A Quick Chat with Lucy Elle

CAN YOU TELL US A BIT ABOUT YOUR INSPIRATION FOR ‘Silent Side Of Quiet’ EP?

Song writing was what made me fall in love with music, the way you can tell a story in a million dimensions & how much songs can help you process. Songs help me untangle the thoughts and process & make sense of the defending silence. 

Silent Side of Quiet are songs from the process of my making sense of the tangle of noise in the quiet. Most of these songs mean more than one thing to me, and they will mean something else to other people now. They are songs about heartbreak, my friend’s breakups, fighting with my family, loosing close friends. 

WHAT ARE YOUR INFLUENCES AND HOW DO THEY AFFECT YOUR SONGWRITING? 

Too many to list! I have always loved and been inspired by folk song writing, the stories that Joni Mitchell, Simon & Garfunkel and blues singers tell will always be the foundation of my song writing, I think. While we were recording, I was also listening to (and pretty mesmerised with) Aussies that told stories that felt honest and down-to-earth, like Angie McMahon and Julia Jacklin. So going into this EP I wanted each song to tell a story, and a story that carried an honest emotion. I really don’t think you can fake emotion in song writing, at least, I can’t.

WHAT’S THE CREATIVE PROCESS LIKE FOR YOU?

 It might sound cliché, but it’s different every time. Sometimes a song takes hard work and crafting, sometimes it comes all in one sitting. But it always takes me sitting down internationally to finish an idea and put structure to it, even if the melody first came to me singing to myself on a long drive. Actually, that’s probably the most common way a song starts. 

IF YOU COULD CHANGE SOMETHING ABOUT THE AUSTRALIAN MUSIC INDUSTRY, WHAT WOULD IT BE? 

I love that Aussies don’t take themselves too seriously, and I’ve met some seriously beautifully supportive people in the music industry. I do feel like we have a tendency to focus on youth instead of mastery though. And I hope that changes, because I don’t think we can really master a craft until we are well into our 50s, so let’s get around the old-timers. 

WHAT DO YOU THINK LIFE WOULD BE LIKE FOR YOU IF YOU DIDN’T HAVE MUSIC AS AN OUTLET? 

I don’t think I would be nearly as self-aware. I’ve always said my songs seem to know me before I do. And I’m grateful for that. I write something and then I can look back and say, ‘oh that’s how I was feeling’. Songs connect me to my thoughts and emotions, and put words to the way I’m feeling. 

IS THERE ANYONE YOU WOULD LIKE TO COLLABORATE WITH?  WHY?

SO many. But maybe Brooke Fraser would have to be my forever number one pick. I started writing because of the way she told stories. It inspired me to see the stories in life, the complicated billions of layers of stories that make up the world, and to thread them one by one into sense through a song. Ainslie Wills is another writer who does this so beautifully, and I would love to write with her one day. 

WHO’S THE MOST INTERESTING PERSON YOU’VE WORKED WITH/MET? 

Jono Steer who produced my EP is hands down the most talented creative guy I’ve ever met. The way his creative thoughts just flow is incredible to watch and I’m so grateful to have to go work with him on these songs! He honestly brought so much to each one and it wouldn’t be what it is without his creative input! 

FAVOURITE HANGOVER CURE?

I don’t actually drink all that much, and I’m a huge lightweight, so leaving the heater on gives me a worse hangover than a night out. Plus you’re more likely to find me skipping a party to write songs than at a rave, so can’t help you much there, sorry!

ANY UPCOMING SHOWS?

A few! I’ve been doing some really small shows in little venues because I do love to chat and see the audience, and give a bit of background to my shows, and I have one coming up in August at a little analogue film studio in Geelong, which will be a cool little intimate vibe, so I’m pretty stoked for that one!