In Conversation With: Lily Knott

7 Dec

Renowned for her distinctly angelic vocals, emotionally complex lyricism and fiercely feminist values, 24-year-old Lily Knott is an astonishingly-talented independent singer-songwriter whose extensive artistic accomplishments have been years in the making. Back in 2021, the Brighton-based songstress was worthily crowned both ‘Artist of the Week’ and ‘Track of the Week’ by BBC Introducing, following the release of her forthright anthem "You Don’t Excite Me", and the rising popstar continues to impress industry professionals, having also been acclaimed by BBC Radio 1’s Mollie King when the radio presenter championed Lily’s soul-stirring single "I Blame You" on her prominent ‘Future Pop’ show in May of this year.

To delve into Lily’s phenomenal discography is to embark on a spellbinding sonic journey; from dream pop melodies and profound lyrical poetry to cathartic, hard-hitting production and shrewd one-liners, her dynamic audio archive is an authentic reflection of her innovative creativity, invariably underscored by her charismatic colloquialisms and ethereal voice. It is on stage, though, where the magnetic vocalist truly shines, mesmerising a variety of audiences with her hypnotic live performances, adorned in enchanting, ethically reworked outfits. It’s no wonder then that she has successfully sold out every single headline show she has announced thus far, in addition to opening for the likes of Noel Gallagher, Bellah Mae and, most recently, Sam Tompkins—her long-term partner—at his headline concert in their shared hometown of Brighton last month.

Affectionately known as ‘Lilyonaires’, Lily’s community of loyal listeners frequently express their love for her music by showering her with gifts—predominantly one-of-a-kind, handmade friendship bracelets and Jellycat toys—which denote the irreplaceable relationship she has established between herself and her fanbase. In an unforgettably charming interview, within which she expresses her sincere gratitude for her supporters, Lily Knott also shares behind-the-scenes details of her life as a committed independent artist, recounts her favourite releases of 2024, reveals her dream collaboration, and much more.

What does a day in the life of an independent artist look like for you?

Very, very different all the time, to be honest. An average day, when I’m in the independent artist headspace, would be going to the studio, to either write a song with people or I would be taking something that I’ve already written to get produced. They are my favourite days as an artist; I love writing songs, like the feeling of coming out of a studio, when you feel like you’ve created a song that you really love. It’s kind of unmatched. Then again, on days when I’m not in the studio, it would look a lot like doing so many emails, which is like so dry and so boring but it is the reality. A lot of gig offers that, to be honest, I tend to turn down a lot of. The money needs to be moneying for it to be worth it. A lot of me reaching out to other people like, “Can I work with you?” or “Can I support you?” and all that kind of stuff. I do write a lot from home, on the piano, just sitting there for hours and I probably come up with either something really good or just nothing at all. I also do a lot of planning: I’ll just write out a bunch of goals that I want to do, say release a project or release a single, and then break them down into how I actually get there, which I probably do on a weekly or bi-weekly basis.

That’s really good, it’s like a manifestation in real time!

Yeah, and then the last thing would be content. So much content that I film and half of it I don’t put out, but that’s another story!

It’s in the vault.

Yeah, god there’s so much stuff in the vault that’s never coming out. For good reason.

Haha, I’m sure it’s great but it must be hard to choose what you wanna post.

Yeah, it definitely is. I think content is like a whole topic in itself ’cause there’s so much stuff that I record and I think, “Nah, I can just do that better next week,” or “I can do that better tomorrow,” and that’s why there’s so much that I don’t post ’cause I’m like, “Nah, I could do a better version of that.” There’s also a balance of staying with what’s trending at the time but still being unique with your own content. Sometimes I’ll record something and, by next week, it’s not really a thing anymore so I’m like, “Agh!”

The internet is so fast-paced. It’s quite scary how quickly something that’s a trend can just sort of die off.

I know! Even with trending songs, like a song will drop and I’ll be like, “I’m gonna do a cover of that this week,” ’cause it’s got a lot of traction, and the hashtags will probably be big, and then I see like half of my peers do a cover of it and I think, “That wasn’t a very original idea, Lily!”

Sounds like everyone’s in the same boat. I’m sure everybody is trying to hop on the trends whilst keep it original and staying true to themselves.

Yeah, I think that’s it.

I like what you said about planning your next steps in terms of your music. It must make it easier in your head, going forward, having it laid out in front of you.

It definitely does. As an independent artist, you’re doing everything, so you’ve gotta think about what you wanna do next, how you get there, who you need to reach out to and what you need to do to facilitate it all. It definitely helps to break it down, ’cause otherwise I’ll be like, “I wanna release a project or an EP next year,” and that’s all well and good saying that but, actually doing that, there’s so many things that come in the way. I sometimes will think, “Oh, I need a session booked to finish this song,” and then I’ll reach out to the producer that I wanna work with and his next available date is in like six weeks, so then I’m like, “Right okay, let’s just backtrack a little bit!”

Gotta get in there straight away, haha! What are your top songs and/or albums of 2024, and would you say they have influenced your own music in any way?

YES. The first one is an obvious one: Billie Eilish. It was a highly-anticipated album, obviously, but I just loved it. I think every song on it I loved and I just thought that the production on this one felt slightly more experimental, but not in the dark way of her last album’s production. This album I felt like, vocally, there was a lot of experimentation and a lot of the songs sounded like two songs in one which I thought was really cool. That definitely opened my mind to the idea that not all songs need to have a chorus, or not all songs need to have a structure. That album definitely inspired me. Just being a Billie fan, I just had it on repeat, you know? Also Charli XCX’s album I loved and I would say, not the music inspired me necessarily, ’cause it’s not really something that I would create, but I think the way she’s marketed it has been absolute genius. I will definitely take some heavy inspiration from what she’s done. Granted that she has a huge team and a massive budget, but it’s been so clever how she’s just taken over the world with the colour green!

