Lights, Camera, Questions: Before the show with Lydia Prettyman
A rising indie-alt artist based in Manchester, Lydia Prettyman is a lyrical powerhouse known for building creative worlds through her music.
No stranger to confessional journal entries and connecting with fans at her live shows, Lydia recently released her debut EP, Feeling Everything At Once. With five tracks reaching over 77k Spotify streams to date, Lydia’s EP is a stellar example of vulnerable lyricism and addictive indie pop hooks.
In celebration of her EP release, Lydia took to the stage of Yes (Basement), Manchester for her debut headline show on April 14th. Though, before fans arrived, we talked with Lydia backstage about everything from the songwriting process of her latest project to her excitement for such a landmark show.
When did you decide that music was something you wanted to pursue professionally?
"I feel like it should be a really straightforward answer, but to be honest, I didn't really know until maybe I was like, 20/21. I went to uni and studied philosophy and theology - completely, like, just not that. But I wrote a lot of music in my free time, and that's just how I spent my downtime basically. About a year after that, I was like, ‘oh, now I want to make a demo’. I didn't know how to do that, but then I met Dan in my band and he helped me make my first ever demo! I realised it was so fun, and then I thought, maybe we could just do this a lot.
So, I'd say it was kind of when I got to a point in my life where I was like, what do I want to do? I knew I wanted to do something creative and I enjoyed writing music and thought, maybe it could be a career."
Was your early music influenced by your family and upbringing?
"My sisters are quite musical and we all grew up taking music lessons, but my parents don't play any music instruments themselves and the rest of my family isn't super musical. We did grow up listening to lots of music, and it was definitely a massive thing in our house. I grew up going to loads of gigs and things so, I don't know, it just came from growing up and learning instruments and things!"
How does it feel knowing that the EP is finally out in the world?
"It's quite a weird feeling. I think because when you're recording music and you're in the studio for a while and sitting on songs for ages, you listen to them so many times. When the EP came out, I was like well, I've already heard these songs so many times. It was weird because obviously I know what they all sound like, but it was weird when they came out because everybody else could now hear them, too.
I'd send the odd songs to people being like, ‘oh what do you think of this’ or play them to friends, but when anyone can then access a song or the EP... yeah, it's completely different and it's weird that it's they are so accessible, but it's also great, so I'm super excited that it's finally out.”
Can you tell us about your writing process and how you usually begin writing a song?
“I keep a little notes app on my phone all the time - its just full of lyric ideas. Just lyrics from the songs I've written or words that I like, or song names that I think would be cool or anything like that. I'd love to be the type of person that has a little notebook and jots everything down, but I did that once in my like generic notebook and then I was like ‘my hand hurts’. So I thought, I can just type - that just shows how technology based we are!
Dan wrote the chords for Myself to Blame and Craft and he was like, ‘oh, have you got anything for this or any vocal stuff?’ So then that's how we did those, and the others I had either started in the notes app or by writing some chords."
Do you have any favourite lyrics from the EP and what do they mean to you?
"I feel like Craft is one of my favourite lyric-wise, but I think that's because it's really metaphorical. Dan also helped me write a couple of the lyrics for Craft, and they were sort of just these metaphorical ideas that we came up with. With Made To Love You, it's quite simple, but I just love the lyrics, "I was made to love you, but we're worlds apart" - they can cut quite deep. But yeah, they all have different lyrics and meanings in different ways.
Myself To Blame is a bit more female rage-ish and what you're saying is like, "I only have myself to blame, say you needed her to numb the pain." It's all like ‘ugh’. So even though there's not really a big story behind it, It's just like kind of comes when you're writing. It definitely flowed. I think they did most of the time as when I'm writing, the lyrics just kind of come to me!
In Ribcage, I had the verse but didn’t know what to do for the chorus. But then the lyrics for the chorus came as soon as we got the chords, so I was like, ‘oh, this makes it a little bit easier.’ It just totally depends on the song. I think sometimes it comes very naturally and then the odd song I have to really like work to think like, what am I trying to say? Or like, what do these lyrics even mean half the time?’”
