Enfnts Terribles

What kind of music do you listen to?

It’s a bit of everything. I’m a big music fan, so I listen to everything that gets recommended to me. I’m currently falling in love again with songwriters like Ellie Smith and Carole King. I’m starting to write a lot right now, and listening to them motivates me to become a better songwriter. I’m currently listening to Blake Mills non-stop because my A&R is obsessed with him right now.

Why are you so attracted to all these sad feelings because, in real life, you come across as very happy?

I’m actually not a very dark, moody person at all but music and writing are the way I process every emotion. Or at least, mainly the difficult ones. It’s just my natural go-to, and I do it every day. There’s something lovely and cathartic about it. There are times when I’m not even in a bad place or mood, but things just come to me and are maybe the things I feel deep down without realizing it. Even traveling and these new experiences, the cogs just start turning. The song “Complex”, which reflects a very difficult moment, is not easy to express but far more easy to express through music. I don’t think about it so deeply; it just comes out of me, I guess. People expect me to be more dark and moody in real life, but that’s not the case.

Your debut EP Games I Play has dark themes but sounds quite uplifting. Do you like to play with these contradictions?

I love the crying-but-dancing genre. I love songs where you can strip away the production and hear the deeper words. Sometimes, I like to sit in my sadness and let the production reflect that, but I also enjoy the contrast, like in my first EP. I think Maggie Rogers mixes dance music, folk elements, and heavy lyrics so well. It’s super funny, especially live, when everybody is bonding over these experiences but all dance at the same time.

The music video for “Complex” is inspired by Vanessa Carlton’s music video for “A Thousand Miles”. Why did you want to recreate the video in your own countryside?

It was this outlandish, silly idea that got too far. It’s so iconic and is from 2002, the year after I was born, but still feels timeless. “Complex” is a serious and emotional song, but it’s not entirely serious. I use clichés and jokey lines in the chorus. It’s a bit half and half. It’s serious but also meant to be a bit witty. I wanted to reflect that side of it in the video because I didn’t want it to have this very sad video. I’m not a very serious person, so I wanted this video to reflect my personality, and I have a very dry sense of humor. The video gets across the more emotional things but also the less serious parts of the song. Vanessa Carlton is also such a legend, so it was also nice to pay homage to her and use some very Scottish things like the bagpipes.

Scottish music is very traditional with, for example, bagpipes. To what extent did Scottish music inspire your sound?

Scottish Folk is hugely important to me and has played a big role in how I found my style as a writer. A lot of my adult life has been spent in Scottish folky pubs, and storytelling is so important there. When I lived in Edinburgh, I used to go to pubs where everybody sang their songs, and people would listen or even join in. It was this shared experience and moment where it was all about songwriting. All my songs start with me and my guitar or piano.

In these places, if you can grasp the attention of twenty people in a very small, busy, and noisy pub, the words you wrote must do something right. It’s such a good test audience. I’m from the Highlands, and the music from there is everywhere. Not all the traditional music like bagpipes is up my street—don’t attack me, Scottland—but our folk music is amazing. The Scottish indie scene has always done something cool, and I’m very lucky to be from where I’m from.

What’s your biggest wish for next year?

My goals had to move completely in a good way over the past couple of months. I reached goals that I would never have dreamed of in ten years in two months’ time. Now, I’m reevaluating and seeing what my goals are now. They’ve changed a bit, and my goals are obviously bigger, but there are also more personal goals, like in my writing. I do have big goals for next year, but finishing my debut album is the main focus. On the live side, there are certain festivals I’d like to play, like Glastonbury, TRNSMT in Scottland, or a festival in the US. My main focus is currently the creative goals, and I’d love to work with certain people or just write more. I have so many goals, but I’m also trying to figure them out right now.

Katie Gregson-MacLeod’s new EP ‘songs written for piano’ is out now on all platforms.