It’s been insane honestly, the takeover of ‘Brat summer’.

It’s SO crazy how it’s just worldwide. Everyone knows about it. My Mum knows about it, and that’s when you know it’s taken over.

I’m not sure my Mum even knows about it so that’s impressive!

Yeah, she definitely knows what a ‘Brat summer’ is now. I would love to say, also, Sam [Tompkins]’s album definitely. I loved the whole album, obviously, but being able to see the behind the scenes of that album, how it all goes out and the process of it has been so, not only inspiring, but also useful. So much work goes into it which probably half the people don’t see. I know artists are always like, “I worked so hard on this,” and people are like, “You wrote a couple songs, what does that even mean?”, but there is a LOT of work which goes into it, you know?

Yeah, 100%.

Constantly connecting with fans, speaking to people, the promo, all the signings, thinking about what your merch is gonna look like—all of that kind of stuff. That’s been super inspiring. I also loved Short n' Sweet by Sabrina Carpenter; there were NO skips on that album, I’m obsessed! Other than that… RAYE’s album was last year wasn’t it?

Yeah it was, but she released "Genesis" this year.

"Genesis". That’s a good one. That definitely inspired me again in the same sense as Billie, as that was like a three-part song with an ABAB chorus. I thought that was really smart and I actually did write a song off the back of that which had a similar structure. I’m not sure if it will ever come out, but it was definitely good to experiment. Also, "Time" by Olivia Dean. I LOVE that song. Let me just really quickly check my Spotify. Oh, Chappell Roan! Duh. Obviously everyone’s on that right now but "Casual" is just a crazy song. Actually, Lola Young’s album as well. She’s already huge but I think she’s really gonna start to take over the world. Rachel Chinouriri’s album, What a Devastating Turn of Events, too. Love that album, and I love so much of her music. Lots of women there.

They’re killing the game!

They really are, which I’m happy to hear.

Me too. It’s really inspiring to see women at the forefront, as they should be!

I most certainly agree with that.

I love all of those albums you listed and I feel like we do have very similar taste.

I think we probably do. To be fair, I think a lot of us, at the moment, are all listening to the same sort of thing which I like.

Yeah, genuinely. It’s nice to be just like other girls.

100%! The girls that get it, get it.

Exactly! With your musical expertise and eye for upcycling fashion, and your sister Ella’s photography and painting prowess, it’s undeniable that both you and your sister are both very artistically gifted. Would you say you grew up in a creative household, which honed these skills, or did you discover your artistry more naturally?

This is a really good question. It’s basically just a combination of the two. However, in a funny way, we definitely didn’t grow up in a creative household, like at all. My Dad did some painting as a hobby, and there was always music on, but we don’t have a musical bone in our body in my family. Ella and I definitely found our own creative skills ’cause, as I said, my parents were not particularly creative at heart, but I think they encouraged us to be creative. If we took up something that we enjoyed, say for example singing or painting or textiles, they’d be like, “Aw, why don’t we go to a textiles class?” or “Do you want a sewing kit for Christmas?” and that kind of thing. So, yeah, I would say they definitely encouraged us to do a lot of creative stuff and then, the more we went into school and started to love it even more, they didn’t push us to do anything that we didn’t really wanna do. If anything, they encouraged me to do music from a young age, where other parents wouldn’t do that or some parents might suggest having a backup plan as music is a little risky. They very much said, “Take the plunge, what’s the worst that’s gonna happen?”, so I think there was definitely encouragement to do creative things if that’s what we were leaning towards. I think if we were leaning towards science, they would’ve encouraged that just as much, but it was quite obvious, from a young age, that we both wanted to do creative stuff.

I love that. Sounds like it was a combination of you having a direction but them encouraging it and motivating you. Great parenting.

Yeah, hats off to them, I guess haha!

When parents actually listen to their kids and allow them to try out their passions, it seems less likely that kids will rebel.

Yeah, it’s so so true. When I was in college, you couldn’t pick three creative subjects which was really weird but I think was quite common. My Mum—it’s kind of a ‘Karen’ move but it’s also kind of a power move—went to the head of my college and was like, “She’s doing three creative subjects ’cause it’s her choice and if she fails, that’s on her.” The head said, “No, ’cause the grades reflect us as well as it does her,” and my Mum said, “Either she takes three creative subjects or she’s not coming to this college,” and they were like, “Fine, we’ll let her take three,” so I did!

Love that! What did you study?

I did graphic design, textiles and music.

Ah, amazing. What was your favourite?

I think music probably was my favourite, although doing music in college is very different to actual music ’cause there’s a lot of essays as well which kind of sucks the creativity out of it a little bit. It’s a bit odd but I did love the practical side of it, when you’d sit in a room, get to write songs and get to perform. That was definitely fun, but I’ve always loved textiles so I think that was a close second just because of the facilities they had at my college, they were SO good. I loved all the stuff they had, so I could just go crazy!

Do you think studying graphic design has helped with your artistic direction?

Definitely, I think graphic design, unfortunately, I let sort of slip a little bit as I left college. My Photoshop skills aren’t as good as they were, and I kind of wish I kept that up a bit more. Luckily, having Ella as my sister, that doesn’t matter too much ’cause she’s very good at that, but yeah it definitely helped. Now, I can use Photoshop and Premiere Pro at a good level, so that’s definitely helpful for sure.

