Olivia Dean on 'Messy' and writing for England's Lionesses | Mercury Prize 2023 - video Dailymotion

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Watch Olivia Dean on 'Messy' and writing for England's Lionesses | Mercury Prize 2023 - NME on Dailymotion

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00:00 Good morning Olivia Deane!

00:01 Good morning, good morning!

00:02 How are you feeling?

00:03 I'm feeling very good.

00:05 Yeah?

00:06 I'm feeling a little overwhelmed, a little shocked,

00:09 but just trying to be present and take it all in.

00:12 So congrats on Messi being shortlisted for the Mercury Prize.

00:16 Can you believe it? It only came out bloody three weeks ago.

00:19 I'm like, guys, give me a sec!

00:21 Where were you when you found out?

00:22 I was at home having a nap.

00:24 It was my best friend's birthday and we'd just been to Hackney Saunas,

00:27 I was feeling a bit sweaty and tired

00:29 and my manager called me and I was like,

00:31 "Oh, I don't know if I'm going to answer because it's my day off."

00:34 And yeah, she called me and was just smiling like a crazy person.

00:39 And I said, "What's going on?"

00:40 And she was like, "You've been nominated for a Mercury."

00:42 And I just burst into tears, ran up, said to my housemates,

00:45 they were like, "Oh my God, oh my God, oh my God."

00:47 And then we went to the pub and got drunk.

00:48 Oh, you went like, "Back to the sauna!"

00:49 No, no.

00:52 So each shortlisted record tends to say something about music of the last year.

00:57 What kind of energy and message do you think that 'Messy' captures?

01:01 God, it's a good question.

01:02 I think, hopefully, it captures a message of allowing yourself to be imperfect.

01:09 I think I really enjoyed that I made an album that feels human.

01:13 It doesn't feel processed and like it was made by a hundred people over email.

01:18 I made it in a room with people that I love and it started on the piano

01:22 and then the product... I made it in quite an old school way, I think.

01:25 And hopefully that encourages people that music can still be made that way.

01:29 Agreed.

01:30 And what do you think the shortlist as a whole says about UK music in 2023?

01:34 I think it's a pretty good shortlist.

01:35 I only just saw now when it came out.

01:37 I was like, "Oh, wow, bloody hell, good company."

01:40 I think there's loads of amazing albums on it

01:42 and loads of interesting albums and unexpected albums.

01:45 And yeah, I feel quite blessed to be in the mix.

01:49 If you were a betting lady, who would your money be on, other than yourself?

01:53 If I were a betting lady, who do I want or who do I think?

01:56 Let's go for both.

01:58 I think I'm going to go double the same person.

02:01 I think Ray. I think she's awesome.

02:03 I think she was in the year above me at school.

02:06 And so I've always sort of looked up to her and was like, "Wow, you're a dope human."

02:09 And to see her career trajectory and everything she's done,

02:12 I think it'd be sick if she won.

02:14 What was that like? She did bully you there?

02:15 No, no.

02:17 We sang in a school assembly together.

02:19 We were just joking about it backstage.

02:20 And yeah, she's awesome.

02:22 Sweet. And you penned the song for the Lionesses, am I right?

02:25 I did. Yes.

02:27 Again, that was something that came about quite naturally.

02:30 Two friends of mine, songwriter friends, Glenn and Joel, were like,

02:33 "Would you want to write a song for the Women's World Cup?"

02:35 And I was like, "Yes, I would."

02:36 We had some beers, went to the studio and just had so much fun doing it.

02:41 And then Mel C singing on it.

02:42 That's pretty massive.

02:44 Yeah. Sporty Spice!

02:45 So happy days.

02:47 I mean, what can you tell us about the Lionesses that you gathered to sing on that song and to feature on it?

02:51 Yeah, I think it was just a general call out, being like,

02:54 "Anyone want to be a part of this?"

02:56 And we've got Self Esteem.

02:57 We've got Ellie from Wolf Alice.

02:59 We've got Rach Tineriri.

03:01 Just like all amazing women.

03:03 And yeah, I just think, yeah, hopefully it does well.

03:07 But it's not a song that I think was made for any sort of commercial success.

03:10 I think it's for the people.

03:11 I want, like, girls in primary school to be singing it, running around the playground,

03:15 you know what I mean, before the game.

03:16 So hopefully it seeds in.

03:18 Vindaloo for 2023.

03:19 Exactly. Yeah.

03:20 It's coming home?

03:21 It's coming home. I think so. Why not?

03:23 Coming home again.

03:25 Liv you did. Thank you very much.

03:25 Thank you.

03:26 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Olivia Dean on 'Messy' and writing for England's Lionesses | Mercury Prize 2023

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