Make Exactly What You Want To Make: An Interview With Kelly Lee Owens

Having put forward her debut self -released singles 'Lucid' and 'Arthur' earlier this year, it is clear that Kelly Lee Owens is making herself comfortable in the ambient world of her newly formed solo career, a world that she is creatively in control of. The bittersweet, electronic pulses of both Lucid and Arthur was the perfect announcement that Kelly Lee Owens was stepping away from the indie-pop world of her previous band and making her own path. We discussed the learning curves that come with only having yourself to answer to.

'Being in a band always seemed like a stepping stone for me. A way to experience & learn what I wanted to do & what I didn't want to do. I had some great times, but I was itching to explore my own universe, to see what sounds I would create. It took me a while to get there, actually, I'm still exploring & learning. but yeah, I always envisioned myself as a solo artist in the long run.'

It may be bit of a leap in genre for some, but Owens spent valuable time co-writing with artist Daniel Avery and contributed her ethereal vocals to Ghost Culture's 'Understand' which was a experience which she soaked up.'Working with Dan & James opened my mind in terms of how things can be written & produced electronically. I very much wanted to dive in to that world & I did, head first.' Diving head first into a solo music career without a record label having your back is a daunting prospect even in today's DIY-driven industry, but for Kelly it left more room to expand her creativity, describing herself as 'not wanting to be inside any particular box' on her social media bios. 'Like I've said before I enjoy exploring the inbetween lines genre-wise. To be pigeoned holed as an artist can be a bit restrictive.. I have so many musical passions & inspirations and I want to make whatever comes to me at that moment in time, whether it's a track like 'Uncertain' - quite intricate & immersive or the techno rework I did of 'Lucid' - each explores different angles & sides of me. Also in general I'm a bit protective of my creativity, it's my essence. Same as you have yours. No artist should have to twist or mould that for any body or any label y'know?'

'Make exactly what you want to make'

  But what about the rules which we give ourselves in our minds? 'Umm I don't think I have any creative rules.. I just want to make sure I'm doing as much myself as possible - that's why I write, perform & produce. I sorta made a pact with myself before I started anything, to do just that. Saying that, if I hadn't worked with Ghost Culture early on in the album, I would never have had the encouragement I needed to finish my first single 'Lucid'.. sometimes you need those small, but gentle pushes.' Sometimes those pushes can come from people who we have never even met before and for Kelly, Bjork is that very inspiration. 'Well, I value her strength of character & her dedication to her individual creative visions. She makes me think, "fuck it Kelly, make exactly what you want to make!" I think a lot of young artists have been encouraged to be themselves creatively because of her. <3'

Kelly Lee Owen's debut headline show will be taking place at The Waiting Room, London on July 22nd 

Click here for further details.