I feel like the three subjects you chose, combined, must really come in handy as an artist. With the textiles, you could create your own costumes etc… like for the Sister Warned Me cover, you directed that, right?

Yeah, yeah, yeah. I’ve done it for a couple of shows, to be fair; I made outfits or even like the top of an outfit, which I think is cool ’cause I guess no one else has that, which is the main thing I like about it. I hope colleges change that rule because, if people do wanna go into a creative field, why would you need sociology or something as a backup? I just don’t really get it.

Exactly, and why would you hinder someone, by making them do something they have no interest in, when it’s just gonna probably affect how they perform in the other subjects anyway? Totally agree.

Yeah definitely, it’s interesting.

Are you more drawn to films or books, and do you have a favourite that you like to rewatch or reread?

Hmm, that’s a good question because I’ve just picked up reading again, from yesterday. I charged my Kindle for the first time in, like, six months haha. I am drawn to films, for sure. I definitely want to be better at reading ’cause I think it would also help with songwriting but, being dyslexic, I’ve always found reading quite difficult just ‘cause it takes me a long time. If there’s like no pressure to read a book in a certain amount of time, I don’t mind that as much but I think, in school, maybe it put me off a little bit because, you know, they’d say, “Read this book by the end of the month,” and I would just reread every page like three times for it to go in ’cause my brain would skip out words and stuff. I think though, with the right book, I can definitely be really engaged with reading but films I definitely am more drawn to. I like to rewatch a lot, to be fair, but my favourite genre of films is probably action or war films. Most people find that surprising but war films I love, slightly because of the history element but also because it was a time we didn’t live in so I find it interesting to see. I just think it’s crazy that people had to go through that. And then, action films just keep me on my toes the whole time, so that’s fun.

I agree, I do love to be on the edge of my seat in the cinema.

100%. So like a James Bond film I’d love to rewatch ’cause I love that kind of stuff but then, on the flip side, my comfort films to rewatch would probably be things like Wild Child.

Yes, I love it! Have you seen Legally Blonde? That’s one of my comfort films.

Of course, of course! Stuff like that, Mean Girls etc., are probably the rewatches that I’ve rewatched the most but, if I’m sitting down and engaged, then it would probably be an action film.

What’s your favourite place you’ve ever visited and what is your dream travel destination?

My favourite place…

Is it gonna be LA?

I was thinking that—it’s really hard to say. The first time I went to LA was one of the most magical trips I’ve ever been on, for multiple reasons. Being there for the first time, the connections it has with music, the studios I was in, the people I met etc. In terms of holiday, there’s probably two. One’s Mexico. I went there with my family and it was just the most stunning place ever. Everything was unreal. I also love Mexican food, like margaritas, and tacos I could eat for my whole life. Also, a slightly more cliché one: Croatia. Me and Sam went for the first time ever, and that was just such a nice holiday. It was just really, really nice. We literally went after like knowing for three weeks, it was so soon. I just thought, if I’m gonna find out if I like him, may as well do it on holiday haha!

Oh, absolutely. When you’re away from everything, that’s when you really know.

Mhm hm. My dream destination is probably either the Caribbean, somewhere like Saint Lucia, for a holiday but, for music, probably Nashville. I would love to go to Nashville and write there. I just know there’s so many amazing writers out there.

I’ve seen on social media that Bellah Mae goes to Nashville quite often for writing.

She does! I always see her there and I just think it looks like such a vibe.

Do you think you would come back from Nashville as a country artist, haha?

A cowgirl haha. Maybe to be fair. Whilst I was there, I would definitely embrace it, for sure. I love country music so probably would experiment writing some, to be honest. You never know…I can’t see myself going down a massive country route just yet but I could probably be persuaded, haha.

Love it! So you started out as a songwriter but then decided to pursue a career as a fully-fledged artist; what influenced you to make this decision and are you happy you made the choice?

Basically, the reason why I started out wanting to be a songwriter is because I was quite unconfident. Even at a young age, I would write songs and I would show my friends and my family but I would say someone else wrote them because I was so scared that someone would be like, “That’s not good”. I would say it was by someone called Kelly or something—I always used to use the same name, I can’t even remember what it was!

Is that a friend you were trying to pass it off as?

I think it was from, like, a Disney show or something!

Haha, that’s so sweet.

I know, it’s actually really cute when you think about it. I used to do that a lot and I think, as I grew older, the more confident I got and the more I did live shows, I realised that I did actually enjoy that part of it. I think it just came with confidence. I think I was like, “Actually, I love these songs, I want people to know that they came from me,” and I didn’t wanna pitch them to other people or let other people have them. I think that was the main reason, just growing up and having more confidence, and wanting some of the limelight!

For sure. When was the first time you ever did a live show, do you remember?

First time was when I was 11.

Aww!

Haha, it was so bad! I sang "If I Were a Boy" at my primary school and, I think it was by the second chorus, I got nervous and I got everyone to sing it with me ’cause I got scared. That was my first ever performance but I would say my first proper performance, with a band, was when I was, I think, 15. I think it was a show for a charity event. Most of the songs were covers but I think we did a couple of originals that we wrote as a band together but they weren’t great.

Wow, I can’t imagine performing at 11 or 15 so fair play to you, that’s amazing.

Well, I think it was a blessing and a curse. When I was 11, I thought “I definitely don’t wanna do this again” and that’s why I wanted to be a songwriter and, then, I guess when I was 15/16, it kind of transitioned the other way.

