Following the release of her newest single ‘MINE’, I spoke to Leeds-based artist Lois, on her experience being a singer-songwriter as a newly independent artist. The end of 2024 saw Lois form a fresh start on socials, and we got chatting about the release of ‘MINE’ and what’s to follow, and how her this reset has helped Lois gauge her identity as a young female artist within the music industry:
“Working independently has changed my whole creative process, alongside the way I write songs, independence changes the way in which I project my identity as an artist externally. Being in a label, I previously found writing conflicting, as I felt I had to fit a brief, whereas this project contained a lot of testing. It feels completely different to what I was making. Compared to my previous project, it feels the most me.”
The change Lois is experiencing within her artistry is felt completely throughout the track. We spoke a lot about ‘the 7 year rule’ and I asked Lois to elaborate on this, explain how this idea feeds into her project and what it means to her:
“‘MINE’ is all about reclaiming your body, channeling power and strength – something I didn’t have for a very long time. There’s an idea that the skin regenerates every 7 years, and I found so much comfort in that. It really started something in me: a new skin – a new version of myself – and the idea that I don’t need to be defined by that person I was 7 years ago. It works both metaphorically and physically – metaphorically in my music career, and then literally stepping into a new skin to do so. ‘MINE’, to me, is about taking ownership of my body. Like a warning to others – pay attention to your gut – something my younger self needed to hear.”
Space and time can dictate an artist and their work. In creating her new project, Lois moved between Leeds to London when songwriting. I asked Lois how the space she’s in, and the people she was with had shaped her work:
“Moving around feels chaotic to me – this is reflected in the music itself. This project is a lot bigger and cinematic, where the last one was a bit more polished and pop-y. I was getting on coaches at 5am to make it to sessions – doing everything I can to make it work. I went from being in a position of financial security whereby the label was paying for all of it – to having no money and doing it on the dole. This project is me showing myself I’m gonna do it, no matter how hard it might be. I’d say that definitely reflects in its sound. This sounds how my brain was for that year.”
‘MINE’ is a totally effervescent and fresh track – the perfect start to Lois’ new era. We got talking about the more technical side of songwriting and how this sound was achieved:
“The songs were very emotionally driven. I didn’t sit down and think ‘I want to make project that sounds like this’, it was more like – I have these feelings, this is how these feelings sound to me. With ‘MINE’, I went into the session really angry. I was struggling a lot with the structure of not being in a label and what that means for me. It was never really meant to be anything, I just wanted to get this song out to get past this feeling. In making my new music, I just wanted to speak out, feel strong in the same way I feel on stage, and translate that into the writing.”
Being left to her own devices, I spoke to Lois about her creative direction – whether she went into the songwriting process knowing what she wanted to achieve, whether she surprised herself:
“Yeah! It wasn’t what I expected. I got really into Massive Attack before starting – heavier music – I went with that, and followed that train. Not what I expected to make. When I first started I was also really into Self Esteem and the ‘Prioritise Pleasure’ album. That album blew my mind. A northern woman, chatting about prioritising pleasure, owning your body, and basically fuck all of these men in the industry. I was like: ‘Wait! this is who I could be.’ Being a young female artist, I used to be a massive people pleaser. Seeing a powerful woman speaking out and being praised for it inspired me to tell my story in a different way.”
We finished up our chat talking about the power in seeing the rise of women pop-stars in the industry at the moment. “Haim, Olivia Dean, Lola Young, all strong women! It’s nice to see that pop-stars are back.” Then, I got Lois’ biggest takeaway from this project:
“You can definitely lose yourself in creating songs to be heard. My biggest takeaway has been to trust the feeling when it comes to song. This makes me feel something, and I want to share it.”
Lois is channeling a totally refreshing yet powerful energy into what’s to come next. One to watch – her new sound is going to burst onto stage.
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