Inspired #226 - Josephine Sillars
Josephine Sillars has just released her politically-charged EP ‘Desperate Characters’ - she took a moment to talk to us about the inspirations behind her music.
Who are your top three musical inspirations and why?
Regina Spektor, Fiona Apple and Ben Folds.
These have always been my top three ever since I first started writing songs, and I would say it's because all of them are musicians who write piano based music. Until I had heard these artists I was unsure of how to translate my instrument into pop music, and I find that each of them have a really unique style and way of telling stories through songs. Regina Spektor tends to write more fictionalised stories, whereas Fiona Apple is more autobiographical with Ben Folds maybe being somewhere in the middle! Mitski is very near the top three for similar reasons, I just find them all so inspiring.
Is there a certain film that inspires you?
Not a film, but I recently watched all of Twin Peaks and have been doing quite a lot of writing exercises at home where I just write a song based around a character. There's just a lot to unpack with that show. Me and my producer actually have about an EP's worth of songs centered around it! Maybe we'll release it...
What city do you find the most inspiring?
This is a difficult one because I moved to Leeds right before lockdown and feel like I still haven't really had a chance to explore it. So if we take Leeds out of the equation, I would have to say Glasgow. I lived there for about five years and absolutely love the city and the people. Always a great source of inspiration.
Who is the most inspiring person to you?
Probably my grandmother, Margo MacDonald. She was an independent MSP and a force to be reckoned with. She did a lot of good in Scottish politics.
What were your inspirations when writing your new EP?
For this EP I interviewed five people around the UK during the first lockdown and wrote the songs around the themes and ideas that came up during the interviews. Each song also contains a soundbite/sample from each interview. It was really great because the first lockdown was so stressful and anxiety inducing that giving myself thematic parameters to work within actually made the songwriting process a bit easier as it was less autobiographical and more about encapsulating general feelings. Finding it hard to find new inspiration now that it's done!
How would you like to inspire people?
I think I would like to inspire people to be independent, especially other women and people who are under represented in music. There is so much competition over limited opportunities in the creative industries and I feel like it can be easy to give up and feel defeated. I would like to inspire people to have confidence in themselves and their art because if you want other people to believe in you, you have to believe in yourself.