You gave it a few years and thought, “Actually, I can do this!” That's wonderful. You cite incredible artists like RAYE, Mahalia and Billie Eilish as huge influences on your own sound. If you could collaborate with just one of these artists, who would you choose and why?

That’s really hard. One did come to my mind immediately and I think it might be the obvious one. It’s probably gonna have to be Billie, just because—it’s not even that I’ve been a fan of her the longest ’cause, actually, RAYE and Mahalia were the first ever people I listened to and was like, “Wow, songwriting is crazy!”—but I think Billie just because of how culturally important she has been to music. She’s just like an icon now. She’s changed the whole music industry with dark pop, female image, so much. To potentially see her writing process would just be incredible. Yeah, it would be her, for sure. But Mahalia and RAYE, please call me up!

I can see parallels between you and Billie, to be honest, because she has also been singing and performing since she was so young. It’s unbelievable seeing her go from releasing Ocean Eyes at 13 to number one in the entire world on Spotify, a few months ago

I know, number one is crazy, but so good for her.

When I check every couple of months, who is number one on Spotify, it’s almost always a male artist, so it’s so great when the title is held by a woman.

I 100% agree.

In the run up to your stunning single "When the Flowers Stop Working", you sent out a few thoughtfully-curated, floral-themed care packages to some lucky fans. Why was it important for you to give back to your supporters in this moment?

I’m always conscious of trying to give something back just because I think, “Why should people listen to my music?” and “Why should people buy merch or pre-save my song?” In a way, it’s just a "thank you" for doing it without being asked because that’s like the only reason that it’s feasible for me to do anything. The only reason for me to be able to put on shows is knowing that there’s a group of people that will buy tickets, so I feel like freebies, where possible, is my way of saying, “Thanks for your support constantly.” It is a lot to ask for people to constantly “Pre-save this,” “Like this,” and “Can you share this?” and I so get it ’cause I am on the receiving end for a lot of my favourite artists. A bunch of the time, I do the same thing for them and I don’t mind; I’m always saying, “Yeah, I’ll pre-save this” or “Yeah, I’ll buy this,” ’cause I want to, so I do get it but I also feel like I would know how far it would go if an artist, bigger than me, personally thanked me. I wanna remind people that I don’t expect anyone to listen to my music, so it’s just a thanks for doing that, if you do.

A humble queen, we love to see it.

We try, we try!

It was genuinely such a sweet idea and I am still honoured to have been picked as one of the recipients.

Aw, that’s nice. Honestly, I just loved putting them together, like I love little projects. I think my love language, to be honest, is actually gift-giving. It comes into everything. Not even like huge gifts, I mean handmade things or letters. People’s birthdays I really love.

Me too, I feel like I get more excited for other people’s birthdays than my own!

Always! Literally always.

It is a real love language, isn’t it? Knowing someone, giving a present to them and them feeling seen by you. I remember giving one of my friends a birthday present once and, after she opened it, she said, “It feels so nice to be known,” which warmed my heart so much.

That is so cute! Yeah, I love that. It’s always a great feeling when you know someone’s gonna love something, especially when they probably wouldn’t have even thought of buying it for themselves.

Yes, it’s even more special that way. When someone’s mentioned something before and then you buy it for them months or years down the line and they’re surprised, it’s so lovely.

Yeah, that’s so so sweet, I love that.

Would you say you’re a nostalgic person or do you prefer to look to the future?

I think it probably depends on the context but, most of the time, I do look to the future. I am constantly planning and goal-tracking for the future. I like to predict what’s gonna be the next trend and what’s gonna be next in music, that kind of thing, but there is a big part of me that is nostalgic about the time of when we were growing up, before phones were involved, particularly. Part of me always wishes that we didn’t have as much technology and content and information in front of us ’cause I think it can be so overwhelming. There’s definitely part of me that’s like, if there was a ban of phones between like 9 to 5 tomorrow, I would not be mad about that. I would absolutely LOVE that. I feel like you’ve got to play to the times though, haven’t you? I’m also happy that I’ve had the opportunity to post content and interact with fans at a level that we never could have, but, yeah, there is some part of me that definitely thinks, “Oh, how nice and peaceful and wholesome life was before all this.”

I understand. Social media is such a whirlwind because it gives you the opportunity to connect in a way that, as you said, we never would’ve been able to before but, at the same time, it can spark such negativity in other contexts and finding a balance between the two can be difficult sometimes.

Yeah. I think the majority of the time, I prefer to look to the future but there is a part of me that is nostalgic about childhood, pre-phones, in particular.

The simplicity of childhood is something I think about in particular, too, like how your worries as a teenager felt insurmountable but are nothing compared to what we face now.

That’s true. It is crazy how it felt like the world was ending, like I’d have an argument with a friend or some homework project was due and I’d think, “Oh my god, my life is over,” but, now, it’s like, “Who cares?!”

It really wasn’t that serious!

Never. EVER.

It’s so funny. I don’t think I could be a teenager again, definitely not. Especially not now. I cannot imagine the pressure of being a teenager now with the way social media has developed. We had an experience of childhood with, and without, social media, so it’s crazy that kids now are growing up on Instagram, on TikTok etc.

I know! I feel like our generation was partly the Instagram generation, but it was more about posting a picture of your breakfast or pictures of flowers with white borders. It was more wholesome. I agree, I couldn’t imagine growing up now with the pressure of all the people that look amazing but, also, the pressure of seeing 16-year-olds who are millionaire influencers. That must just be so stressful.

Absolutely agree. What is your favourite and least favourite part of creating content for social media and why?

