Interview: Natalie McCool

Alt-pop sensation Natalie McCool has released her latest single ‘A Sun Going Down’, the perfect song for the sunny days that are soon to be coming our way. The Liverpool-based singer-songwriter had an exciting 2020, with her songs ‘Closure’ and ‘Devils’ being played on BBC Radio 1, 6Music, Amazing Radio and earned a spot on the BBC Introducing line-up. We spoke with Natalie about her experiences in lockdown, growing up in the music capital of the North, and her podcast McCool and the Gang.

Credit: Robin Crewley

How has your lockdown been? Have you seen an impact on your song-writing?

It was quietly weird!! I think it was pretty controversial when it happened, we’ve never been through anything remotely like it before so it was (dare I say it) a novelty. I am used to working from home, so it wasn’t really too different from me, aside from the fact that we couldn’t travel, which for me was hard because I love going to new places, whether it’s music that takes me there or my own interests. With songwriting, I was dealing with some personal changes so I suppose I was writing quite a lot, by myself and also with other writers and friends. Mostly I have been focusing on finishing my album throughout this period, but yes I was writing a real range of songs aside from that too.

Alt-pop: what inspired you to create in that genre?  Are there any other genres you would like to try out?

I think it’s just what I like; it’s to my personal taste. As a songwriter I love big pop songs, evocative, interesting lyrics, strong melodies, songs that you remember, that make an impact on you. But personally it has to have a sprinkle of oddity - whether it’s a time signature shift or an odd landing note in a melody. That’s what I love about creating music. It tastes familiar but there’s a curveball flavour in there somewhere that you can’t put your finger on. The best description my music has ever had in my opinion is ‘lilt pop’…I love that - pop that’s not standard, it’s a bit left field. I’m claiming that one.

What music do you listen to when you aren’t creating your own? Are there any artists out there that have inspired you in your music?

All sorts really. I guess my all time favourite artists are PJ Harvey and Jeff Buckley. Over lockdown it’s been Laura Mvula, Husky Loops, Laura Marling, Weldon Irvine, Argo Vals, Jacob Collier, TWST, Sharon Van Etten, Angel Olsen. I’ve also been listening to a lot of soundtracks like All About Eve (which PJ Harvey composed) and other composers like Cristobal Tapia de Veer. In terms of direct inspirations I’m not too sure actually. I think everything you listen to gets chewed up and comes out in different ways, it could be In a turn of phrase in a lyric or a kick snare pattern or a set of chords or synth texture. Your brain is a big sponge, and when you squeeze it you never know what’s gonna come out.

Did you find growing up in Liverpool had any impact on your creative instinct growing up? What with it being such a musical capital for the U.K.

Yeah for sure in terms of live performance. The town I grew up in - Widnes - is about 20 minutes from Liverpool city centre, and when I was a teenager wanting to get into bands and play music, there was an amazing live scene in my town. I’ve definitely played in pubs when I was underage but I never felt at risk, I had so many peers my age who were also into playing music, at college. There was a programme called ‘Fused’ where you’d go every Saturday and you could write songs and start bands, and a monthly event where you could play live, there were loads of young people used to attend, it was amazing, really exciting and a good place to meet like minds! It was held at the Queens Hall which is a grand old venue (knocked down now) where the Rolling Stones and The Beatles and loads of massive acts used to perform back in the day.  So that was pretty cool. I also remember putting my own gig on at a bar in Liverpool with a bunch of my mates’ bands, for mine and my friend’s 17th birthday. So yeah it really did have an impact on me growing up.

Your monthly podcast McCool and the Gang has been a hit – can you tell our readers more about what to expect when they tune in?

I wanted to highlight other creatives I’ve worked with or I know, and just sit them down for a chat / beer. We talk about all sorts - their inspirations, exciting stuff they’re working on, any experiences we’ve shared together. It’s really calming to listen back to actually, like listening to an audiobook. It’s so great to shout about people you admire and I love it! So far I’ve had BBC 6 Music DJ Chris Hawkins, Dom Thomas from Whyte Horses who I’ve been singing live with, my friend Tanya Mellotte who I met on a songwriting camp in Nashville who writes music for film and TV, and Grammy Award winning producer Steve Levine who I worked with for my first album. It’s a real range.
I’ve also now got my own radio show on Melodic Distraction with the podcast, and that’s great because I can play the music that we talk about in each episode - which I couldn’t do before due to it being distributed on Spotify / Apple Music, which creates all kinds of rights issues! But I really enjoy it and I’ve got some amazing guests lined up in the next few months!!!

Have you managed to look ahead to the lifting of lockdown to book any gigs?

I have some rescheduled shows in the calendar, from before lockdown - really excited to play Focus Wales, which I’ve never played before but have heard some stellar things about! Our plan is to wait until things are really really clear and we’re fully out of the woods with all COVID stuff before booking anything really solid like a tour.

Having said that, we had some amazing opportunities throughout lockdown - we played a livestream in our separate homes for United We Stream, we live-streamed from new venue Future Yard for Independent Venue Week, and we also played LDM Festival, which was live-streamed from M&S Bank Arena! Our first arena show haha! I love performing live so much, so I can’t wait to get back on a stage with my band.

Words: Emma Bailey

Check out Natalie McCool here / / Spotify / / Apple Music / / Instagram //

Listen to ‘A Sun is Going Down’ on the Only A Northern One playlist here.