So Laura, lovely to meet you. Congratulations, your song is sountdtracking the Broadchurch
trailer which is phenomenal.
Tell her.
For a lot of our audience, it's gonna be the first time they've heard about you so could
you just tell us a bit about your journey, because you've obviously come along way now
you're with Sony which is just a massive deal. Tell us how you kinda got to here.
No problem. So, when I first knew I wanted to be a performer, I was- I dunno, just always
knew I wanted to be in front of people doing something and it just worked out that I wrote
a song for a cancer charity, it was the first song I ever wrote, and it just made me realise
that I could just really touch people with something that just came from within. And
since then I just haven't really thought about it, I've been writing and learning and self-improving
the whole time.
And when did you kind of realise this is what I want to do, I'm not gonna do anything else.
You know, that's a good point, because I was in the air cadets for ages and when I was
about 13 I really wanted to be a fighter pilot for a really long time. I got a flight in
a red arrow jet and it was just what I decided. I was like, "This is amazing," because I've
always been a thrill seeker. But my mum was like, "No Laura, you couldn't do that." That
reigned me back in, so I was back on my performing thing.
I mean, flying in a fighter jet would be amazing but what was your feeling when you first heard
your song on the Broadchurch trailer.
That was really surreal. The first time I heard it, I was watching it on YouTube, I
wasn't watching it on TV so I was like, "Agh, this is so strange!" And it just fits the
story line so well because my song is about a small town, it's about growing up and I
just- I wrote it when I came to London and I realised that there's just such a change
in mentality between the two places and Broadchurch is all about this small-town vibe of thinking
you know your community and think you know people but taking a step back outside of it
and looking up on it, forgetting personal relationships, and it's great that my song
has found a home in that but also that Broadchurch and its audience really welcomed it and they
really feel like it adds emotional impact which is my dream, to just make emotional
music and for it to accompany emotional pieces of visuals. It's perfect.
Is there anyone that you'd like to work with?
I would absolutely love to work with all of my idols, obviously it would just be a dream
come true, as well as people that have more recently been an influence. So people like
James Blake for example. I was super inspired by his simplicity and his minimalism and just
his really deep voice and keys. And that changed the way I wrote for a little while because
I stopped being so narrative and ballad-y and more- just trying to be a little more
interesting. Who else? I loved the drive soundtrack as well so much, so if I could work with anybody
that had a part to play in that. Just make synthy, beautiful music.
Makes a change from a lot of our interviewees who just say they wanna work with One Direction and-
Eugh, God! Oh, I didn't say that. One Direction are great.
It would be an interesting sound if you did.
It would be different. I'm not sure- I think I'd- I don't know how I'd react to five guys
and I'd just be like, "I'm running the show." I don't think that'd work very well.
What would you say is the best thing that you have done so far?
I'd say the best thing I've done so far- The highlight would definitely have to be Jools
Holland. It was just and incredible thing to do and a pleasure to meet him, and just
to be a part of such a legendary show. And also being on tour with John Newman was amazing.
It was a great experience. Massive learning curve for me, I've never played for such big
audiences so I learnt how to entertain as well as perform and be emotional and that
balance is something I've never had to do before, so it was an amazing challenge. It
was really fun. I mean, this whole year has been so much fun. It's been hard work but
it's just so rewarding seeing how people are relating to the music and people are loving
it because that's just the goal, isn't it?
Absolutely. Well, have you kinda been start-struck by anyone yet?
Oh! yes! I met-
- I love that noise, can you do that again? - That's how I reacted.
This is exactly how I reacted when I met David Gandy.
Really? David Gandy? Wow.
I'm gonna stop now. And then, no. Really, last thing I- I performed and Jamie Cullum
came up to me to say hey and that blew me away because he's just incredible. And I'm
sure there's many more start-struck- I met Snoop Dogg the other night and that was pretty-
I love him so much. Ella Eyre. I love Ella Eyre actually and she's amazing so it was
a pleasure to actually be able to say hey.
And great hair.
Great hair, great voice. Just amazing, so. I'd be championing her too.
Ah, cool. So where do you see yourself going now? What are your plans for the future? What
do you hope is gonna happen?
I just hope that people continue really relating. So we've got January 5th, Broadchurch series
2 comes out so hopefully around then things will start rally kicking off with Old Faces
perhaps, it come out January 11th. And then we have a show on January 19th at The Globe
Theatre, which just is gonna be beautiful. I just can't wait for that show. It's kinda
the first show of the year, it's really early into the year, it's just gonna be a great
kick-start and I just hope that we continue playing at really weird venues and just doing
really interesting things that really communicate with the audience and create a vibe for the
whole thing and an atmosphere because that's kind of my goal, just to be in a world where
it's just full of emotion and, at my shows, people just really feel like they're in a
place where its full of music.
What do you enjoy more? Do you enjoy being out there and kind of performing it or do
you really enjoy being in the studio and creating?
That's hard. I think they're both- I think this year I've really enjoyed performing more
because it's my first real taste of it and it was such a learning experience and, now
that I've done that, i'm gonna enjoy writing and it's more about getting that balance of
the both of them because you just miss either one. When you can't write you miss writing
so you kind of hate being so busy doing live stuff. And then when you're writing for too
long you hate that people aren't hearing these song and you're like, "Agh!" It's pretty much
just a feeling when it's right to do either one.
And all your writing, is it going on here or have you managed to go to some amazing
places? Because you always hear artists go abroad or- LA and Norway and wherever to do
all their writing.
I was really lucky. A spontaneous trip to LA in February but it was for 3 days. It was
purely work but it was super good. An now I'm 21, I'm looking forward very much to going
back to America. Because I went to my hotel room and I was like, "I wish I was 21." And
they took my minibar away from me and I was really embarrassed. So that won't happen this
time and I'll be like a proper adult.
Well, yeah, you're still young so you have your entire career ahead of you and good luck
with it.
Thank you.
It's obviously stating off in the right way, so good luck with the single.
Thank you so much.
And the album and we look forward to hearing more from you.
Thank you.