Successful young musicians make me feel disturbed. Why? Let me tell you something about myself. I’m 20 and I’m Russian. I don’t know any of my peers who could brag about their parents‘ record collections. My first encounter with „Music“ (M in this case requires capitalization as there is also a big and flourishing segment of media called „music“ which includes lounge, commercial songs and Coldplay) happened in the spring of 2012 when I grabbed my first ever issue of Rolling Stone. Needless to say that from then on my life could never be the same. Over the course of last four years I’ve been climbing up the stairs of music education taking three steps at the time. I once spent the whole summer reading and learning Bob Stanley’s massive book „The Story of Pop Music“. Oh wait, it was last summer! At the age of 19 I was making notes on what Motown is, how soft-rock sounds and why Kate Bush got famous…
Meanwhile, Holly Låpsley Fletcher who is one year younger than me – which means that she’s now 19 – is putting out her debut album. Now, don’t get me wrong. I adore Låpsley (who goes by her middle name) and my little pathetic story given above only serves as a proof of her undoubted talent.
https://play.spotify.com/track/2mM9r7jFGUfEu3p5Nk8Cgm
„Cliff“ is Låpsley’s latest single from her first full-length album „Long Way Home“.
It follows a debut EP which she released in the early 2015 after she’d been discovered by XL Recordings. This detail instantly drew her a comparison with Adele (who’s also signed with the same label), though it’s apparent that Låpsley doesn’t belong to the same league. And she doesn’t need to. Her tunes are more underground and her texts address the smaller group of followers. I would argue that she better fits in the line of other British synth-pop newcomers like Bo Rocha and Shura.
Talking about creative process behind her debut output Låpsley describes her songs as collages of memorable moments from her personal experience. In an interview with NME the singer also revealed that she would never write „happy songs about nightclubs and shots“, as that’s not who she truly is. Moreover, Låpsley makes it clear that she won’t tolerate any creative dependence. She sings, writes and produces her own stuff. No matter how confessional and vulnerable she may seem, Låpsley won’t be afraid to stand for her rights as a female artist. Further in this interview she reflected on her meeting with the kids at her old school: „Everyone just asked me if I was a singer, but you wouldn’t ask Caribou if he was a singer. He would be like, ‚No, I’m a producer and a writer and I sing in my tracks‘. I’m more than just the face at front of a band“… Isn’t she a perfect role-model for girls of my age?
Nastya Kazakova
