INTERVIEW: Navvy talks new single 'Pieces': "I have chosen a life where I share my mind and feelings and I want to do that as much as possible."

Image: Lula Cucchiara

Earlier this month, New Zealand singer-songwriter Navvy released the single ‘Pieces’, her first new music of 2020 after the release of her debut EP The Breakup and the followup No Hard Feelings last year. While The Breakup and No Hard Feelings detailed the collapse of her four year relationship, ‘Pieces’ see her coming out the other side, still grappling with the hurt but realising healing has occurred “You took every part of me and ruined all our plans…but I got my pieces back together” she sings. Written last year in London with Starsmith (Jessie Ware, Jess Glynne) and Rory Adams, ‘Pieces’ is an all encompassing electro synth track which has similarities with the icy cool scandipop of Robyn mixed with the emotive warmth of Jessie Ware.

“It was a messed up time in my life,” Navvy says of the circumstances that led to the creation of ‘Pieces’, “but now I simply feel lucky to have loved so hard that losing it felt so horrible.” It has also allowed Navvy to create truly outstanding music and evolve as one of the brightest new singers emerging from New Zealand right now.

To celebrate the release of ‘Pieces’, we recently caught up with Navvy to find out more.

Hey Navvy! So good to talk to you. How have you been surviving lockdown and isolation?!
Hello! I have been good actually. I have really enjoyed spending time with my parents, who absolutely rock. Have done a lot of baking/cooking with my Mum, and a lot of watching The Chase with my Dad. Also some writing and phone calls with my best pals.

Congratulations on the release of the new single ‘Pieces’ it is a brilliant song! You have said it is about rebuilding your life after a relationship breakup, can you tell us a little bit more about the inspiration behind the track?
Thank you so much that is so lovely of you! Yeah, it is definitely about rebuilding your life. I think it is just a lil reminder that it’s OK to be OK again, even after the destruction of something you had assumed would last forever.

Can you tell us a little about the creative process behind the song? Who you worked with, where you recorded, how long the whole process took?
This song was one of the best experiences I’ve had. I wrote it with one of my best friends and favourite ever people Rory Adams, and also one of the other best people, Starsmith. We really just had such a blast. We wrote the whole song in a day in Brixton, London. Then about 8 months later when I was back in town, Starsmith and I finished off some little details of the track. Well, he did, and I mainly sat there and distracted him!

The lyrics to your music are always so raw, relatable and personal. Is it a form of therapy to put your feelings into your songs, and is there ever any anxiety about putting your inner most thoughts and feelings out there for everyone to pick over?
Oh yeah, it’s been a huge part of my recovery. I think therapy with someone who is qualified to help is really important, but putting my true and honest feelings into my songs has been really helpful. It’s also so fun to go back and listen to how I felt one, three, nine months earlier. I am never anxious about including detail in songs, it is actually the opposite. I have chosen a life where I share my mind and feelings, and I want to do that as much as possible.

Music has such an amazing ability to connect with and heal people, do you also see sharing your story through your songs as a platform for your fans to work through their own difficult life moments?
Oh absolutely. That is by far the best part about what I do. I absolutely love people. I think people are my number one passion in life. Music is such a phenomenal way to reach lots of people all at once. I have had countless messages from people saying songs I have written have helped them get through a difficult situation, and just knowing that is more than enough for me.

As far as music goes you had a non-traditional upbringing with opera being your version of pop thanks to your grandparents playing it constantly. Can you tell us a little bit more about the role music played in your life when you were growing up?
Yeah, music has always been my main focus, but it was not any kind of pop music, apart from Taylor Swift really. I trained in classical voice and sat all of my exams and stuff, so that was a lot of work, and took up a lot of my time. I also did lots of musical theatre, so I would always have rehearsal. I think both of those types of training have given me the tools I need to do what I do now in the way I do it.

What was the ‘thing’ that convinced you to pursue music as a career? Was there a ‘light bulb’ moment or was it just something that happened organically?
I have been outrageously lucky, and my parents have always allowed me to do anything that made me happy, as long as I was working really hard. I didn’t know I wanted to do this until I knew I could, really, but they always knew it was right for me. Once I started releasing music independently that I’d written with my best friends, and had people reaching out saying it was helping them, I was hooked.

What artists or music have you been getting into recently?
I have almost exclusively listened to Lennon Stella’s album Three. Two. One. over lockdown. Her melodies, and vocals, and lyrics…boy oh boy we do not deserve her. I have also been listening to Moses Sumney, whose vocals also just make me melt. There is this one video of him from Pitchfork Music Festival in 2016 that I watch like, minimum once a week.

There has been a lot of talk in the past couple of years about gender equality and sexism in the wake of #metoo. What are your thoughts on the role of women in the music industry and how they are treated and perceived, both from the inside and by the general public?
I mean, I have only really worked in music for just over a year, and in that time, I have been incredibly lucky. I have worked with all types of people in New Zealand and London, and I personally have felt really accepted. It is also helpful that in New Zealand, the music scene is full of strong powerful women, who are constantly smashing it, and that is who I have to look up to. I think women are so important in any industry, but I definitely think that in an industry where people are telling their story, it is so important to get a lot of different perspectives in your consuming of music. I encourage people to listen to black stories, and womens stories, and stories that are different to their own. It’s a really amazing tool for furthering your own personal education.

What’s up next for Navvy?
I mean, everything is so uncertain for everyone at the moment, which is scary for sure, but also kind of is keeping me on my toes. I will be releasing another EP this year, which will kind of close off this story I am in the middle of telling. I am trying to play shows in New Zealand, because everything is re-opening up. I am kind of just taking every day as it happens.

‘Pieces’ by Navvy is out now. You can buy or stream it here
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