Fenne Lily 'Introducing' Interview

How did you know when this record was “done”?
Song-wise, when I wrote Elliott. That was the last piece of the puzzle. I wanted to make a record that reflected my resilience, and when I felt like that was done I stopped writing. And then along came Elliott which, at the time, seemed like maybe it would be the start of the next chapter but I realised that, as much as I’d consciously made the decision to write about myself and not focus too much on the people who hurt me, I hadn’t paid attention to the people who still love me. I never decide what a song’s about before I write it, that becomes clear after the fact, sometimes a long time after, but it was immediately clear that Elliott was about my dad’s relationship with abandonment and how that pain somehow follows him at a distance, to the point where I feel I almost inherited it. So that nod to both  his upbringing and my own, how he struggled with a bad dad yet became a phenomenal one; that felt like an acknowledgement of where I’ve come from and almost contextualised where I’ve ended up. But generally speaking I had to stop making changes to mixes at Christmas — everyone said please stop we need to see our families stop adding BVs.  

Do you have a favorite place/environment to write or record?
Generally I find it difficult to record on the road, I need to be totally comfortable and know that nobody can hear me trying out bad lines. So home. The start of everything seems to arrive at night and the following days are for editing and demoing. I have a roof terrace surrounded by trees and I like to see them, I need as many windows and doors open. Preferably I’ll have coffee and cigarettes, even though that seems counter intuitive, and sometimes someone in another part of my flat as a reminder that time’s passing or I lose track of everything.   

Of all the custom grocery products in the “Solipsism” video, which was your favorite?
The cereal box design floored me — I think secretly I’ve always wanted to be a cartoon, so that was finally realised. Having said that, the attention to detail on the sardine tins is madness, there’s a little blurb written by the designer, Katrina, and the barcode is my birthday. She went in hard and it’s a shame you can’t see that on camera but I liked knowing it was there. That whole art department shocked me with their perfectionism — every label was hand designed and applied and there was hundreds of products.  

How did the idea for The BathTime show come about?
Through quarantine I felt like I was having better, longer, more far reaching conversations with my friends than before — putting in the leg work and speaking more freely because there wasn’t much else to distract me. It was cathartic. At the same time I was doing interviews for the album campaign and getting frustrated with being asked the same handful of question — there’s more to artists than how they started out and what their inspirations are, and rarely is that opportunity to express a personality allowed in standard interview settings. So it was kind of a reaction to that annoyance — I’ve toured with and met so many musicians over the last few years and I wanted to ask them (and have them ask me) the kind of questions I knew wouldn’t be asked by a journalist. Have an actual human conversation and show a side of their character that maybe wouldn’t come across in other press. I actually don’t like baths, though, the pun title came before I fully realised ‘ah, now I’ll have to take a bunch of baths’.   

If you weren’t doing music what would you be doing right now?
Honestly, thinking about this frightens me. Music has become so much a part of my identity I’m not sure who I’d be otherwise. I came straight out of school into this, and my main plan was to do a fine art degree and go into something visual-arts based. Strangely I never looked further than the next year or two; I never had a fully formed life plan. When I was a kid I wanted to be a surfer, a mum, and 6ft tall. So far none of that’s worked out.  

Who is another artist — musician or not — you would like to introduce us to?
I’m doing three. Author - Richard Brautigan, I found a lot of inspiration in his novels and his approach to describing the mundane in a poetic way that seems totally devoid of pretence. Visual artist - there’s a Polish painter called Zdzisław Beksiński, he trained as an architect but moved into doing sculpture and paintings. It’s dystopian surrealism, hellscapes reflecting the horrors of the second world war. They’re incredibly detailed and give me a physical reaction which I don’t often get from art. He was stabbed to death by his land lady’s son because he wouldn’t lend him $100 — brilliantly strange guy, amazing paintings. And musician … Willie J Healey. I feel like I talk about him way too much, he just released an album called Twin Heavy, it’s already my favourite album of this fucked up year, he’s incredible. 
 

Lastly, please pick 2-5 records you would like from anywhere in our store, and include a line or two about each.

Shit. Wow ok. I’m big into Early Day Miners at the moment, especially Placer Found and Night People — an obvious comparison but a lot of it feels pretty close to American Football, those really satisfying mathy, pop-punky guitar parts that all fall into one lovely noodle soup. So either of those records for playing obnoxiously loud. That opening line for Night People, on "Hold Me Down" — to sing ‘hold me’ I picture a hug, but followed by ‘hold me down’ it’s a savage blow. I fall for that trick but I like that trick. The new Jason Molina is everything I wanted it to be and more, he can do no wrong. I was late to the party but what a fucking party — Joe, my guitarist, introduced me to Magnolia Electric Co. and Songs: Ohia on the same day, it was almost too much. "Lioness" is up there in my favourite songs of my short life list. Not many voices melt me but his really does. NAP EYES! Snapshot of a Beginner. The intro for "Fool Thinking Beginner", those washy guitars, and that chorus melody — I kind of wish I’d written it but it wouldn’t sound right, they’ve got such particular delivery, instrumentally and vocally, that sounds like they all have a sense of humour but also feel a lot. Which I appreciate in people. I sometimes need a break from music with lyrics, it sounds weak but it’s necessary for me. Reading to instrumental music gets me through van drives on tour — so I’m picking William Eggleston. I actually just got a piano and leave my phone on to record my improvisations, and listening to his stream-of-consciousness was a lot to do with that decision to revisit piano after years of not playing. He looks very kind, too, I like to think that emotionally intelligent-sounding music couldn’t be made by someone who isn’t. I hope I’m right. Lastly, I haven’t spent a lot of time with this record but I’d like to change that  — Gordi, Our Two Skins. Her voice on "Aeroplane Bathroom" is faultless and the whole thing seems to perfectly dance that line between rough and soft. I’m really drawn to melodies in general, that’s the first thing I notice and the thing that stays with me the longest — this album is so strong in that way, and the production is bare where it needs to be, it’s sensitive production. Nothing feels over worked, it’s clean and delicious.