Spotlight On... Lou Mclean

Edinburgh singer-songwriter Lou Mclean is set to release her debut album, Outline of a Girl, on 13 February. Produced by Carla J Easton – the musician, Hen Hoose member and artist behind the documentary Since Yesterday: The Untold Story of Scotland's Girl Bands – Outline of a Girl is ambitious in both sound and vision, with Mclean's knack for penning a catchy pop song brought to life by Easton's encyclopedic pop knowledge and guidance.

It’s been a while since we last spoke, which was in 2017 as far as I can make out. That doesn’t seem right, does it? How have the last *gulps* nine years been for you? What have we missed?
Well thanks for finally phoning me back! I've self-released 2 EPs and a bunch of singles since 2017 experimenting with different genres and collaborators.

2024's KILLJOY got me shortlisted for a Creative Edinburgh Award and SNACK's single of the year. I loved making a fuller sounding EP so that release was the foundation for the new album's sound. Otherwise I've really been honing my songwriting, I spent a year being mentored by massive pop songwriters like Pam Sheyne and Sharon Vaughn before they encouraged me to do my MA in songwriting at the University of the West of Scotland in 2024. That was a big turning point for my life actually, realising that I was wasting my time in my day job! I could go into my many life events and sidequests: being diagnosed with ADHD, my trip to New York to study Kathleen Hanna's zine archive at NYU, winning the Paolo Nutini songwriting prize... but we've not got time for all that today!

You’re releasing your debut album, ten tracks based on your Masters’ project ‘Women’s Work: using songwriting to explore gender, labour and community in contemporary Scotland’. I’d love to know more about your Masters and why you decided to use it as inspiration for this album?
My MA Music (songwriting) was in two parts: written essay and a collection of songs. The first was a more traditional academic research essay where I looked into the history of Scottish women's work-songs. Work-songs are songs that were created by ordinary people during their working day to pass the time. They are usually a capella and written to the rhythm of the work performed. I was very interested in the idea that people used to write songs and sing as part of everyday life, and what a modern day work-song would sound like. I had to think about what 'women's work' is today. I became fixated on the things that women face in the workplace and at home. I looked at emotional labour (commonly called the mental load), healing from sexual harassment or assault, the wage gap and oppressions like medical misogyny and objectification. I then wrote songs based both on my own experience and the academic data. When I'd graduated, I still had a lot to write about, so I continued writing and picked my favourite ten songs. So the album and the project really reflects where I've been as a woman and an artist over the last 18 months.

“Conceived as a musical manifesto, [Outline of a Girl] reflects the lived experiences of women and girls across history.” Can you tell us more about the meaning behind the title and some of the stories that have helped shape it?
The title comes from a line in the final track of the album: Spiralling. Spiralling is about staying in a toxic relationship too long because you're scared of being alone, scared of who you could be on your own. 'Outline of a girl' is a way of saying you've lost your identity, squeezing yourself into the shape of an ideal partner rather than an authentic individual. The meaning deepens when you think about societal expectations of women: to be beautiful, girlish, uncomplaining, uncomplicated. You're not expected to contain shading, you're just an outline of a girl, a line drawing, a background character.

Some of the stories are personal to me, but were reflected in the academic research (40% of women have faced sexual harassment at work, for example, I wrote about this in Jailbait). I took inspiration from groups of working class women like the Newhaven Fishwives, who performed all over Europe in their choir and wrote songs about life by the sea, and also operated the last known surviving Matriarchal society in Scotland. I couldn't believe these women existed and I knew nothing of them. So these historic influences really gave me the energy to push on and further that legacy of working class song-making.

