Making your debut in the world of music is no easy task to master. But, newcomer Ladybyrd is doing it with ease. Dropping her debut single, “Too Close To Call” hacked straight from her first EP, the artist gives us a taste of her angsty-tinged and syrupy-sounding work, and it is a sound sure to have you craving more.

Discussing her debut, the artist divulges, “I’m definitely more of a private person than I’d like to be, and any form of art that you make can make you quite vulnerable, and be a bit daunting to share. That said, I am super excited for people to listen. I hope people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!”

As she looked to make her debut, the artist took some time to chat to Wonderland about the nerves that come with dropping a first track, what we can expect from her upcoming EP and the type of collaboration she hopes to work on in the future. Head below to enjoy our interview with Ladybyrd…

Hi Ladybyrd, how are you? Where are we speaking to you from right now?
Hey, I’m doing well, thank you. I’m currently sitting in a coffee shop below my flat in London, watching the weather switch between thunderstorms and warm sun every hour!

First of all, what inspired your name, Ladybyrd?
Ladybird was a nickname that my grandfather – who I never got to meet – gave to my mum, who then passed it on to me. Although it’s personal to me, I think it’s a beautiful name that represents my music really well. We changed the spelling slightly as we thought it was more interesting – and it reminds me of the famous British composer, William Byrd.

How long have you been singing and making music for?
I have been singing for as long as I can remember and have been writing songs since I was about ten. It has always been my favourite thing to do. Learning the piano and guitar helped me a lot and studying classical music and theory was fun, but I definitely came into my own when I started learning my favourite pop songs by ear. I was blessed to have grown up in a music-obsessed household – my dad would often be playing the piano and my little sister also adores singing, so we would always be harmonising with each other and rehearsing duets for school competitions which were always sweet, but also very noisy for my parents!

You are releasing your debut single, “Too Close To Call”, which is exciting! How are you feeling about the world hearing your first official track?
I’m actually quite nervous! I’m definitely more of a private person than I’d like to be, and any form of art that you make can make you quite vulnerable, and be a bit daunting to share. That said, I am super excited for people to listen. I hope people enjoy it as much as I enjoyed making it!

What inspired the track?
This track was super interesting to write. I keep tons of lyric ideas on my notes app and I finally put them to use with this song. I imagined this very specific couple in a secret relationship and wrote a small story around it. It’s about being infatuated with someone you know you shouldn’t be with. It was not based on my life at first, but I’ve been able to relate to my own lyrics since, which has actually been quite comforting. In the studio, I had just two chords on a loop out of the computer and the melody came to me and matched so well with the lyrics in my notes and it went from there…

And, it is hacked straight from your debut EP which will be dropping later this year. Is this track reflective of the tone of the EP, or is it an eclectic body of work?
I would say it’s a more eclectic body of work. Even though I have been developing my sound for a while, it’s still early days. My next single will be quite different, especially instrumentally, but I love both of them equally.

Do you have a favourite track from the EP?
I think it’s this one – ever since writing the first verse, I loved it. It is certainly my favourite lyrically. One of my producers says out of the dozen or so songs we’ve done, it’s steadily turned into one of his favourites! But friends and family who have heard the others would definitely disagree, their favourite ones are yet to come.

I know you state the likes of Phoebe Bridgers, Maisie Peters and Gracie Abrams as inspirations! Do you perhaps have one dream collaborator out of your inspirations?
Yes, I have many musical inspirations with the biggest one being Taylor Swift. But if I had to collaborate with one person it would probably have to be Hans Zimmer. For me, nothing beats a good film score – I couldn’t live without listening to them. I’m a big fan of cinematic songs with sweeping string parts and I often find myself singing over some of his pieces. He is a genius who uses technology in such an innovative way, so it would incredible to learn from him.

With this being the start of your career, is there anything that you want the world to know about you before they hear your music?
I think I’ll let my music do the talking – hopefully, people will see a glimpse of who I am through it.

Aside from your musical debut, what are you most excited for in 2022?
I’m really excited about doing a lot of new things, going to new places and meeting new people. I’m still working on fulfilling a lot of the plans 16-year-old me made just before the pandemic hit. Lockdown wasn’t easy for going to gigs, and I’m going to a Phoebe Bridgers concert in July which is probably the next thing I’m most excited about!