My favourite part is probably the ideation and the creation. I quite like thinking of cool ideas and then, actually filming it, is quite enjoyable, especially when you’ve put a lot of effort into it and it comes out actually looking sick! Also, in the least vain way, when posts do well, that’s obviously a nice part of content creation. When you know that you’ve put effort into something and it has paid off. My least favourite part is pretty obvious. It’s probably trying to create content constantly, like the constancy of it is quite a lot. I tend to do one day a week where I film a bunch and then that’ll be for the next coming days. When content doesn’t do well, it can be, for me personally, really unmotivating to then wanna create more. It can sometimes feel like, “How do I know what’s working?” I’ll see other artists, who are kind of similar to me, and their stuff is really connecting and I’m like, “So what is it about mine? Is it my music?”, which can lead you to spiral. I think, most of the time, I’m pretty good at being like, “It just didn’t hit that day, whatever, it’s fine,” but sometimes it can feel like, “Oh my god, I put so much effort into this, and this just flopped!” That is not a great feeling, but things will happen when they are meant to happen.

I can understand the downside of not knowing why something hasn’t worked. There could be a million reasons for it not working—for example, the algorithm affecting the reach of your post—all of which are out of your control. When you put so much effort into something and it doesn’t do well, though, it’s only human to think it was something that you did. It’s really great that, for the most part, you’ve managed to overcome those doubts by recognising that there are a multitude of reasons why content might not be successful, and that you shouldn’t be too hard on yourself because you’re doing the best you can.

Definitely. I also learned recently that there are so many reasons why some people’s content does well, and rightly so, but so many people put tons of money behind their content which you can’t see as a user… or you never know who’s shared the post, like someone with a huge following might’ve shared it. I always think that that’s so good for them and, if that happened to me, I would love it and, when there's a budget for it, I’ll definitely put money behind my content as well. I guess that’s why, when I see other people’s content, I try not to compare myself too much ’cause you don’t know the graft that’s been put in behind it. It all adds up.

I think what you’ve said describes social media in general, as well. We look at a post or a reel and wish our lives could be like that person’s but you actually never know what’s going on behind the scenes, no one does. That’s why social media can be so strange because you’re only seeing a split second of someone’s life.

100%, so true.

When you first set out on your artistic journey, was there a specific goal or aspiration that you were striving towards and, if so, has it changed throughout your career thus far?

Hmm… trying to think back to my 18-year-old self when I first made music. I think the goal that has remained consistent is probably just putting out music that people can click with, can relate to, that can help them feel like they’re not experiencing something on their own. It sounds kind of cliché but it’s true. The main thing that I love about music is when I listen to something and I think, “Oh my god, I do that as well!” You know when something’s a bit niche and you’re like, “Oh how that wasn’t just me?!” Something that just completely embodies your feelings, even if it’s a breakup song—it could be so generic—but sometimes it just seems to speak to exactly how you’re feeling. That has definitely been the main goal, the whole time. I think, when I first released music, it was not a hobby, ’cause it was a passion, but I was just seeing how things go and didn’t put too much thought into it, whereas now I’m striving to do shows, I wanna do tours, I do wanna support people. I wanna write for big artists. My goals are definitely bigger now but the main goal is still just to write music that people like, I think.

That’s wonderful because, ultimately, that one goal is going to make the other goals happen for you. You continuing to write music which connects with people is going to sell tickets at your shows because people want to come and see you perform. Your music does resonate with people—I’m not just saying that because I’m a fan. You have a knack for writing music which can be affirming for a listener, making them feel like they see the world in a similar way to you.

That’s nice, that’s good to know.

From your heavenly debut single "Haunt Me" to your breathtaking latest track "I Blame You", your lyricism has been refreshingly introspective for years now. Have you ever written a song that has felt too personal, or does releasing music always feel healing for you?

I have. I have definitely written songs that are too personal, haha! I think music is always healing, regardless of whether it is personal or whether I wanna put it out. I sometimes set out to write a song that I know I’m not gonna put out, you know? I sometimes will sit down and write something just as a classic diary entry, just to get it out and off my chest.

“Dear diary…”

Yeah, exactly. “Dear diary, this is a song!” I’ve definitely written songs where I know they’re not gonna come out and they’re sort of just for me, and that’s like a healing technique in itself. There have also been songs where I think, unintentionally, I’ve been writing—even with another person—and it almost just hits home so much that I’m like, “Aw, shall I change a couple words,” ’cause, whatever I’m writing about, I think people are gonna be like, “That was about that situation and we know it!” Kind of got to be careful in that sense. Most of the time, I really don’t care because, technically, it’s all fictional if I wanna say it is, and I think a lot of problems that people go through are so similar. Nothing’s unique, I think we’ve all realised that.

Genuinely, nothing is original, haha.

Definitely not! So, regardless of how personal a song is, even if someone’s like, “I swear that’s about that time,” I can say, “No, everyone goes through that.” Most of the time I’m very comfortable with being super personal, because I think that relates more to people, but there are occasions when I write songs just for myself.

Do you ever revisit those songs, re-sing them or think about them or, if you write something that personal, is it then locked away forever?

No, I definitely go back to them, especially if I write something that I think actually could be good. Good is obviously subjective; I think sometimes I write songs which are so niche and so personal that people probably couldn’t connect with it ’cause it’s so specific to me, so sometimes I might go back to them and alter them a little bit, to make them a bit more appealing for the masses. I would say a lot of them I do go back to but sometimes I write songs and I know that it’s never gonna be a hit, it is just a nice song.

It sounds like it’s important for you to write songs for yourself and experiment, and one song could even inspire another song to be written.

