Shygirl on the response to ‘Nymph’ and plans for new music | Mercury Prize 2023 - video Dailymotion

NME

Shygirl spoke with NME ahead of the 2023 Mercury Prize and opened up about both the response to her ‘Nymph’ album one year on, and her plans to broaden her sound with an upcoming album.

Transcript

00:00 - Shy Girl, welcome.

00:01 How are you doing?

00:02 - Good, good.

00:03 It's good to be here finally.

00:04 I feel like it's been a minute

00:06 since we first started talking about the nominations.

00:08 It's nice to finally be here tonight.

00:10 - How are you feeling about tonight?

00:11 Nerves settling again?

00:12 Are you just feeling like happy to be here?

00:14 - No, I feel quite serene.

00:15 It's good.

00:16 Hopefully everything goes to plan.

00:17 But honestly, like the whole team's been so amazing

00:20 and I feel so welcome.

00:22 And it's been nice just to read all the great press

00:24 about myself up until now.

00:25 So it's always good just to have a night to celebrate.

00:28 - I feel like there's been so much love

00:30 for your album here right now.

00:31 I've heard so many of the artists singing your praise

00:33 and saying that if it doesn't go to them,

00:35 you're the next worthy candidate.

00:36 What's it like to get that?

00:38 - That's so cute to hear, honestly.

00:39 I think we're all very nice to each other

00:41 'cause we're all making great music.

00:43 It's really good company to be in.

00:45 And it's been so nice to watch each other

00:46 in the rehearsals for tonight

00:48 because there's some people

00:49 I haven't even had the chance to see live before.

00:50 And now finally we get to see all together

00:52 in one, under one roof.

00:54 So yeah, it's cute.

00:55 - Who have you been catching up with since you got here?

00:57 Have you had a chance to talk to anyone?

00:59 - I had a quick chat with Ray and Jessie Ware as well,

01:02 who I've spoken to before and I really love.

01:04 And I'm such fans of their music as well.

01:06 So it's nice that the Mercury has actually

01:09 given us a chance to come together.

01:10 I think all of us have really busy schedules

01:12 with the tour, with festival season at the moment,

01:15 which is always fab to be in front of our fans.

01:17 But it's nice just to be here together,

01:19 under one roof, having dinner, drinking champagne.

01:22 (laughs)

01:23 - So we're coming up to a year now since Nymphus came out.

01:26 What's this past 12 months been like for you?

01:28 - Honestly, it's nice to be able to revisit it again,

01:31 'cause I've already kind of been working on new music.

01:34 And then you kind of come back and can appreciate

01:36 what you've done already.

01:37 But that's when you know you've done something

01:38 that you still like.

01:40 Usually you make something and you're like,

01:41 "Oh my God, I can't believe I was even writing

01:43 "about that boy anymore, oh my gosh."

01:46 But I'm still in love with that record, so it's good.

01:49 - Are there any albums that are doing really well

01:51 that maybe you thought people might not notice as much?

01:53 - I'm not sure.

01:55 I feel like there's a really good climate right now

01:57 for great music.

01:58 And for a second, I thought everyone was kind of

02:01 in the same timeline, like post-COVID, everyone released.

02:05 And then now it's kind of trickling out.

02:06 It's nice to enjoy everyone's in their own space.

02:09 - What would it mean for you tonight to win?

02:12 - Tonight?

02:13 Oh God, it would mean I'd be unbearable to everyone I know.

02:15 I'm gonna be like, if I ever won any award,

02:18 I think it's probably best that I don't,

02:19 so that I'm not, get a bigger head than I already have.

02:22 (laughs)

02:24 - Who have you brought with you tonight?

02:25 Do you have family here?

02:26 - Yes, my mom and my younger sister are coming tonight

02:28 'cause it's finally a gig that they can come to

02:31 that isn't too debaucherous.

02:33 Well, we still have to wait and see

02:35 what happens for tonight, so.

02:37 - Who are you looking forward to seeing perform tonight?

02:40 - I really, I caught a little bit of Olivia Deen.

02:44 I really love her energy as well.

02:46 I can't wait to see Ezra Collective and Ray, of course.

02:51 Her voice is just amazing,

02:53 and it's so stunning to hear live.

02:56 - Did you manage to catch her at Glastonbury?

02:58 - No, I didn't.

02:59 It was so hot at Glastonbury.

03:00 I was just about solid form on stage when I got there myself,

03:04 and I was in and out 'cause I had to do another gig,

03:06 but it was so nice.

03:07 Honestly, I can't wait for next year.

03:09 I'm actually gonna stay at Glastonbury the whole weekend.

03:11 I've decided.

03:13 - Are we going to camp?

03:15 Are we going to do the full shebang?

03:16 - I'm definitely glamping, not camping.

03:19 If someone can airlift me in and out every day,

03:21 that'd be fab.

03:22 (laughs)

03:23 - Kate, so last time we spoke to you,

03:24 you did tease new music was in the works,

03:27 especially new music where you're centring

03:29 on the instruments.

03:29 Can you tell us anything more about that?

03:31 - I'm still working on the record.

03:33 If I would finish from that conversation till now,

03:35 it would be crazy, but no, I'm still working on the record.

03:38 I'm enjoying it a lot, actually, in between gigs,

03:41 just to play around with some of the collaborators

03:44 I knew before and some new people,

03:46 and also just to learn new tricks myself

03:49 and really dig in with this record.

03:52 I wanted to produce a lot more

03:54 and kind of be across all boards,

03:55 so there's no corner left untouched

03:58 by a shy girl on this record.

04:00 - Can we see you explore any new genres?

04:02 I saw that you wanted to try something new,

04:05 show people maybe something

04:06 that they didn't expect from you.

04:07 - I mean, I say that, but at the same time,

04:09 I've always kind of been pen-picking from different genres,

04:12 so I'm always like, people don't know what to expect,

04:14 but they do by now.

04:15 Like, I'm gonna pans in every pie.

04:18 - Okay, lovely, thank you so much.

04:21 Congratulations again.

04:22 Best of luck for tonight.

04:23 [BLANK_AUDIO]

Shygirl on the response to ‘Nymph’ and plans for new music | Mercury Prize 2023

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