Bonnie Kemplay - Someone, somewhere track-by-track
Following the release of Someone, somewhere, singer-songwriter Bonnie Kemplay talks us through the EP track by track
At the end of July, Edinburgh-born singer-songwriter Bonnie Kemplay released her latest EP, Someone, somewhere. Arriving via Dirty Hit (the label home of Wolf Alice, Rina Sawayama and The 1975), the EP sees Kemplay looking to the past as she continues to grow and evolve as an artist. "This EP lives somewhere between transition and memory,” Kemplay says. “A few of the songs were written in times of change and uncertainty like moving cities and dealing with a long-term injury. Many of the songs explore childhood memories and navigating evolving relationships with myself and other people."
There's a warmth to the record that feels akin to watching old home movies, Kemplay's breathy vocals beautifully floating over rich instrumentation. Celebrating a week of the record, Kemplay talks us through each of its six songs.
Big Machine
I wrote Big Machine during a stint of working in a coffee shop in Mayfair. It was interesting to observe the commuter rush and see all the white collar workers marching to their offices in central London. The coffee shop was quiet so time moved strangely and I often felt like a small cog in a big machine. Like my role in this machine was to serve the office people anti-sleepy juice.
Bones
Bones is about a time when I had an injury in my arms and was moving between different health practitioners. The second verse is about a conversation I had with a doctor where he told me verbatim that I needed to eat a dead thing the size of my palm everyday. He was actually awesome, he just had a creative flair with his way of wording medical advice.
I’ve Known You
I was in a big Wilco phase when I wrote I’ve Known You. My brother introduced me to Yankee Foxtrot Hotel and I wanted to write a Wilco-inspired song about him. The song explores different scenes of our childhood, teenhood and where we’re at now.
Paper Angel
Paper Angel was inspired by a home video of a school nativity I was in when I was four. In the video you can see all the kids engaged in the performance, singing the song ‘Whoopsie daisy angel’ loudly with big cheesy smiles, and then there’s me looking confused, not singing a word and fiddling with the flimsy halo on my head. I still relate to four-year-old me not singing in that show and it made me think about how I can look after that part of myself.
Beginners
Beginners is about one of my best friends. We share similar anxieties about creativity and put a lot of pressure on ourselves. I read an article on creativity and how expectation and ego is such a big killer for adults making art and how we should try to connect with the way we created as children and to view ourselves as beginners. I liked that sentiment.
Dandelions
Dandelions paints memories from holidays in the Highlands at my grandma’s cottage. A few years ago my dad got all of our home videos digitised and I spent hours watching scenes of my childhood. For a few months my head was swimming with all those memories, and the innocence and freedom of that age, and coming to terms with that phase of my life being over.
Someone, somewhere is out now via Dirty Hit
Follow Bonnie Kemplay on Instagram @bonniekemplay