The Skinny On... Katie Gregson-MacLeod

What’s your favourite place to visit?
Loch Ness. Growing up so close, the whole family used to pitch up off one of the laybys on the road to Foyers on nice days. It’s a rocky beach, which feels really secluded. Barbecue, picnic, freezing cold swim. Nowadays when I’m home I make a point of going to Dores and seeing if the loch is any less frozen; the answer is always no.

What’s your favourite food?
Fish and chips. Nostalgic and crispy.

What’s your favourite colour?
Red. Big.

Who was your hero growing up?
I was a squash player growing up so I was big on Nicol David, who was number one in the world when I was younger. When I was a teenager, maybe Tim Minchin. I was obsessed.

Whose work inspires you now?
Anyone who’s making music and writing words so genuine that it makes you feel that that artist could be making no other music and saying no other words.

What three people would you invite to your dinner party and what are you cooking?
Last night I made a vegan shepherd’s pie and it was really good in my opinion so I’m going to make that for everyone. I’d love to invite Stanley Tucci for his warm and calming aura, but I know he’s a chef so if he starts piping up about anything I’ve cooked he’s getting booted out. I’m going to invite Mel Giedroyc because I just want her to be around all the time wherever possible. And lastly, my gran, because she would be the funniest in the room and would ask Stanley Tucci what he does for a living which would be funny.

What’s your all-time favourite album?
I can’t choose a favourite but my most listened to would be Phoebe Bridgers’ Stranger in the Alps, SZA’s Ctrl and Hamish Hawk’s Heavy Elevator.

What’s the worst film you’ve ever seen?
Probably The Shawshank Redemption. Didn’t get it.

What book would you take to a desert island?
Rita Hayworth and Shawshank Redemption by Stephen King.

Who’s the worst?
You want me to say myself don’t you.

When did you last cry?
See last question.

What are you most scared of?
Myself. And wasps.

When did you last vomit?
I wish I could tell you because it was really funny but I can’t. Let’s just say lentil soup will never be the same again.

Tell us a secret?
I have a ghostwriter.

Which celebrity could you take in a fight?
Both Proclaimers. At once.

If you could be reincarnated as an animal, which animal would it be?
Owl.. [check out my video for Your Ex]

You’ve had an incredible couple of years, and your new EP Big Red is out next month – there seems to be a romantic thread tying the record together. Can you tell us more about the inspiration behind the record?
This EP was written about one short relationship that lasted a few months. It was written in that time period and each song comes from a different emotional angle or snapshot moment from that situation. I realised after writing Guestlist in January that these songs made sense as one project. It’s been really nice building a world around something that feels so cohesive. Big Red kind of opens and closes the door on itself, it feels like a standalone moment.

The end of the year will see you playing a headline tour, including shows in Edinburgh and Glasgow. What can we expect from the tour?
The visuals around the tour and the EP are gloomy and grungy, which neither the EP nor live shows are. I thought it would be fun that way. A kind of parallel for me with how people often go into my shows expecting me to be all dreary and sad, but actually being on stage is just a lot of fun for me. Being on that platform in that spotlight is so ridiculous and I hope to always treat it as such. I’m really chatty on stage, so expect a lot of that. I’ve also got a band for the first time in a long while. It should be fun with hints of deep despair.

What does 2024 look like for you?
Hoping for a nice holiday, maybe Mexico. Also making an album.

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Big Red is out now via Sony; Katie Gregson-MacLeod plays The Mash House, Edinburgh, 30 Nov; King Tut's, Glasgow, 3 Dec