Lucy Johnson
My voice is a folk voice. So that's what guides my writing. I grew up singing church music, even though I wasn't at all religious, because choral singing is very clean and comes from the heart- people are singing about something that moves them. So, I took that authenticity and said "What do I want to sing?" And this session is the result. I draw on quite a few influences; there is a great tradition, in folk, of taking traditional songs and re-arranging them. So to start with, I took words that inspired me, from "Amazing Grace", and gave the tune a melancholic structure, a new twist to an old friend. That gave me the confidence to write my own things.
Tell me about your history? How did you get where you are now?
I put off writing my own stuff for years, until persistent nagging from friends finally drew me out last year. Most of my life has been spent performing in famous venues in London, singing in choirs, classical and choral music. The big challenge was ironic- to go from playing 4000 seater venues, for big orchestras, to stepping out with my own sound, singing in places where people were so close they could hear you draw breath (and you could hear them saying if they liked you or not).
Have you performed live in front of an audience? Any special memories?
London is a great place to play live, because you have so much choice- somewhere, there is a place for you. And yet, our licensing laws are crazy- live music is under threat like never before.
Your musical influences
Essentially I'm an acoustic folk chick, without a band. The people that have inspired me are many, and eclectic- anything from Modern Jazz Quartet, to David Byrne and Brian Eno, to Ian Dury, to Judy Collins, to Eddie Reader; at the moment I'm listening to Rachel Unthank and the Winterset, and Monteverdi's 1610 Vespers
What equipment do you use?
A lady would NEVER answer a question like that!
Anything else?
The people who helped me make this session: Nick Onley, on acoustic guitar; Andy Lindsay, who played the guide tracks and mixed the finished article. A grateful thankyou.