Yeah, exactly, and a lot of them do. I think it was Chris Martin who said that he comes up with an idea for a song and then he writes that song five times, so I’ve been doing that recently a little bit. Not five times but maybe like two or three times, and I’ve been finding that really interesting ’cause I’ll write a really niche version, then I’ll write one which could be relatable for everyone, and then I’ll write another one, with the same topic, but with different melody choices.

That’s really cool. Sounds like a lot of work but it must be really exciting to see how one song can be split into different variations.

100%. Definitely. So far I’ve found that the second or third variation tends to be the best one, so that kind of says a lot, I guess.

For sure. It’s good that you don’t have to abandon an idea either, you can switch it up and it could even be your next single, who knows

Exactly, yeah.

Do you remember when you wrote your very first song and, if so, what was it about?

I actually do, yeah. I have it somewhere. The writing is literally wild, it looks like a 5-year-old did it. I was probably 10 or 11, I think. It was basically about… haha, it was a love song, which is so funny. It was probably based on some film or whatever I was watching, but it was about flying over mountains. It was something like, “We can fly over mountains, we can swim in the sea, lay on the rocks, just you and me.” Something really basic like that. I remember specifically something about flying over mountains, for sure. I have a picture of it somewhere. I’ll have to find it one day.

So you wrote the lyrics out by hand? That’s so special.

Yeah, I think mountains is spelled so wrong. I’ll see if I can find it and, if I can, I’ll send you a photo of it.

That would be so cute, I’d love to see it. Your impactful song "Women" is an incredibly empowering track of conviction which resonates more and more after each listen. When you wrote this song, was it catalysed by a personal experience you, or someone you know, had, or was it an inevitable response to the misogynistic culture we live in?

Both, to be honest. I think I’ve always wanted to write a power song for the girlies, so that was definitely always gonna be in my locker and it won’t be the only one, I’ve got another one that hopefully will be out at some point. It’s a slightly different spin, but anyway… I think "Women" was sparked by how I used to live in an area in Brighton which wasn’t dodgy, but it definitely had a couple dodgy people. It was basically by The Level.

Oh no, not The Level!

Yeah. I remember just every single day experiencing some sort of abuse shouted at me, some kind of cat-calling, which I know is not uncommon, I know every woman has experienced that. It was around the time when there were a lot of female assaults being reported in the news, so much backlash about it being caused by something she was wearing, and I remember one time, I was wearing a full tracksuit, head to toe tracksuit, and still got the same amount of stuff shouted at me, so I was like, “It’s just so irrelevant, it’s gonna happen regardless of who you are, what you wear, what you look like, it’s crazy.” I think that experience probably triggered me to want to sit down and be like, “Right, let me just ramble and get this out.” It starts with “To refer to a woman as a bird or a bitch”; I was just so sick of people always using these derogatory terms and, I’m not saying you can’t say someone’s a bird in okay context, but I think so often it’s been used as like, “Oh, that bird over there, look at her.” Like, ew. It’s gross.

It’s so gross and, as you say in the song, it has become normalised. Whenever I hear the word, it’s never in a positive way. Ever.

Never, I know. I always think, as well, there are not the same terms for men, like we don’t call men anything. There’s almost like no slurs for men because we don’t treat them with the same level of disrespect. The amount of names there are for women is crazy. I remember having so many lyrics for that song that I had to condense them down and try not to use every single one, otherwise it would’ve been like a ten minute song, but that actually would’ve been kinda sick.

That would’ve been cool, yeah. That would’ve been your "Genesis" moment.

Hm, maybe it would’ve.

It’s an incredible song though, honestly. I always feel pumped up listening to it but, also, when you really think deeply about the lyrics, the female rage you’ve captured—I actually added it to my playlist called ‘feminine rage’—is amazing.

It definitely is a good one to perform live. I always get women, which is no surprise, come up to me at the end of shows, being like, “That ‘Women’ song—loved it!” I’m like, “Yeah!!” It’s so great. A lot of guys also like it, as well. They’re like, “Oh, that was a really cool perspective,” so that’s also nice. It’s almost the main reason, it’s what I hope would come from the song.

How long did it take you to write the song? Was it sort of like a stream of consciousness?

I think, from memory, it was quite quick. The first verse I’m pretty sure I wrote more like a poem and then I was like, “Oh no, this could be quite a cool song.” I think it was quite a quick write—I think it was all in one day. I took it to the studio and the only bit that changed was when it goes into the last part of the song, where it goes “This one’s for my women”, like we added that at the end with a melody change which was cool. It actually came about pretty quickly. The writing and the production was all quite fast, to be fair. I think I just knew what I wanted to say quite easily, so that’s probably why.

It feels like a very necessary song and must’ve been a cathartic one to write, too.

It absolutely was, yeah.

Have you ever experienced performance anxiety and, if so, how have you overcome this?

Good question because I have! Yeah, I definitely have. I touched on it a little bit earlier. When I was younger, performance anxiety was so strong for me that I just didn’t wanna perform. It just wasn’t enjoyable, the whole thing was just not fun. When I was about 16 and really wanting to actually be an artist and overcome the fear, I actually got hypnotherapy which I don’t think I’ve ever said in an interview before. It’s not actually as deep as it sounds, but I just thought about what I could do that, longevity-wise, will just help me get over this ’cause I can’t be an artist without being able to perform. It wasn’t that I couldn’t perform, ’cause I could get on stage and I could sing a song and people would clap and it would be fine, but it was more mentally that I would just not enjoy it and that would be really sad for me ’cause it’s such a huge part of being an artist. You know, I don’t wanna feel sick with nerves just before going on stage. So, yeah, I got hypnotherapy when I was 16 and that really, really helped. I would really recommend it to anyone who wants to do it. I think, also, just my band and the setup I had in my band, definitely helped ’cause my old band—and this was on me—did not help with nerves. I didn’t play to track, everything was live, there was no click, there was no timing involved and, if mistakes were made, it was really obvious. I think that’s what made me feel nervous ’cause I was like, “If anyone makes a mistake, everyone will hear it.” Me included. Now that we play to track, it’s just so much more comfortable because I have backing vocals behind me and cues that come in, so that just all helps. The last thing would probably be compartmentalising that, when I do shows, people often are there to, firstly, have a good time but, also, to support you. Whenever you watch a show, you’re like, “Yeah, whatever goes wrong, we’re here and we love it, no one cares.” Lastly, the average person, in the nicest way, probably won’t notice many of your mistakes, anyway. I think those things, combined, make the experience so much more enjoyable now and seeing people, as well, sing my songs back now is just the craziest thing ever. Now it feels less scary and more exciting, and it’s just nice to see people just enjoying it.

I’m really happy for you. I feel like it’s been a journey for you, obviously. It’s one thing just physically being there but, if you get off the stage and you feel like it went horribly and you never want to do it again, it’s not sustainable for you. It’s so important for you to be able to feel comfortable because your audience will feel comfortable then, too.

Yeah, exactly. I feel so much more comfortable now. I’ve never really had a problem with talking on stage, which is kinda weird. I can definitely ramble on stage, all night long.

Love a yap!

Hahaha, yeah. Love that. I think now, for me, it’s just more enjoyable. I can be excited for a show instead of, like, sort of dreading it. I genuinely used to sort of dread them. I knew that I had to do them, and part of me would be excited to show people my music but, a few days before, I’d be thinking, “Ugh, what if I mess up?”, and dwelling on what could go wrong. Now, though, I feel so much better about it, which is good, but I still get nervous!

I was going to ask if you ever have those nervous thoughts creep in still, or are you more inclined to brush them off now?

I think now, to be honest, if I mess up, I don’t really care. I think now my mentality is more along the lines of, “If I mess up and the audience hears it, whatever!” It’s not that deep. Also, I’ve seen so many shows now where people do tend to mess up and they play it off and it’s funny, it almost feels a bit more authentic. It’s like, “Who cares?” now. If those thoughts do creep in, I remember it’s not that deep.

Honestly, as a fan and just as someone who attends concerts, I do appreciate the authenticity. When an artist messes up, it’s a reminder that they’re human, ’cause these things happen, and it makes them connect and relate more with their audience, I think.

100%. I kinda love it when they forget a lyric and they always make a big deal out of it saying, “I forgot my own lyrics,” like, “Yes you did, and that’s okay!”

It’s great, it’s like an impromptu remix!

Exactly, haha.

Do you have a pre-show ritual to combat nerves, or hype yourself up, before facing a crowd?

You know what, I actually don’t… and I don’t because I’m actually a very superstitious person. I have a lot of, I wouldn’t say intrusive thoughts, but I definitely know that, if I had a pre-show ritual and I couldn’t do it, mentally it would be a disaster. So, I purposely have not done that ’cause, if there was ever a situation where I couldn’t do it, then I think that would get to me more. Obviously, warming up, drinking tea, that kind of thing, is I guess a ritual in a way. I would always do that before a show but I don’t have any sort of mantras or meditations that I do because I kind of almost don’t want to get into a habit of doing that ’cause I feel like I’d freak out if I couldn’t.

That makes sense, in case there were ever timing issues for whatever reason. Also, not wanting to feel reliant on a ritual, and just going with the flow, probably makes you feel calmer in the long run anyway.

Definitely. I think if I was on a long stretch of a tour, I can imagine me and my band would probably have some cute little thing that we could do before a show.

“Everyone put their hands in!”

Literally that. We’ve done things like that before but, yeah, it’s not like a ritual that I would do, die-hard, every single show.

Understandable. What is your fondest or proudest memory of your career so far?

Ooh. Definitely getting played on Radio 1 just because, growing up, in my young mind, it was the “That’s when you know you’ve made it” moment. That was definitely a nice achievement, for sure. Then, probably opening for Noel Gallagher was, obviously, a big deal for me, especially how big the stage was and how big he is as an artist. I remember getting the email and I genuinely thought it was a spam email ’cause I was like, “There’s no way they’ve asked me to do that!” That was one of the most enjoyable shows I’ve ever played and for me, with my history of being fearful of being on stage, that was probably the biggest stage and show I’ve done.

That’s such a special, full-circle moment for you.

Yeah, definitely was. I almost think that sometimes, the bigger the stage, the kind of less pressure, just because when it’s an intimate small room, people can hear so much more, so when you’re on a slightly bigger stage or in a bigger room, sometimes it’s less scary for some reason.

That makes sense, plus the Noel Gallagher show was outdoors, wasn’t it?

Yeah, it was outdoors. It was open air. It was a really cool day.

I loved the dress you wore that day so much, it was so cute.

Yeah, she was a big one, haha.

Big dress for the big show!

I did think, “I’m gonna have to wear something that’s bright, big and colourful to stand out,” ’cause of how huge it was. Yep, good choice, I’d say.

Without a doubt. Back in November 2023, you impressively planned and performed at your third SOLD-OUT headline show and what an extraordinary gig it was. What was the most challenging aspect of organising your own show and what have you learned for next time?

