We introduced you to Penny Bridges a couple of weeks back. We got to chat to the Wolverhampton singer songwriter to find out a bit more.
PB: I’m a 21 year old singer songwriter from Wolverhampton in the West Midlands. From a young age I was always interested in poetry and I was always surrounded by music. I found myself wanting to play guitar and all of it just became where I myself was creating my own songs. It just felt right.
EP: Your music has a really ethereal quality to it — a bit Dream Pop maybe but with something else to it. Describe in your own words what your music is about.
PB: Thank you essentially pop its nice to know your outlook on my music. I think my music is about different scenarios/situations happening either myself or other people, everyday life and sometimes I just see pictures and stories in my mind or a feeling where I think this should be expressed and seen through music.
EP: What’s the songwriting process for you? Do you start with a general idea, or a theme, that you’re going to write on, or do you come up with random ideas and work from there? Or is there some other way? How do you do it?
PB: Most times I find Myself away in a moment and ill just create I just feel everything I do. So ill play away on my guitar see the pictures etc and I start expressing. Everything then starts to just form and come together. Eventually then when everything is there I work with producer Thomas Mellor and we start adding the production. To me its about 100% being true to yourself and how you feel towards that particular piece and just being free with it. The rest follows really.
EP: Who are your inspirations, both personally and musically?
PB: Musically I think I enjoy listening to all kinds of music, but perhaps people such as David Bowie T Rex, Kate Bush etc allowed me to appreciate words lyrically and so I always like to write with some substance of some kind. From 17 I had a lot of guidance and advice from The Bullitts (Jeymes Samuel) and so that helped me develop later on musically I think I started to become less shy and see my potential a little better.
EP: The music business is a pretty turbulent place. What’s your take on how things are for professional musicians?
PB: I think that the industry is a place that is cloudy at times. I think the outside world perhaps see things in ways that it just isn’t sometimes. I feel its important for all artists to understand what they want because its easy to be drawn in. There isn’t instant income but many other things such as acknowledgement peoples comments etc make it rewarding and worth while. I think you have to be determined and find people who want to support you honestly and professionally and things will come together. The industry is about you knowing what you want and people wanting that for you too and most importantly its about having fun. I think that if you can wake up and be happy about what you’re doing then thats one of the greatest feelings of all. You have to make it what you want it to be and be willing to try.
EP: We recently featured your Essential Weekly Playlist of whose music you can’t live without. Who else do you think we should look out for?
PB: You have featured my weekly playlist. It was great getting involved. I Think Latir is someone to look out for. I came across his song “Juvenile” youth on the SBTV channel and I thought it was good.
EP: What advice do you have for anyone wanting to follow a career in music?
PB: My advice probably goes back to some things I said earlier. Nothing comes over night but every step is one forward in some way. Just keep going enjoy what you are doing and know exactly what you want where you want to be and believe you will get there. I think you should always be willing to take peoples advice and just improve your craft every time. Take in advice and surround yourself with people who want you to do well. Just enjoy it. Always be grateful of those people who are always willing to help.
EP: What question do you wish someone would ask you in an interview, but nobody ever does?
PB: I suppose a question maybe would be, Is there a question you would like to ask us. I say this because it would be interesting to see in your minds about a particular thought musically.
Find Penny online on Twitter and Facebook. Penny’s latest song, ‘Gratitude’, is out now on Soundcloud. Check it out:
