Those who frequent B3SCI are familiar with the soulful talent of the young Laura Welsh. The rising British singer songwriter has been causing a flurry amongst the blogosphere for almost 2 years now. Having just recently dropped her debut and self-titled EP in the States, Welsh’s new single “Break The Fall” has been chosen by iTunes as there new Single of the Week — you can grab a free download of the track here. B3SCI writer Cheryl Dunn recently had a chance to chat with Laura Welsh about her new EP, songwriting, and her experiences collaborating with John Legend and Gorgon City, amongst other things. Have a look at their conversation below.
B3SCI: We’re curious, do you like to set aside time to write songs, or are you always writing on the go, as you are inspired?
Laura: I tend to write lyrics or sing stuff that comes into my head into a recorder on my phone no matter where I am. I usually get ideas very late at night and have to put them down. Sometimes they don’t make a lot of sense in the morning (!) but there will sometimes be a line or melody that sparks off a song idea. Sometimes I will just sit at home with a guitar and write and other times I’ll go into the studio and experiment with sounds. It just depends on my what mood I’m in.
B3SCI: Do you always pull from personal experience when writing? Or are you inspired by friends, books or stories you hear?
Laura: I only write from personal experience. I find it easier to say how I’m really feeling through writing as opposed to having conversations about them with people. I write in an emotional and reactive way to situations going on around me.
B3SCI: Your new self-titled EP just dropped in the US. What was the writing process like for this EP?
Laura: “Ghosts” was one of the first songs I wrote on my own which was quite a defining moment direction wise for me. It was written during a period of time where I needed to take a step back and just have the freedom to write without any opinions or expectations. I wrote the other songs for the EP over in New York and LA and recorded them out there. The approach for me was no compromising at all with these songs and that included the shape and feel of the production too.
B3SCI: Can we expect some or all of the tracks on the EP to appear on a full-length album? Is that something you are working on now?
Laura: Yeah, all of the songs on the EP will be on the album which is finished now! It’s coming out early next year.
B3SCI: Do you have a favorite song from the EP that was particularly moving to write or record?
Laura: I would say “Hardest Part”. I wrote the song with John Legend over in LA. We just sat around the piano and wrote and recorded a demo of it in a few hours. It came out really quickly and was good to just keep it simple writing wise with just a piano.
B3SCI: For us US fans, what is your live show like? Is there anything you would like to do with your live shows artistically?
Laura: I’ve recently been putting together a set of visuals for each song in my live show. It’s a projection of imagery & video clips that I collected and put together with the help of my friend Babysweet. I have a few short black and white clips online and that’s the kind of feel I wanted to try out as a backdrop to the live show.
B3SCI: What are you upcoming tour plans and where would you like to play?
Laura: I’m hoping to tour in the Autumn time in the UK and also come over to the US before the end of the year.
B3SCI: You’ve recently worked with the very talented production duo Gorgon City on the infectious single “Here For You”. Much like Disclosure, they have an opportunity to break singers into stardom and give them a ton of exposure. How did you meet and what was it like working with them?
Laura: I went to write with Matt and Kye back in December. We did a day together at their studio along with MNEK and “Here For You” was what came out of that session. We pretty much wrote the track and laid down the vocals in one day. I just clicked with them to be honest and liked where they were coming from musically. They create a really relaxed environment to write and thats how like to work also. Musically, it’s a different world to my own music but I enjoyed stepping into their world.
B3SCI: After working with Gorgon City, is there anyone else you would really love to work or collaborate with?
Laura: There’s loads but right now I’d say Flying lotus, James Vincent McMorrow and Evian Christ would be up there.
B3SCI: On your twitter you sometimes post songs you are currently loving and listening to. What are some songs or artists you think people should know that you are listening to right now?
Laura: Collapse by Vancouver Sleep Clinic and I really like Ben Khan and Raleigh Ritchie at the moment.
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