Credit: Credit: www.facebook.com/lucyspragganTours, gigs and live performances all feel like a distant memory at the moment, but one talented singer-songwriter is not letting the second lockdown get the better of her. Lucy Spraggan has come a long way since her debut on X-Factor in 2012, but with her new emotionally driven album ‘Choices’ on the way, she is showing no signs of slowing.
We spoke to Lucy on her own personal choices, the album and her newfound love for fitness.
She isn’t shy. You can’t be as an artist, but to release such a sensitive album requires a hefty amount of guts.
‘Choices’ tackles some really heavy personal issues for Lucy who said it focuses on “my sobriety, the end of my relationship and my newfound love for running, but underneath that there is a vein of perseverance and growth throughout”.
Pumping through its veins are so many genuine emotions that it is more like a sonic diary than an album, which is all well and good until you realise that the whole world is going to hear it!
Unsurprisingly, Lucy is not fazed by this, laughing along and adding: “I just want to get this fucking album out now! It is sensitive but I’m not nervous. It has already been pushed back around 6 months, so I think all my nerves have gone and I’m just ready for people to hear it now.”
With the first single from the album ‘Sober’ having been released, I suggest that anyone who hasn’t seen it needs to get their tissues out and go on YouTube now!
Alone in a dark room, hair tied back, tears flowing freely. Lucy bares her soul to the camera in the emotionally resonate music video. The simplicity is beautiful, paired with the unbroken strain of emotion flowing thought.
“It was difficult for me just to cry. Especially when it’s just me in a room with a bunch of people there. It was hard, not to mention emotionally tiring even though it took less than an hour to film.”
Her efforts have paid off. New and old listens are loving, admiring and speaking freely about their own similar situations.
“The reaction to it has been amazing. Many people who don’t necessarily listen to my music or know of my existence have been getting in contact and relating to it. It is the only thing I could wish for, that people can relate and engage to my music.”
In a roundabout way, similar to a diary it is cathartic. Not only for listeners but for Lucy, emoting though her music, using it to springboard over her own personal challenges.
It is a creative outlet she has never lived without, used to channel her thoughts and feelings in a depth that some of us struggle to express.
” I say to my friends What on earth do you do with your emotions if you don’t write songs!”
The concept of not expressing yourself through music seems crazy to Lucy just as releasing your emotions to the world seems crazy to anyone who isn’t an artist.
However, with live shows and the music industry taking a hit, there have been huge delays in getting her feelings out there. The uncertainty of what is going on in the world has hit all artists hard, especially Lucy who has been playing and touring live for over a decade now.
The thrill of playing live has gone, with socially distanced or virtual audiences taking away the usual rush and buzz of a concert. So, Lucy found a new thrill, the running bug.
“I never ran. Maybe for an ice cream van that was going around the corner but not for fun.”
Opening up a whole new world of CrossFit, pole dancing and new and interesting people it has substituted for all she has been missing over lockdown and COVID. Not only this, but it brings a similar kind of catharsis for Lucy just like she gets from songwriting.
“It 100% helps. When everything shut down, I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do … then I ended up running a half marathon every day!
“It is a time where I can stack up my thoughts whilst I’m exercising, or it gives me a break from those thoughts. You get a rush from it – kind of like a playing a show really.”
Still, it doesn’t quite compare to the reality of being on a stage in front of a few thousand people and knowing that from performing “I can feel good and make other people feel good”.
It isn’t just the thousands of people that Lucy misses but even those pub gigs where you just hop up on stage and play and no one knows your name or even cares.
It is those smaller gigs which have given Lucy the confidence to play socially distanced, spaced out gigs with no crowds, just a small scattered audience.
“I’ve played the circuit. I’ve played in front of about four people who really don’t care so I can apply that skill set to perform to these socially distanced audiences.”
No matter how uncertain times may be at the moment, Lucy is still trying to make people smile or laugh. With more songs to be dropped from the album soon, we’re in for an emotional rollercoaster of sound, travelling through Lucy’s diary and brilliant songwriting skills. So, keep your eyes and ears alert for the next release to follow ‘Sober’.