From the moment the Spector-esque drums sound and the impassioned vocal begins, ‘All I Need to Hear’, Candie Payne’s debut single, which received a vinyl-only release earlier this year, it’s impossible not taken captivated by the plight of the song’s central character.
“It’s about being deluded,” explains Candie. “Well maybe not actually deluded, but about wanting to be deluded. It’s the story of a person who’s so into someone else that it doesn’t matter if the object of their affection, or obsession, feels the same, but as long as they say they are, that’s enough.”
“As long as the horns and the bass are loud enough, I’m fine”
The dazzling song has the hallmarks of an established artist – brave arrangement, vintage production and raw emotion, but it is in fact one of the first songs the 24-year-singer wrote, and was the very first song she ever sang in the studio.
“I wrote it about two or three years ago, so it’s quite old. We didn’t really do much to it either. There were suggestions of putting backing vocals on it, or doing something else, but I really love the simplicity of it, and the way that the vocals are quite stark against the drums and there’s not a lot else going on there. I think that all enhances the pathetic-ness of this poor girl.”
Notice the word ‘we’ – it’s an important one. Despite being a solo artist, Candie collaborates with Simon Dine on her work. He’s best known for his output with Noonday Underground and for co-writing one of Paul Weller’s finest tracks, ‘It’s Written In The Stars’.
“We’re a good team,” enthuses the softly spoken Scouser, who spent her formative years in New York. “Simon is more focused on the music side of things than I am. As long as the horns and the bass are loud enough, I’m fine, so I think that attitude helps pull him out of it a bit, and approach things with a fresh pair of ears at times.”
With a second small-scale single, the rousing ‘Take Me’, now in the bag, what can we expect next from Miss Payne?
“Well, the album is all done. We’ve mixed it, I’ve listened to it a few times at home, in the car and wherever, and I’m definitely happy with it. At the moment, we’re looking at April for the album, with the first ‘proper’ single, ‘I Wish I Could Have Loved You More’ scheduled for the end of January. We’ll definitely be gigging before Christmas. I’m going to be supporting The Zutons at Liverpool Uni on December 11, which I’m so excited about.”
The reason for Candie’s happiness is that brother Sean, drummer in the aforementioned Liverpool-based quintet, asked little sis’ to warm-up for the band after watching her rehearse recently.
“Getting big brother’s approval is a big deal,” she beams. “But rehearsals (with backing band The Joneses, of Edgar Jones fame) have gone really well so far. It’s going to sound brilliant.”
What does she mean, going to? It already does.