“It’s there when it sounds as if it’s always existed” - Catherine Anne Davies //

We speak with The Anchoress about her latest album The Art of Losing, which is a deeply personal album tackling various themes around loss. Catherine experienced a lot of loss during the writing of the album, which led to tackling the subject matter head on in her lyrics. So we talk about how it is to write and live with lyrics that personal, and how she doesn't consider the lyrics in any way cathartic, as much as just a way to put her feelings down on paper. We also talk about her very deliberate writing process and how her background in English literature studies probably implicitly informs the way she writes, but how she doesn't take any direct inspiration from the world of literature or poetry when it comes to music and lyrics.

Catherine has her own podcast called The Art of Losing, which deals with the topic of loss from a wider perspective than just lyrically. Have a listen to that as well!

"There are so many lines I like the look of but hate the sound of." // Ben Cooper (Radical Face) discusses his songwriting style with us, and deep-dives into the meaning behind some of his better known songs. We get an insight into his overall songwriting process; how he writes, rewrites and re-rewrites to get the perfect lyrics, but also the specific challenges he sets himself for each album, how constraints help him write better and how he puts narrative before the actual words on the page. Not surprising, for someone who wrote a concept spanning 3 albums (plus bonus content)!