to find that, very soon, she is in demand across the U.S. Her music is unique and has her own stamp, yet it is accessible and has a familiarity which means it transcends borders and translates around the world. This is someone who gives her heart and every ounce to music and connecting with her fans!

An artist tipped by NME and other sources as someone to embrace and follow, the Mancunion spoke with Lucy Dakin in 2021 (she was based in Manchester then). A Pop prodigy with a naturally and instantly impactful sound, so many people are excited to see what she releases this year. Such a remarkable talent who seemed determined to have a career in music from a very young age:

“How did you get your start in the music industry? Have you always wanted to sing?

I’m a massive pop stan – I always say my start in the music industry was down to Disney because I used to be obsessed with Hannah Montana and High School Musical. I had a Nintendo Wii and used to play SingStar, which pretty much taught me how to sing because I was tone deaf beforehand!

So did you ever have any formal voice training or was it literally just SingStar that got you where you are today?

Genuinely when I was younger, SingStar! And then I went to university and I studied music, so I had some training. But basically Nintendo should own my career…

Would you say you mostly get your inspiration from media? Or are there some things that you’re inspired by in real life? You’ve got quite a lot of songs that are about the ends of relationships and breakups and things like that, so I’m just hoping for your sake that they’re not all based on life experiences!

Oh no! I’ve taken inspiration from different things which have happened to friends and things like that – I listen to what people have said, and put things together. I get an idea from relationships and situations I have been in, or someone I know or something I’ve seen on TV, and pick different points from it. But then some of them are quite true… It depends on the song.

Has anyone ever recognised themselves or a situation they’ve been in from one of your songs?

I don’t think so. I think people have made speculations and a lot of the time they’ve asked me and they’ve been wrong.

You mentioned a few artists already – Britney Spears, Avril Lavigne and McFly – but are there any other artists you look up to for inspiration?

Miley Cyrus is my number one, Kim Petras, and I think anyone who’s following me on any social media knows that I love Charlie XCX. The majority of people I listen to are solo female artists. I don’t know whether I’m just drawn to a strong woman at the front, but I feel like that’s how I always wanted it to be. I always knew I wanted it to be me on my own, just because everyone who I love and majority of them are strong women at the top.

You’ve had a bit of an image change recently – looking at your Spotify you can see there’s been a massive difference in album covers, quite pink and quite bright at the beginning and then more recently with dark colours and more edgy visuals. Was that a deliberate thing?

Yeah! Initially, I was doing a lot of pink. I don’t know whether it’s because I was doing the whole ‘female pop’ thing or if I felt like I needed to do that to fit in. But particularly with this new project, I was mood boarding what I wanted the look to be, what I wanted the sound to be, but then with all the pictures I got together they didn’t reflect me at all. I just wanted to make sure that it was a progression from the last project, trying to separate it out as much as possible. This girl called Jess was helping me with my styling and she was amazing – she banned me from using pink for a while. But it was all intentional, yes, and I’m so glad I did it.

How important do you think image is for an artist compared to the music you make? Is your persona an integral part of your job?

100%. I think it helps further what you’re trying to say or what the genre is even more. If you look at Lady Gaga – one of the queens of pop in the 2010s era – the meat dress and the outrageous outfits and all of that stuff all helped just amplify everything she was doing musically. And Miley Cyrus’ Bangerz era, the way she dressed, and she cut her hair quite drastically, it all just mirrored how everything changed for her as an artist. It just amplifies what’s going on musically, I think. Those two people specifically, I took massive inspiration from as well, just being bold and going out there and just doing it.

So from a deeper feminist perspective, do you think that’s something that you feel like you have to do as a female artist? Have a recognisable aesthetic that’s just as important as the music?

Yes, 100% and I think it’s sad it’s that way. Generally, a lot of male musicians will go out wearing jeans and a T-shirt for every show – they don’t have to worry about how they look. There are exceptions, but the majority will have just natural-colored hair and a casual outfit, whereas I feel like it’s just expected that I’ll wear something dressy onstage, or Arian Grande for example.