The most challenging part was probably being the first point of contact and, what I mean by that is, you’re the one talking to the venue, so obviously you have to sort out the dates but the main part is stuff like deciding which ticket company to use for the link, what your tech spec is, what kind of lighting you want. There’s a lot to think about and I was like, “I don’t know, I’m not a sound tech, some of these things I don’t know!” I had to research a lot of stuff, ask a lot of friends, that kind of thing. There are lots of decisions to be made, even down to having to put a £1 fee on the ticket ’cause we have to do that legally, and whether you want the fee to be more or less. There are so many intricate things that you have to think about, so that was probably the hardest thing ’cause a lot of emails I’d get, I’d be like, “I have no idea!” Overall, though, that show was pretty smooth sailing, just a lot to organise. Organisation is the main thing. For next time, I would probably announce the show earlier ’cause I think giving people more time to put it in their calendars or save up money to buy stuff, or even for me to rehearse etc, the longer the better.

A lot of logistics going on behind the scenes but you pulled it off incredibly well. From my point of view, as an audience member at the show, everything seemingly went to plan.

Yeah, I think it did.

The lighting was so beautiful in that room, in particular. I’d never been in the smaller room at Komedia before but I loved it.

Me too, actually, I’d never been in there either. It was really cute.

You should do another one!

Yeah, I will.

When you listen closely, your anthem "You Don’t Excite Me" and Lily Allen’s classic tune "Knock ‘Em Out" sound like sister songs, both unapologetically bold and candid in their lyrical style. Did you perhaps grow up listening to this namesake artist and would you say free-spoken singer-songwriters like her have influenced your feminist lyricism?

I completely grew up listening to Lily Allen. I feel sorry for people if they didn’t! Her music probably definitely inspired that song, like you said, but also just the way that I used to write. I think, in a way, I’m sort of drifting away from tongue-in-cheek and more towards, not well-thought out lyrics, ’cause those tongue-in-cheek lyrics are really clever, but I just think my musical style is slightly evolving. I definitely grew up listening to Lily Allen, Kate Nash, those kinds of artists, and "You Don’t Excite Me" was probably a child of those people, for sure.

Kate Nash too, yes! "Foundations" is a classic. When you listen to songs like that as a child, you don’t really appreciate the lyrics until you grow up and have similar experiences and they resonate fully with you. So good.

So true. They are icons forever.

Some music hasn’t aged well, respectfully, but theirs absolutely has.

Yeah, agree. Lily Allen has somehow remained timeless with quite a niche sound which is really impressive.

Truly. Now for the question on everyone’s lips, how many jellycats have you collected so far and is there one you’ve been really wanting to add to your collection?

That is so funny. You’re asking all the questions that are relevant to my life right now which is funny. How many—I actually don’t know. There are more than 10, at least. I want to say upwards of 15.

Is this including Sam’s jellycats? Do you share them?

We do. He has some at his. I think, combined, we’re probably looking at somewhere between 15 and 20. Maybe it’s more than that—no it can’t be more than that! I have the majority of them. Sam also got me the giant octopus, that I wanted, for my birthday in September. His name is Occi!

I remember when you listed the giant octopus as an option in a poll for your next Jellycat on Instagram. So glad you finally got it!

The one I put in the poll was actually a small one. I didn’t even realise they did a huge one!

You need both. Mother and child.

I know! Baby. So cute. I have got a big avocado and a baby avocado, they’re really cute. I’ve had a couple now from supporters which is so nice. I almost don’t want it to turn into a thing ’cause Jellycats are so expensive, so I don’t want people to be spending their money on them.

That’s adorable. It’s very on brand for you now, haha.

I mean, I’ll keep it up. I feel like Jellycats and cats, in general, and maybe flowers, I wanna keep as my brand.

Especially sunflowers.

Yes, my favourite!

Finally, if you could describe the next era of Lily Knott in 3 words…?

Ooooh. The first word that came to mind was growth, so I’m gonna stick with that, ‘cause I feel like you can definitely hear an evolved sound in this next set of music. Potentially, bold. I think some of it is quite bold. Then, I’m trying to think of a word for ‘mixed bag’.

Eclectic, maybe?

I guess so, yeah, not in terms of genre, but I speak about a lot of different topics and things in songs. They’re not all heartbreak songs, they’re all very different topics of conversation. They feel cohesive but they definitely range from sad to happy pop, you know? So, yeah, eclectic or varied in terms of emotions and song topic.

Is there anything more you can share with us or is that it for now?

What I will say is…nothing’s always 100% set in stone. I never wanna say anything and then disappoint my supporters but, what I will say is, that there is a project. A body of work. There are multiple songs, as I’ve kind of just given away anyway, and that is coming. It’s not gonna be this year but it will be next year.

That would be amazing. Always good to have plans even if they don’t come to fruition.

Yeah. The main thing is there is stuff coming. Multiple songs.

You look really excited about it, it’s nice.

I am so excited about it. I think what I’ve done before is, I’ve written a song and thought, “Oh, this is sick, let’s put it out!” and not necessarily had plans to follow it through with something else. This time it feels like it’s gonna be a bit different in terms of I’ve got song after song after song, once they begin. It definitely feels like a complete collection instead of just like random singles, you know? Yeah, it is exciting.

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Self-defined as ‘Sad Girl Pop’, Lily Knott’s captivating catalogue of thought-provoking music is available to listen (and cry) to here. Having amassed over 100,000 streams since its release in April, her therapeutic latest single "I Blame You"—a lyrically vulnerable track about the intricate complications of recovering from an emotionally damaging relationship—is available to purchase and stream here. With a highly-anticipated brand new project proposed for 2025, the future looks dazzlingly and deservingly bright for the beloved Brightonian pop princess.

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