Looking at Old Photos: Lou Mclean interview

We call Edinburgh singer-songwriter Lou Mclean to chat about her new EP, her influences and inspirations, and Girls Rock School

Feature by Megan Wallace | 01 Jun 2017

While Lou Mclean’s particular brand of acoustic pop – soulful and confessional, cut with razor-sharp wit – is a tried-and-tested formula, there’s a secret ingredient in the mix which beckons you to listen more. It might be the music’s blinding sincerity or it might be the bright, bold personality shining through from behind each rhyme and rhythm. Whatever it is, there’s certainly something special about Lou Mclean.

When we start by asking about her new Good Morning Easter Road EP, Mclean dives straight into addressing its autobiographical nature: “The songwriting just happens, like a record of what happens in my life, so the EP’s like a year in the life (well, less than a year..) and flows through a narrative; after a break-up, getting more comfortable with myself and then on through to the crazy music journey I’m on now. I listened to the EP at the weekend and it was weird, like looking at old photos, it’s like ‘oh so that’s how I was feeling then’, like an old diary but less cringey.”

Trying to pick a favourite song from the EP, admittedly a tricky question, she exclaims: “That’s like making me choose between my kids! Shit!” before grudgingly elaborating: “I really like Poets & Flat Caps – it’s cheeky as anything and when I wrote it I was like, 'Am I really going to do this?' And Bedtime Reading. At the beginning I want people to think it’s about sex or something and then I give it a bit of a switcheroo and it’s about something completely different.” Quickly she adds: “Just so you know, I don’t actually have any kids!”

On the topic of evolution, Mclean tells us: “This EP’s a bit funnier than the last one [September to December], which was about the breakdown of a relationship, and it’s a bit more me. I think it sounds a lot more confident – when I brought the last EP out I’d only been playing gigs for two months and I was scared about what people would think about the music and about me.”

It might have been a bit slow in coming, but a future in music was an inevitability for Mclean, whose passion for music runs deep. As she puts it: “I’ve always been really into music but I had really terrible stage fright as a kid which stopped me getting into making and performing music sooner, it’s only about four years ago that I got my first guitar. I guess because I waited so long to perform and write, I’ve been going for it extra hard.”

Talking about her influences, she tells us: “I grew up listening to my mum’s old CDs and records and as a kid I loved The Beatles. Then when I was thirteen, a Bikini Kill CD came up as a recommendation on Amazon. I was like ’Holy shit!!’ It was a whole new kind of music and the awakening of feminism for me.”

We ask about gigging and Mclean admits: “I love live shows. I used to get so nervous but the more I practised, the more I enjoyed it.” With characteristic zeal, she goes on to add: “The first year I was gigging, I just took all the offers given to me. One week I played Kelburn [Garden Party] and the next I was playing support for a bluegrass group at a bowling club party and singing my songs about break-ups and sex for retired people. It was actually really good though! I got a feel for the room and just nattered away for ages.”

In addition to intimate shows such as this, Mclean’s first year as a live performer saw her win a competition to headline the Famous Grouse House during the Edinburgh Fringe. She elaborates: “That was really special because I hadn’t been doing music for that long. I entered the competition thinking ‘it’s worth a shot’, not expecting it’d come to anything. Then I got it and it was like ‘this is amazing!’.”

As Mclean's confidence continues to grow, she's now heavily involved with Edinburgh’s Girls Rock School who offer music workshops run by women for women. She was a pupil of the school in 2015 but the student has become the master, with Mclean now running songwriting workshops there. “It’s a really nurturing environment full of women who don’t make excuses for creating. Having other girls you can talk to, as support, when you’re trying to get into music is really important, it makes you feel like you belong." She concludes: "I’m having the time of my life with music right now but I remember what it was like when I wasn’t confident enough. Helping other girls get that confidence is pretty much the best thing ever!”

What’s next for Lou Mclean? Beyond the EP launch, she’s already started looking into new live dates and events with Girls Rock School, and hints at a full-length release. Whatever the future holds, we’re sure she’ll rise to the challenge.

Good Morning Easter Road is out on 9 Jun

Lou Mclean plays Leith Depot, Edinburgh, 8 Jun https://www.facebook.com/loumcleanmusic/