Molly Payton is a New Zealand born singer-song writer currently based in London, UK. Recently releasing her newest single "Warm Body", Molly and I talk about how she started, her creative process, and so much more.
Hi Molly, thank you so much for taking the time out to answer my questions! How are you? I’m good thanks!
How does being from New Zealand inspire your music? Does being based in London now hold that same inspiration as well? I’m not sure if it’s the places that have influenced me - more the harsh difference between the two countries. I was only 16 when I moved over and I wasn’t expecting to go into music so I think the biggest inspiration has come from all the uncertainty that came with making that move. How did you know when you wanted to be a singer/songwriter? I don’t think I’ve ever had the ’i-want-to-be-a-star’ moment, but I definitely figured out by the time I was 16/17 that music was the only thing that I wanted to do with my life. While originally being from New Zealand did the music scene there have an impact on you? I remember going to a lot of great thrashy gigs in small hot rooms, I think people take themselves a lot less seriously back home which allows for a lot more fun within the music scene. When writing lyrics, do you mostly write about personal relationships, or life in general? My songs are all about me and my relationships and personal life. I get crazy nervous when releasing music because it feels like I’m broadcasting diary entries to the world. You have your newest EP Porcupine coming out soon, was the recording and writing process any different from Mess? It was super different! Mess was recorded back in 2018, and was initially just going to be put out on soundcloud. We did every dong in a couple different studios (wherever we could get free time) and getting the whole release together took a lot of time. Porcupine was written and recorded in two studios during my first summer out of high school and it felt like a much smoother process. Oli Barton-Wood is such a talented producer and I’m so excited to show the world what we made! Can you tell us about your writing creative process? I dont really have one to be honest! Sometimes It takes me a month to finish a song and I have to really carve it out, and sometimes it happens in 10 mins. It really depends on what space I’m in emotionally and how much is going on in my life. During lockdown I only wrote 3 songs and before that I was writing at least 2 a week. How did you come up with your sound? Has it always been the same, or has it changed over the years? I’m so young and learning so much from every session I do and every musician I work with. At the moment I’m leaning towards a much heavier, grungier 90s sound but a year ago all I wanted to do was layer up acoustic guitars and harmonies. I think the only constant in my songwriting and sound is my voice, everything else will be constantly developing and changing. What’s your favorite song you’ve ever written? The most recent song I’ve written tends to be my favourite. Of the ones I’ve released id say Warm Body because its the most fun. Is there a formula you follow when creating music and writing lyrics? At the moment songwriting is a bit like putting puzzle pieces together - I write lots of lyrics and make up lots of melodies and guitar parts and put them together over time until it makes sense to me. What bands/artists have influenced your writing and sound the most? My all time biggest inspirations are Leonard Cohen and Joni Mitchell, for their lyrics and storytelling. I love “Warm Body”, can you tell us about the creative process for the track? I wrote that song with Oli the first time we met - before we made Porcupine. I played guitar and he jumped on the drums and we waffled around until we had something resembling a song, and then I wrote lyrics for it. If you could tour with any band/artist who would it be? I love Happyness - they’ve been one of my favourite bands for years. Supporting them would be so cool. When writing lyrics do you have a certain audience you want to reach? Writing is almost a form of therapy for me so its important that I write for myself without thinking about who will be listening to the songs, but I definitely hope when I release music that someone can connect to it and apply it to their own lives. Last question, we’re all about discovering new music. How do you think we should be listening too right now? Allen street by Pretty Sick is my new song of the week. Also anything by BLACKSTARKIDS. Follow Molly
Words by Melody
