Interview: Bow Anderson
Bow Anderson
Scottish Pop sensation Bow Anderson has already wowed Elton John and Cydni Lauper with her debut single ‘Sweater’, shot her own quarantine video for follow-up ‘Heavy’ and now Philip Giouras catches up with the rising star to discuss upcoming third single and late summer anthem ‘Island’.
“God I love that, that could light up the whole of Edinburgh” those were Elton John’s words himself when describing Bow Anderson debut single ‘Sweater’, and it’s fair to say he knows a thing or two about a great Pop song. His sentiments were echoed by none other than Cyndi Lauper as she recently revealed in a piece for W magazine “I am a big fan of Bow Anderson, what a voice.” That level of acclaim from Pop superstars must feel surreal I ask Anderson “Yeah that was crazy!... I was like oh my god that’s Elton John! What is going on!?, It’s amazing though and it makes it all worthwhile, I’m just grateful that my music is getting a good response because I’ve been grasping away for a few years now and Cyndi Lauper as well, it’s just ridiculous!
I come off shooting the video for Heavy and my mum was like you’ll never guess what’s being said about you, and when she said by Cyndi I was like What!? that’s insane, it’s amazing, I’m really grateful”. Incredibly high praise but when you listen to ‘Sweater’ I think you’ll soon see why, I instinctively reached to turn up the volume and blast out the anthemic chorus louder. Her songs have that smart, relatable lyricism and earworm melodies reminiscent of Alessia Cara or Ella Mai’s debuts.
I’m speaking to Anderson from her flat in London, she’s just returned after spending a tumultuous lockdown period back home in Edinburgh “I found it quite hard actually, So I was up in Scotland in my family home, my mum and dad were working from home so there wasn’t much space in the house and I’ve lived in London for about five years now, I only thought I was going back for a couple weeks but nine weeks later I was still there, there are ups and downs, I kept positive and there is people a lot worse off than me so I can’t complain but there was definitely some struggles of being indoors with not much space.”
It was during that lockdown period she created and launched the video for second single ‘Heavy’ which itself had some lockdown challenges of its own to overcome. “It was quite strange, it was only my second music video and I’d gone from having an actual team to me and a guy with the drone (in a field) and I would shoot the footage on my iPhone, I’m really pleased with how it turned out though, I was a bit intimated because ‘oh god it’s all in my hands can I make it look good?’ but yeah I like a challenge, it was fun and I enjoyed it by the end”.
We’re speaking ahead of the launch of her third single ‘Island’ which came out last summer. A track I’d describe as a fantastic, empowering late summer anthem. I asked Anderson how the inspiration for the track came about. “The idea behind Island is that it’s that point, for me anyway in a relationship when you break up with someone and you feel absolutely miserable, and you feel very lonely but then you get to this stage where you’re like ‘I feel good and I deserve better than that!’ you feel on top of the worlds and it’s about having that power and strength in yourself to not let someone bring you down, for me that was from a romantic relationship but for the listener that could be someone’s friend that’s not being nice or someone negative in your life, a bully… It’s a pick me up song, to let people know that you’re strong and amazing.” Those values blend over into the video itself, a stylistic and fun beachside scene recently shot in Margate “It was so fun to film, it’s about being confident, knowing your worth, having fun and letting go. We’ve got synchronized swimmers, I’m buried in the sand and there’s just a fun but strong sass to it all.”
I point out to Anderson whether it’s ‘Heavy’, ‘Sweater’ or ‘Island’ there is a distinct personal theme through her music and lyrics and there’s a significant difference between singing a song and writing one, I enquired whether she found it hard or perhaps cathartic to tell her story through song, bringing back those difficult memories. “Yeah, do you know what, song writing is like my therapy because I’m not very good at showing my emotions through like talking about things, I’m still working on that but music and song writing is a way for me to put down how I’m feeling and by putting it out into the world it’s kind of a way to lift the weight off my shoulders, also I feel it helps other people listening as well, makes them feel less lonely.”
Anderson’s passion for music shines bright during our conversation. It’s that drive and ambition that took her from Edinburgh to London for university in the first place “I think I just was so determined to do music because it was what I was good at” Anderson tells me. A lot of students starting their first terms at university right now will be reassured that despite her self-belief and confidence Anderson can more than relate to those first week nerves “you’ve got to be ambitious and ballsy and just be confident that you’re good enough to be heard kind of thing. So yeah, I think I’ve always known I was coming to London. I was a bit nervous, like when my mum and dad left I was like, all right, like, I don’t know anyone, I’m living with two randoms, Uni doesn’t start for another two weeks, and I was a bit like, What do I do? But I’ve had a ball like, Oh, like I love London. There’s just like, so much going on. I’ve met amazing people, I’m so glad to have done that”.
Looking forward, what does the future hold for Anderson? “I think, basically we’re going to be releasing singles, looking towards an album for 2021 and hopefully some live shows that’d be nice.”