Liverpool’s new Pop queen, PIXEY, has been one of our favourite acts in the North-West for a good while. Whether it’s her irresistible melodies, insatiable beats or infectious personality, there’s just so much to love. Her sound blends pure Pop sensibilities with a more interesting and complex musical arrangement than your average radio hit. There’s a definite focus on generating grooves to make you move, perhaps originating from her drumming abilities, which injects her sound with such a dance-worthy energy that it's hard to sit still when listening to her music.
Now, PIXEY has just released her debut album ‘Million Dollar Baby’. Ahead of her hometown headline show on September 28th, we spoke with her about the developmental journey she has been on, the powers of collaboration and how taking ownership of her music-making process has allowed her to feel comfortable in creativity.
Photo Credit: Marieke Macklon
Q. What have you learned over the years of writing, recording and releasing music that made you feel ready for your debut album?
A. “I mean I've been doing this since I was 21 and I'm 29 now so that’s like 8 long years. I feel like I've had enough time to develop the skills that I needed to get to the place I needed to get to. I've been exploring different sounds and different production techniques and sort of finding myself over the last few EPs. I think I also needed the album to have that reason to push myself to get to the next level of being a producer and a songwriter, just really pushing myself to up that level from EP to album because it's such a big difference. I also feel more prepared emotionally. I found myself feeling really frustrated over the years because whenever I felt like I was about to have a break it never quite tipped the way I wanted it to. At the same time I've seen people around me have their big breaks and that does make you feel shit sometimes, like you're a failure because you haven’t been an overnight success.
I think the thing with music is it's such a personal thing so it's hard to separate yourself from the art a lot of the time so if you’re music isn’t landing you think it's a reflection of you. What I've learned is that it is a marathon and some people naturally are just ahead of you. I have to remember to ground myself and remind myself I've actually done quite well. So, with the album I'm trying to get myself to a headspace where I can just actually enjoy it and not feel like I have to be this mega success because, at the end of the day, that's not why I do music. I got into music because it was escapism and something that I enjoy. I would say I've sort of come to understand the reasons I’m making music and not to lose sight of that”.
Q. You’ve collaborated with artists like NOISY, Cassia and Abbie Ozard in recent times. What do you get out of these experiences?
A. “Firstly, I was already a fan of those artists. They’ve been on my radar since I started so to be able to work with them was really exciting. It's good to get insights from other artists as well which is the coolest thing. I'd never sort of sat and spoke to other artists about their experiences, I’d only ever really spoken to labels or management. So to get the chance to speak to them about how they were feeling about their own music or advice from their own unique perspectives and experiences was invaluable”.
Q. How was the experience of writing ‘miss american dream’ with Abbie Ozard and shooting the music video together?
A. “I had this old demo that I'd written that actually didn't make the cut on the album but I just thought it would suit Abbie so much. So, I just took all the vocals off and just showed her the sort of skeleton of the track and she was like ‘yeah, this is a bit of me’. She changed a couple of things and brought it to life and I actually think it suited her voice way better than it suited mine. I initially wasn’t going to be on the song but when she asked me to feature I was super excited and I like my verse. I'm glad it got to have its own little moment. Then we shot the video and I think it's one of my favorite music videos I've ever been a part of. I got my little convertible car and drove down to the church in Sandbach and it was such a nice day. I turned up and all the girls looked so beautiful and they’d done up the church amazingly to look like something out of an Ethel Cain music video. I loved the concept, it wasn’t worlds away from my own aesthetic and had that lovely old school film kind of vibe. I love Abbie, I can't speak highly enough of her. She's so funny and talented and I just love the way she writes plus she's got an amazing attitude. So it just felt so easy to work with her”.
Q. A lot of your past work has a really sunny, euphoric vibe to it. Is this something that you brought into this album project too?
A. “It’s funny, when I listen back to my old music, it’s so much sunnier and sugary than I intended, I always wanted it to be a bit grungier, but I don’t think that’s completely my fault. When you're working with people that you don't really know they often just take one listen and go ‘that's what she wants’ and kind of box you in. I don't think I'd ever had a project where I’d just been able to execute exactly what was in my head up until now. The album is a little less sunny and on the nose”.
Q. Did producing the album yourself allow you to capture those initial ideas in your head more accurately?
A. “Yeah, 100%. It's the most freeing thing ever because you don't have to rely on anybody to get what you want. I used to suffer from horrible agoraphobia and anxiety and I found the thought of going into a studio super overwhelming. So, I thought that even if I became a jack of all trades and master of none then I could at least be capable of putting something together and avoid having to speak to anyone. I would never have been a musician if relying on going into a studio was my only option because I wouldn't have been comfortable at all and I think you have to be comfortable to be creative”.
Q. Have you also been able to be more authentic and true to yourself lyrically on this album?
A. “Yeah, again, when I look at my old songs, a lot of the lyrics are very kitsch and sugary but I think the album ebbs and flows. It has some more personal themes that I’ve never covered before. The first track is called ‘Manpower’ which is a kind of ‘I'm here, fuck you’ kind of thing and then there’s ‘Million Dollar Baby’ which is a little bit more vulnerable. It's kind of my experience in the industry and feeling that you’re kind of at the mercy of all the rich dudes in the industry. It's very existential. It’s just all my inward thoughts and feelings which isn't something I usually write about. There’s even a song on the album called ‘Oxygen’ about a really traumatic experience which I’ve never written about. I can't even listen to that song because it's about such a horrible experience but I wanted to write an album that, if I was to just pop my clogs next week, I’d feel like all my thoughts, feelings and experiences would be in there”.
Do And then like love, but then there's some more like love songs in there, which I'm not, again I don't really write love songs, but this time I just wanted to, and like, Love Like Heaven is actually my favourite track on the album. That is like, one I put my whole heart into, and like I just love the sonic sound, like the sonic landscape of that track is like, And it's got, like, such a cool drum beat in it.
Q. Which track on the album were you most excited for people to hear?
A. “‘Love Like Heaven’ is actually my personal favourite track on the album. That is one I put my whole heart into and I just love the sonic landscape of that track and it's got such a cool drum beat in it. But, the one I'm most excited for other people to hear is ‘Give a Little of Your Love’. I think, all round, people have said that's the best track on the album, all my friends say it’s their favourite and, even when I play it live, I always get asked about it”.
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