If you had to describe the EP in one sentence, how would you put it?
“I would say the EP is a collection of lots of feelings and experiences over the last sort of two to three years of my life and it's kind of a mix of finding yourself in your early 20s. Whether it's heartbreak, nostalgia, love, understanding yourself or learning to enjoy your own company, it kind of engrosses on all those themes - kind of like growing up!”
What's your favourite song on the EP?
"At the moment, it’s probably Easy. Maybe it's just because we've got a gig tonight, but it's my favourite to play live right now. It's really fun, and it's one of those songs where you don't have to think too hard when you're playing - you can just enjoy it. With some songs, you're really thinking about it or being like, ‘right, I need to lock in with this guitar part,’ or whatever, but Easy is quite an (ironically) easy one for me.”
What's your go to pre-show song?
"At the moment, it’s been Good Luck, Babe! by Chappell Roan. I feel like as soon as that starts playing, I'm in the zone. And also Fifteen Minutes by Sabrina Carpenter."
Do you have any pre-show routines or superstitions?
"Maybe not superstitions, but I think it’s habitual now that every time I play a gig, I always try to drink loads of peppermint tea. That’s like, my vocal warm-up. If I don’t have any peppermint tea, I’m like, ‘My voice is not gonna be good.’ I haven’t had any today, though… Also, I always have a beer, which isn’t the healthiest, but I’ve started to develop healthier habits too. I’ve got a nebulizer now, which is like a mist for your throat."
So, how do you feel about tonight being your debut headline show?
“I feel nervous because I find the scariest gigs are the ones where I know loads of people in the audience. Like, if I’m playing a gig where I don’t know anyone, I’m so much more confident because realistically they don’t know me. As soon as I see someone I know, I’m like, ‘Ahh - they know what I’m singing about, or who I’m singing about, or they know what I’ve been through.’ It’s so much more vulnerable.
But in saying that, I’m really excited, because it’s also really nice to know so many people want to come. When I went downstairs and saw loads of people I knew, I was like, ‘Oh my god - you’re here? You’re here? You wanted to come and paid money to come?’ So yeah, I’m actually buzzing. I am nervous, but I’m keeping busy before the set so I don’t overthink it.”
Do you have a dream venue you want to perform at one day?
“I think the O2 Apollo would be cool. That would be so scary, but I saw someone there a couple of weeks ago and it’s a really cool venue and it’s massive. Maybe the O2 Academy Brixton or somewhere like that in London - like a really big, but intimate venue.”
What influenced the choice of outfit tonight?
“Artists like Nieve Ella and Siobhan Winifred, but there's loads of really great musicians that influence me! I'm always looking at what other people are wearing on stage or how they make their outfits look cool. So I’ve been focusing more on accessories lately - this dress is just a black dress, but I added a belt and loads of jewellery. The boots are like a staple.”
Do you have any plans for another project in the future?
“I can’t say too much, but we’re planning the next one. Three of the of the songs we are playing tonight are actually unreleased, so EP two may be in the works...”
Do you have any advice for your younger or other aspiring musicians?
“I’d say one piece of advice to myself would be: sometimes you feel like you haven’t made any progress unless you’ve jumped from playing a 30 capacity venue to selling out 2,000, or gotten a massive support slot, but it’s all about the little steps.
Like, a year ago, I wouldn’t have thought I’d be headlining YES Basement, or have gotten such a lovely response from my EP, or all the great things that have happened in the last year. So yeah, look at the small steps that are all adding up - that’s my advice to any young musician. Not many people are overnight successes, if that’s even a thing. Especially with social media, there are so many paths now.”
Is there anything else you want fans to know about what’s coming next?
"Just that we’ve got some cool things coming later in the year! A couple of live sessions - those are the next thing. And yeah, my next EP. We're just going to keep going, keep getting better and hopefully play more gigs around the country too."
We can’t wait to see what’s next for Lydia, and so that you don’t miss any future announcements, make sure to follow Lydia Prettyman on Instagram and stream the rest of her music on Spotify: