Real, raw and revealing, Stevie Parker is the intellectual singer/songwriter who’s ambient production and rich, intricately layered sound has marked her as a pop star in the making. Her hauntingly beautiful voice, which she performs with delicacy and grace, is way beyond that of your average 24-year-old. Lyrically, she crafts her lines intelligently, but is often brutally revealing; while not every subject touched upon is completely autobiographical, her lyrics resonate deeply and are incredibly emotionally charged.

Parker’s new EP “Blue”, released this November, is full of tracks that manage to encompass lovelorn emotions and deep-seated nostalgia for places and people gone by. Her evocative vocals are clear in title track “Blue”, where sweeping and ethereal melodies catch on your emotional vulnerabilities and explore ideas surrounding modern sexuality and relationships. Produced by Jimmy Hogarth, Parker’s EP “Blue” is an emotionally moving collection of tracks that prove her to be worlds away from your average shiny, sparkly pop star.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=YSfTA3ESe_E

Sum up your sound in five words?

Electronic soul influenced dreamy pop!

Tell us about your debut EP “Blue”? What was the starting point and what are the themes you explore?

Well the songs on the EP cover a few years – I wrote ‘Siren’ when I was 17 and covered Different for Girls a year or so later – and yet Better Off and Blue were born in more recent history. So the theme isn’t at all defined by one point in time or one experience, more so a recurring feeling. I guess most people can relate to feeling a degree of fairly consistent sadness in or due to relationships, for a myriad of reasons, even in solid relationships there is still an element of sadness that travels alongside them, for everyone. This EP is kind of just a collection of songs that document that feeling from a variety of perspectives, all of which are still personal to me.

What was it like working with Jimmy Hogarth? Who do you like to work with and how do they inspire you?

Working with Jimmy was a huge turning point for me! I was always clear about what I wanted to say but never so much about how to say it – musically speaking that is. Collaborating can be so enabling, there were always ideas I had and things I wanted to explore that I was restricted from because of a lack of training or technicality, and working with Jimmy meant that nothing was beyond possibility.

Do you prefer being in the studio or performing live? What’s the difference between the two?

The studio feels a more slow burning experience, there’s less immediate pressure and you can reflect upon and edit things as and when you need to do it feels a very conducive space for creativity. I do prefer being on stage though, there’s an immediacy to performing that is unrivalled by anything really. It’s fight or flight, and sometimes it doesn’t work – which can feel gross – but when it does, there’s this sense of achievement and personal power that is pretty unbeatable.

What’s your writing process like? Are you spontaneous or do you carefully plan?

I definitely don’t plan – I prefer to just be organic about it and, without sounding like a prat, write from the heart. I find if I just allow what’s lurking in my consciousness come to the surface that I recognise quite quickly what I’m writing about, and once I know that I can tie it all together.

Which artists and what genres influence your sound and what is it about them that you love?

Predominantly female singer songwriters introduced me to wanting to sing and write, I have always been obsessed with the female voice and perspective – later I became more interested in pop music, especially the alternative, electronic and dance genres – bands like The Maccabees, The XX and Massive Attack kind of drew me into that world

You’ve performed at lots of festivals over the summer – what was that experience like and did you have any favourites?

It was great! It’s interesting to see so many examples of festivals and the ways in which they differ, there really is a totally different demographic to each. My highlights were Lattitude and Wilderness, Lattitude was big and diverse and there was loads to see, Wilderness was just beautiful, lakes to swim in, surrounded by forest – it was pretty magical

Why do you make music?

God, I don’t really know. I was always drawn to it naturally but never really set out to be an ‘artist’. But I think a lot of what I value in myself is tied up with openness and encouraging others to feel safe doing the same – and I guess writing music is the ultimate extension of that. It gives me a sense of purpose.

What do you set out to make people feel with your music?

Nothing and everything I guess – I just want people to take from it what they need to, whether it’s one line that resonates with them, or the entire theme across the record. I think at the least people can use music to enhance how they’re already feeling.

I also think music is just a good platform, politically, socially – whatever really, it’s a chance to be brutally honest and not necessarily put down for it.

You’re recording your debut album! Can you give us any hints as to what it’s going to be like?

It’s finished! It’s definitely themed mostly around relationships and the sadnesses that go with them, much like the BLUE EP, but it kind of extends on that too, there are a couple of lighter tracks, some stuff coming from a happier place. The record sort of goes on a journey.

What else have you got in the pipeline?

I have a Bristol show on the 29th of November at The Louisiana and a couple more London shows coming up, The Victoria in Dalston on the 30th of November and The Bussey Buidling in Peckham on the 14th of December- all with really great support acts which I’m very excited about. And then there’s also Simple Things festival which should be fun…And besides that I’m working on my next release!