INTERVIEW: Pete Lawrie

Just a couple of days ago, I featured a new face (and voice) on Rarities, the very talented and passionate singer-singwriter Pete Lawrie (you can read that post here). Born in Liverpool (on Penny Lane funnily enough!) but a Welshman through and through, Pete forms part of a creative family who ensured he was embedded in music from the beginning. Summers spent in his family's car on the drive to the south of France, where the soundtrack included The Beatles, Paul Simon, Elton John Pink Floyd, are some of Pete's happiest memories, an experience that led him to realise just how much music means to him. Music- writing music and playing music- has always been the only thing this young man wanted to do.

Recently, Pete released his debut album, A Little Brighter. Brimming with a fine balance of infectious, pop-rock treats and a generous helping of gentler, more moving gems, the album will surely garner much praise for Pete and impress his ever-growing following of fans. Eager ears who have seen the singer-songwriter in the many venues he has played across the UK will no doubt feel the wait for this debut was definitely worth it.

Pete will be hitting our Irish shore this coming June, when he will take to the stage at the Body & Soul Festival at Ballinlough Castle, Co Westmeath on 18th and 19th June, which will also pay host to the likes of Lisa Hannigan and Fat Freddy's Drop.

Earlier today I had the pleasure of speaking with Pete, when we touched on his music, his memories and how he feels about visiting Ireland for the very first time. Here's what the very lovely gent had to say for himself...

Elaine: Congratulations on the album, Pete, it's a fantastic debut. Are you pleased with the reception it has been getting so far?

Pete: Thank you very much. Well, I’ve only been really going on what’s been said said on Facebook and Twitter and feedback from there, but it’s been great. It all seems positive so yeah, I’m really happy with it.

E: If you could sum it up briefly, what do you think this album best says about you and the kind of artist you are?

P: Well, many of these songs have been with me for quite some time. I wrote some of them 4 years ago, and obviously I’ve changed in the last 4 years! Many of the songs on the album are about me, about personal things. Things that happened to me, my experiences, my friends’ experiences. It’s quite nostalgic in a way. It says a lot about me and my friends and a lot about what it was like for us as we growing up. I try to write from the heart and I like my songs to be quite open and honest. I hope that comes across in the songs on the album.

E: You worked with Rollo Armstrong on the record. How was that experience?

P: It was brilliant. He’s actually a great friend of mine as well as being someone great to work with. I’m going back to work with him in June and I can’t wait. He has this great place in Norfolk and this lovely family all around him. Going down there is more like being on a holiday than actually working and I think that really comes across in the music, you know. It’s how music should be and what music should sound like.

E: “Paperthin” is one of the many highlights on the album for me. The backing vocals are Olly’s from Turin Brakes, right?

P: Yes, that’s right.

E: I particularly love the production on ‘Paperthin’. The effects, like the record crackle and radio interference you use, are really fantastic. They offer a familiar or almost comforting vibe to the song, if you know what I mean. Was this your idea? If so, why do you choose to have it on the album?

P: You know, I’m really glad you’ve said that because no one’s ever really picked up on that before. That is also my favourite track on the record and the only one I produced myself. Yeah, that makes me really happy that you’ve noticed it. In the new album I hope to put a lot of those production effects into the songs. I love those elements, the creaking and the crackling; I think it really puts you in the room. It has a nostalgic feel and invites you in. Everyone knows that feeling of putting on an old dusty record and I just love the sound of that and wanted to get that into the song. So I’m really, really happy you have mentioned that!

E: I adore ‘Jimmy and the Birds on Fire’ as well. It feels like such a personal song and the poignant video really adds to that. Where did the inspiration for it all come from?

P: That’s definitely the most honest song on the record. It’s a completely honest account, a diary entry almost. It’s about something that happened me and a friend of mine, Jimmy, obviously, and about something that happened in our friendship. It’s about being a man, being selfish and being too proud. It's about falling out and it then being too late to do anything about it. I really wanted the production to reflect that, to be about looking back and that feeling that you get. It’s bittersweet really and about missing someone.

E: Speaking of bittersweet, you worked with the brilliant Ross Cohen for the video for ‘A Little Brighter’, which I think is so moving. Where did the idea for the collaboration come from?

P: That was fairly random actually. Ross was a friend of my ex-girlfriend. He was doing this film course in L.A. and asked if I would be okay with him doing a video for one of my songs. So I said yes and when he sent me what he had done I was blown away. I was so happy because I think it perfectly sums up the song.

E: It's incredible. You’ve toured extensively, Pete, opening for Paolo Nutini in Albert Hall, just to mention one, but you also do small club gigs around London. What is your favourite type of gig to play?

P: They’re both great but very different, I would say. The Albert Hall gig is a real event, you know, one you will remember for the rest of your life. You leave it really feeling like you have achieved something. The small venues are better for making connections with people, with the audience. There is a better atmosphere and you really do make that connection, which is what playing live is about. So while the bigger gigs are about a sense of occasion, the smaller ones are definitely about the connection.

E: If you could head off on a tour bus with any band or act for the summer who would it be?

P: I would have to say Paul Simon. I am a huge fan of his and I know he is touring at the moment. I love him as a lyricist as well. That might be very ambitious of me to say, but yeah, I would definitely choose him.

E: I’ve read about how you come from a very musical family. What is your earliest memory of music?

P: When I was younger, every summer my family would drive to the south of France, which is a really long drive. And every year Paul Simon’s Graceland would be playing out through the car stereo and I think it was the first record I fell in love with. It’s definitely my earliest memory of hearing music that I loved and becoming really aware of how music can make you feel.

E: If you could name one album then that is filled with memories for you, that takes you right back to some good times, would Graceland be it?

P: I would say so, yeah.

E: Summer’s here, which is my favourite time of year because it means festivals and outdoor gigs! Us Irish folk are lucky in that we’re getting to see you at this year’s Body & Soul Festival. Are you excited about doing that?

P: Definitely, I’m really excited. I just finished this tour of the Highlands and like I did on that, I’m going to play Body & Soul solo. I was kind of terrified because, you know, performing without the support of a band can be a little scary. But the Highlands tour gave me some experience of that and taught me that it’s a really good way of allowing people to really hear your work and your music. So it’s going to be really stripped back. And I’ve never been to Ireland so I can’t wait.

E: There are some great artists playing it this year, including our own Lisa Hannigan, who is amazing...

P: Yeah you guys have some incredible artists over there. I love Fionn Regan in particular; I think he’s great.

E: He is and his new single is fantastic. I was really impressed by it.

P: He has a new single?

E: He sure does, yeah. ‘100 Acres of Sycamore’ it's called. It's beautiful. A bit of a departure from his older stuff but lovely. It's really layered instrumentally.

P: Oh wow, because I know he got a lot of exposure with the Mercury nomination but he kind of went off the radar a bit. I'll definitely check that out.

E: Just to finish up, Pete, have you anything you'd like to say to Rarities' readers? Any words of wisdom?

P: Well…I wouldn’t presume to have any words of wisdom for anyone really! But I would just like to say that I’m really looking forward to getting to Ireland and playing for people.

E: Great! Pete, thank you so much for speaking with me; it’s been a pleasure.

P: You’re welcome. And thank you very much.

If you'd like to find out more about Pete Lawrie, pay a visit to his official website or Facebook page, or check him out live at this year's Body & Soul Festival.

Here's the utterly gorgeous 'Paperthin':

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