Opening with a waulking song, you then explore a whole host of styles and genres across the record – can you talk us through some of the musical inspirations found across Outline of a Girl, from the more traditional through to artists like Chappell Roan?
During the MA I made Worksong as a very traditional piece, just vocals and rhythm, but my musical influences are mainly commercial or indie-pop, 1970s pop/rock/disco and riot grrrl punk! So it was a challenge to make this into a cohesive sound; because my voice and lyrics are unique it carries through, but the production on the record really elevated the album and pulled it together. I honestly just love well-written pop songs, so there are references to The Cars, Chappell Roan, Le Tigre, Taylor Swift, Jefferson Airplane, The Beatles... it's what the inside of my head sounds like filtered through Carla's expert ears!

You worked alongside Scottish pop and girl band connoisseur Carla J Easton on the record, which seems like a perfect match for the themes and inspirations behind this record – what was that whole experience like for you and did you learn anything you'll take into future works?
I learned so much from her! I've been a fan of her work for a long time so when she said she wanted to sit in the producer's chair in 2025 I snapped her up! She has an encyclopedic knowledge of records... I would say, "Maybe we should get some janky, wobbly keys on this part" and she'd pull out, "what about the solo on the 1978 song Just What I Needed by The Cars?" and we'd stick it on and it would be the perfect ingredient. She also has a huge respect for the art of the pop song, so I knew she wouldn't try to push the songs into boring/cool territory. We had a really fun and collaborative atmosphere in the studio where everyone involved felt able to create and bring their own skill to the project. I couldn't begin to tell you everything I've learned from her but two little pearls of wisdom were: say yes to every idea, you can always cut takes during the mix! And remember to bring snacks for your band...

The album was recorded with an impressive lineup of musicians and instrumentation. I’m particularly fascinated by the inclusion of the sitar on the record – how did that come about?
Yeah, I had an amazing team of musicians. Lesley (McLaren), Carron (Millar) and Dave (McGowan) in particular made the album better than I could have dreamed. I would play the song on my acoustic then we would go into the studio and they would make everything come to life. It was my first time recording with a band in a studio so it could have gone horribly wrong, but they were just so chill and amazing at what they do, it was just great.

The sitar came about from conversations about 'The Beatles in India' period in pop history. Carla and I had both spoken about how fantastic and mad that time was. Carla started to "hear" sitar in Desire Lines after we'd laid down the tracks. We brought in a live player (Graham Gordon) and he worked his magic on a few songs. It just opens the song up after the bridge. It reflects my love of 70s psychedelic rock but also feels fresh. It is quite unhinged honestly but that works for me! There's also a frog guiro on the album. If you can identify where, I'll send you a sticker.

In celebration of the album’s release, you’re playing a run of community workshops alongside live acoustic performances. Can you tell us more about these workshops and what people can expect?
During my research I drew comparison to the old waulking songs and the practice of zine-making. Both of these mediums allowed women and girls to say the unspeakable truths that they couldn't in wider society. In the workshops we will be making collaged zine pages and then turning those into work-songs. It's accessible for everyone and it's a low-pressure and fun way for anyone to get into songwriting. I want to get the message out that songwriting is for everyone – anyone can write a song and have fun with it. I HATE how music is gatekept from most people. Making music is a fundamental human behaviour and we need to make sure we don't lose that completely with the rise of shit AI models. So come along and be in a real room with real people making art.

Finally, what does the rest of the year have in store for you?
After the release tour I'll be continuing to teach songwriting at the Royal Conservatoire of Scotland, and doing a few more of the workshops at festivals, including Kelburn Garden Party. I've started writing for the next album too so I'll pull a band together to do some touring and recording in the autumn! And hopefully a summer holiday.

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Outline of a Girl is released on 13 Feb
Catch Lou Mclean playing acoustic performances alongside workshops at Duncan Place, Edinburgh, 21 Feb; Govanhill Baths, Glasgow, 7 Mar and  Firestation Creative, Dunfermline, 14 Mar. She also plays Kirkgate Barber's, Edinburgh, 25 Feb and Kirkcudbright, Dumfries and Galloway, 28 Feb

Follow Lou Mclean on Instagram @loumcleanmusic