For Yorkshire indie musician and songwriter Fiona-Lee, this debut EP has been a long time coming. You see while new project ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’ is technically Fiona’s first release, it’s already taken a decade plus of mastering her craft to even get to this point.
Growing up in a house reverberating with the sounds of Genesis, Pink Floyd, U2 and Led Zeppelin, she caught the songwriting bug very early on at the age of just 10 years old. “I don’t think I played any instruments at that time, but I do have books from when I would like write songs and show them to my friends” she explains, filled with nostalgia. “Then I started having piano lessons when I was young but wasn’t super into that – so when I was 14, I started teaching myself guitar.”
‘Pumped Up Kicks’ by Foster The People would be the first song Fiona would learn on her friend Jacob’s guitar, something she references on heartbreaking, grief-battling single, ‘When I Wake Up I’m Sad’. After then joining a music club called School of Rock, she would eventually get the courage to perform at one of their open mic nights. “That was the first time I had sung in front of anyone, I honestly just never thought I could (sing)” she reveals, a fact that seems quite surprising given the strength of her vocal performances. “Then everybody was like “Oh you can really sing!” and so after that I thought yeah this is cool, maybe I can sing!”
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Fiona’s passion for music would soon turn her hobby into a vocation. From an evolving music taste brought on through discovering great artists like Jeff Buckley, PJ Harvey, Alanis Morrissette, Joni Mitchell and Fleetwood Mac, she began to study music production at college in her late teens. Shortly after, Fiona would then take the plunge by moving down to London, at which point her gut-punching debut single would emerge – ‘Mother’. A very open and vulnerable song written when she was 20 years old (now 25), it details the horrible situation between Fiona and her exploitive former manager.
“When I wrote it, I wasn’t thinking about anyone else but – as the song developed over the years – it just became very obvious this is an important song about these dynamics that a lot of people experience” she says candidly. “Obviously, my situation was with someone I was working with, but I know a lot of people interpret that song as a romantic relationship. It’s about abuse really, isn’t it? It’s about being taken advantage of, wanting to get out of a situation and feeling really lost.”
“I think it is important – especially for young women or just women in general – to know that they can get out of that situation. I also think that’s why I felt the song – just in terms of how it develops throughout, it starts out more vulnerable then gets a bit heavier towards the end – just represents it perfectly. By the end of it, I just felt really empowered.”
However, ‘Mother’ isn’t the only frank, emotionally charged moment on ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’. Across six soaring tracks, Fiona is refreshingly open about her battles with anxiety, depression, grief and self-confidence, all feelings we each can experience but often don’t know how to put into words. While her musical inspiration and eloquent lyricism often comes from painful memories and experiences, it is at the same time a rewarding process. “It’s definitely a cathartic and therapeutic thing just to write the songs and get it onto paper” she explains. “You know, making it into something beautiful that is enjoyable for people to listen to – that’s just a really powerful thing, especially if it’s about an unpleasant experience.”
“I do feel like all the songs have their own message. It’s weird because when I’m writing it, I’m not thinking “oh, how is this going to help” or “how are people going to feel about this”… obviously I want to make music that really resonates with people, but I think the way to do that is to not think about what will resonate, and just write as honestly as possible. There will be someone out there that gets it.”
With pouring so much heart and personal experience into her songs, it does mean however that performing them live can, occasionally, be a challenge.
“There was one time where I played ‘Mother’ and there was a girl there that worked with the same person that I had worked with, and I hadn’t seen her in years. We locked eyes and I was like “oh my god” … I just forgot how real this was, like this was actually a real experience and this person had been through the exact same thing with him as well. So that was hard.”
“There’s also a song called ‘Lavender’ on the EP, which is about my mum. At The Great Escape last year after I played it, I literally burst into tears – just turned around and sobbed. When I turned back around, everyone was just staring at me as I’m on the stage! I just made a joke like “Sorry guys, I’m on my period” and there was a load of women at the back who just went “WOO!” – so that made me feel better!”
While thematically Fiona’s songs can seem on the surface like a tough listen, the stark sonic contrast ensures this is never the case. Bringing in musicians from Catfish & The Bottlemen, Another Sky and Sam Fender’s band, as well as dropping in a Springsteen-inspired saxophone solo on ‘Makes Me Feel Good’, the EP overflows with uplifting moments and accomplished instrumentation at every turn. One of the key people who worked alongside Fiona to help bring this vision to life was producer and member of The Maccabees/86TVs, Hugo White.
“Hugo’s great, so kind and gentle – even just like his presence and energy is just so calm, it makes me feel very comfortable instantly,” she says, full of praise for the guitarist turned studio tech wizard. “I think for an artist like me that is so important, because obviously you are dealing with delicate subjects. He gave so much time as well to doing these songs, all the guitars that we recorded just sounded so good. He just brought something new, especially on ‘When I Wake Up I’m Sad’ – we recorded that and then hours later I got sent a monitor mix, and for some reason it wasn’t making me feel the way it’s meant to make me feel. Then we went back in, he did a load of tricks, and suddenly it was great!”
Hugo’s bandmate in 86TVs and Stereophonics drummer Jamie Morrison also came in to do percussion on the EP, an honour that Fiona explains is not lost on her. “Honestly, I just remember being in the rooms and looking around being like “Holy f**k, how have I managed to bag all these people?!” Especially people from Catfish, Stereophonics, Sam Fender – all people from bands that I’ve been listening to for years. Just working with musicians at that level, is just such a privilege – it still shocks me!”
With her debut EP in the bag, Fiona was able to get feedback from audiences at the back end of 2024 when she went on tour supporting Reading rockers, The Amazons. “That was the first tour I’ve done since I started releasing music and there were a few moments where I could see people singing along” she says, recalling the shows with clear enthusiasm. “That was the first time I’ve ever experienced that, it’s even weird now to think ‘oh people are actually learning the words to my songs’ – that was just so nice.”
While the support slots continue, Fiona is also eyeing up a small run of headline shows in the near future. Having performed solo for almost a decade, she is hoping to translate the collaborative spirit of the ‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’ EP onto the stage. “A big thing for this year is to get a band together. Just to play live with a band and really get a band behind me would be amazing” she reveals. “I’m really excited about that and just feel like I’m going to the next level.”
Although plans for the future are already there, with Fiona even already beginning to demo her follow-up EP, she is keen to stick to the patient road that has treated her well so far: “It’s funny I’ve been doing this for so long, and people would hear music that I’ve done and be like “well put it out” – and I’ve always been like no, I’m going to do it properly. I want to make sure that I know what I want as an artist, who I am, what I have to say. I think finally I’ve got to that point, and I’ve got an EP that embodies all of that.”
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‘Nothing Compares To Nineteen’ EP is out now.
Words: Karl Blakesley
Photo Credit: Flower Up
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