INTERVIEW: Fee Booth from BLOXX talks lockdown and their upcoming debut album: "It’s so important that the music industry is this free and expressive place to create art without judgement."

May 21

May 21 INTERVIEW: Fee Booth from BLOXX talks lockdown and their upcoming debut album: "It’s so important that the music industry is this free and expressive place to create art without judgement."

UK indie-pop band BLOXX, fronted by singer-songwriter Fee Booth formed in West London in 2016 while Booth was working part-time at her local Wetherspoons. Dreaming of a career in music but prepared to put in the hard yards, Booth had enrolled in university to study music technology but only a week into her degree, she watched in surprise as BLOXX’s debut single ‘Your Boyfriend’ rapidly climbed the Spotify viral charts. Encouraged by the success, she quit university and her dream of being in a successful band suddenly came to life. Over the past three years, BLOXX’s reputation has grown and seen them support bands such as The Wombats and Two Door Cinema Club and hit over two million streams on Spotify alone.

Late last month they released the single ‘Lie Out Loud’, the title track from their recently announced debut album due in August this year. Classic guitar based pop that sweeps you up and never lets you go, the chorus is a rush of melodies, driving beats and multi-layered vocals that leaves you wanting more. We recently spoke with Fee to find out more about BLOXX’s career, music and their highly anticipated upcoming debut album.

Hi Fee! Thanks for chatting to us. How is life in lockdown going for you?!
Hey! Not too bad, bit weird but getting on with loads of writing so that’s really fun!

I’d like to talk about your beginnings in music; who were the artists that inspired you, or that you were into, when you were growing up?
I was mad into everything as a kid, my parents would listen to all sorts, 80s music, drum and bass garage and rock. My biggest memory is a lot of P!nk! I loved how just nonchalant she was, I think melody wise she’s an amazing writer too. Then in high school I got into Jeff Buckley and a lot of Bombay Bicycle Club, and started emulating a lot of that into my writing.

Was there ever a moment where you consciously chose to make music your career, or was it just always a given for you?
I think I always dreamt of being a musician, but in sixth form college I was going for production, a live sound engineering. I hadn’t performed live for a while and I forgot about that buzz. Then when I turned 18 I really wanted to just play again, and after the first show as BLOXX, I knew I had to have it.

Can you talk us a little through how BLOXX were formed?
Me and Taz met in college! Also Wetherspoons - me and Paul worked there for 3 years together. Joe joined the band early this year.

Congratulations on the new single ‘Lie Out Loud’, it is such a great track. What was the inspiration behind the song?
It was frustration I think. It all happened in 1 hour in the studio, whilst recording the album, so it kinda nearly didn’t happen in a weird way. I’m glad it did though, I love it.

It has a super cool animated music video as well, how did that come about?
Lockdown! We really wanted to shoot a video, because for the last 3 years, we’ve been super unlucky with videos. We always plan them and then never shoot. So when this shoot got cancelled for ‘Lie Out Loud’, I kinda just went “Yeah classic”. So we thought we’d do a cool lil thing. Barnaby the animator is super cool, it looks great. Legend.

I understand work is well underway on your debut album, how is that all going and what - if anything - can you reveal about what we can expect to hear when it is released?
It’s finished, and it comes out on the 14th August. I’m super stoked, it’s been 3 years in the making so, it’s like being pregnant for 3 years ya know? It’s great, I’ll be honest. It’s kinda indescribable because it’s got a lot of ups and downs on, I can never find the right words, which isn’t great for press, right? Ha!

I hear Australia’s Alex Lahey co-wrote a track on the album, how did that collaboration come about?
Yes! She did! With me and Steph Marziano. What a dream team! I had so much fun writing it. It’s called ‘Give Me The Keys’. I think it might actually be my favourite song on the record, but it’s always changing. Steph introduced us!

The representation of LGBTQI+ artists in the music industry has never been better, or more prominent. How do you feel things have changed, if at all, over the last few years for gay artists in music?
Oh it’s great. It’s so important that the music industry is this free and expressive place, for so many to just exist in their own skin and create art without judgement. Where it used to be so taboo, it’s almost a character builder now. I mean that in the best way possible, I think it’s so revolutionary that you can just be quirky, and be yourself as a part of what you do for a living. Also, I’ve tried not to make such a big deal out of liking women my whole life, I don’t enter a room a go “I’M GAY”. But now we can just sing about it the same way a bloke might sing about his wife and that’s so freeing for me, and I hope the community.

On a similar note, the music industry has traditionally been very patriarchal and not particularly welcoming, open minded or kind to female artists. What are your thoughts on gender equality and sexism in the music industry?
Yeah I think about it a lot, I think about how different our success story might be if I had been a man. I try not to get so caught up on it though. Of course it’s unfair, a lot of things in life are. We just have to plough on through it and show our worth and ability. Recently I’ve realised that negativity just causes a hell load of stress, so when I feel like I’m being treated differently because I’m a female, I usually strip it back down to core values and remember that I am capable and just because someone else has a view of me as inferior, it doesn’t mean that I am. I think everyone should do that.

With everything on hold thanks to the coronavirus lockdown, what does Bloxx have planned to stay creative throughout this period when touring is impossible?
Loads of livestreams, and Zooms and writing! It’s crazy that we seem to be more creative in lockdown. We all just miss each other like mad! Also, talking to fans on socials is keeping us sane too! It’s a bit of fun.

‘Lie Out Loud’ is out now. You can download on iTunes and stream on Apple Music and Spotify.

To keep up with all things BLOXX you can follow them on Instagram, Facebook and Twitter.