On the flip side, though, I’m not complaining because I love to get to wear something different or something super, super bright or out there, which I wouldn’t usually do. It’s really exciting to be able to do that”.

The Manchester-born and raised artist is an artist that many people discovered during lockdown and the pandemic. I suppose it was frustrating for Lucy Deakin releasing music back in 2021 and not really being able to tour it and get out to the people. Right from her earliest career days, she had this dedicated following. LOCK spent some time with Deakin in 2021. Tipped for success back then, this has been more than fulfilled since. She is someone with her sights set on the future. Someone who has not really collaborated with other artists yet, it does seem like there is one rising star that she would love to get in the studio with:

“Yourself, Barney Artist and Bryson Tiller have been my favourite new artists to discover during lockdown – what have been your favourite music discoveries during lockdown?

That’s amazing to hear – thank you so much. YUNGBLUD is a big one for me – I think he is such an inspiration and completely commands every stage. He does not care what anyone else thinks about him and that is something to be credited for. Also I’ve been loving Baby Queen – she’s so raw but in a super uniquely her way. UPSAHL too is such a great songwriter and I’ve been loving her stuff the past year.

I’ve been following your journey long enough to remember your reaction to Miley Cyrus’ cosign/discovered you – is it still crazy that it happened since you’re a massive fan of hers? Especially after seeing the Dork interview.

Oh my god I’m so glad you mentioned that. That was a moment I’d wanted to happen for my whole life and she finally knows who I am – definitely a pinch me moment. At least I have a talking point for if I ever meet her now.

One thing I’ve noticed through following you on social media is that you have an Instagram fan account dedicated to you – celebrities have them all the time, so is it weird or cool that you have one?

I was always the kid who had fan accounts for people growing up so it’s such a 360 moment and is crazy for me. I’m so grateful that people are so invested – going from streaming a song once to creating a fan account. I definitely don’t take it for granted and I feel so lucky as I’m so early in my career.

You’re from Manchester, an incredibly creative music scene with the likes of your label, Scruff of The Neck, how has the city inspired you regarding people, venues and others?

I definitely think the city helped shape me and add a bit more edge to the pop I’ve been creating – particularly encouraging me to add more guitar based elements to my tracks as it helps translate the tracks live, and Manchester’s live music scene is thriving so that was so important for me to have a good live show.

The northern music scene is buzzing right now, as a lad from Scunthorpe, I love this, so what’s one northern artist or band you’d love to collaborate with?

YUNGBLUD for sure – he is so cool and really pushes boundaries and I think it is so important to have a role model like him”.

I think I first became aware of Lucy Deakin’s music following the release of 2021’s in your head i’m probably crying. That E.P./mini album announced her as an incredible Pop artist carving out her own path and stunning niche. A tremendous talent who blew my socks off straight away, last year was one where she started this new era. DORK reviewed her 2021 E.P. They also reported on her phenomenal new single, BITTER, last month. Big fans of her work, the fact she is courting the attention of big online music sites and magazines underlines what a stunning artists she is. It is clear BITTER is a song Deakin is very proud of:

“Her first release since 2021’s EP, ‘in your head i’m probably crying’, ‘BITTER’ sees Lucy kick off a brand new era in style. In a four star review, Dork praised how Lucy “confidently transforms teenage angst into bubblegum sweet dancefloor fillers” on her last release — on ‘BITTER’, she learns to lean into the rage as she narrates the ending of a toxic relationship.

Celebrating the single release on Twitter with her fans, Lucy shared: “I feel so much more confident in everything I am doing and have never been more proud of my music”.

I was going to publish this feature next week but, inspired by BITTER and keen to share Lucy Deakin’s music and words to those who may not know about her, go and follow her on social media. This year is going to be her biggest one yet, so ensure you give her some backing and love! These may still be early days for her, but it is evident she has a very long career ahead. Who knows what this year will hold. Huge collaborations and radioplay is almost a given. Maybe there will be another E.P. Whatever Lucy Deakin has in store, there is a growing and massive army of fans giving her support. She is turn has a lot of love and respect for them! Many of her songs have given voice and strength to those in need. I am already a big fan of an artist who is…