Talking to the Guilford singer moving away from her folk roots.
Following the release of her debut single “Tricks”, Annabel Allum is back with a slightly different sound to her folk origins. New track “Rich Backgrounds” is a raucous and bold journey into slacker territory, with snarling vocals and crashing guitar.
The indie rock single shows the skill of the Guilford based singer and went down a storm at her recent SXSW shows. An exciting glimpse of what her new EP has in store, we sat down with Annabel to find out more about her.
How did you first get into creating music?
I’ve always been singing from a young age, and always took part in school plays and stuff. As I went through my teens I needed as many ways as possible to express myself, and so I started to teach myself guitar. I’ve always written poetry as a way to process my own feelings and eventually all three of these things aligned and I started to write songs.
Who would you say are your main musical inspirations?
Velvet Underground, PJ Harvey, Kurt Cobain.
Can you tell us about your newest single “Rich Backgrounds”?
It’s a song about rich kids that get everything that they want. It stemmed from trust fund bands that get plummeted into the industry without trying. So many bands these days succeed because they come from a wealthy background, rather than succeeding because they’ve put time and effort into their craft. It’s frustrating, and hard work for all us musicians trying to get somewhere without much cash to spare at all.
What was the creative process for the song?
I wrote the basis of the song as a drunken piss take, and then I found a lot of enjoyment out of playing it. I worked on structure and sounds and then took it to the studio with Adrian Hall, in which we figured out the rest of the instrumentation and effects.
“I thrive off of making people feel something, opening up their minds and getting into a conversation without having one.”
The track is a distinct change in style from your previous material. Can you tell us a bit about this change?
“Rich Backgrounds” needed to be loud, noisy and heard. That is always how that song was gonna be, it could have never been another folk tune. I have a lot of different sides to my personality which I don’t feel can be confined to one genre of music.
The track comes from your upcoming EP, what can we expect from this?
Noise, diversity, a reflection of a state of mind.
You’ve just got back from SXSW, how was it?
Insane! I literally had the time of my life. I met some incredible people who I now consider to be great friends of mine. There was so much to see and so much to do, I wish it could have gone on for longer. I really enjoyed taking time out of my schedule and going to conferences and seeing some of my favourite upcoming bands. I’m really happy with how my showcases went and not to mention the beautiful weather!
What’s your favourite thing about performing live?
Connecting with people! I thrive off of making people feel something, opening up their minds and getting into a conversation without having one. Also, it’s the biggest high for me.
What else do you have lined up for 2017?
Festivals, writing, working.
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