birdseed. is a 19 year old singer-songwriter based between their hometown Cockermouth, and Leeds where they study Songwriting at Leeds Conservatoire.
They are an alternative/indie artist, with her debut EP Shelves released in 2019.
(Their previously released music, including the 'Shelves' EP, was released under the name of Eve Westwood. Go check it out!)
birdseed. writes songs about identity, love and struggles in their own life, refreshingly open with their listeners, sharing their story through gritty electric guitar and her unique vocals. For this week's Cumbrian creator we had a chat with birdseed. to discuss what music means to her.
Tell us about how you first got into music.
My first memories of music are probably of my parents playing lots of different songs in the car.
My dad would play The Beach Boys and Elvis Costello, and my mum would play ABBA and Neil Diamond; I still love all of those artists now, so it clearly had some impact. My aunty has a very good music taste as well, so I guess my family are to blame for my first awareness of music. My taste has changed a lot since then though!
In terms of playing guitar and actually making music, I went to this really great Saturday School in Cockermouth called Music Centre, and learnt how to play guitar there. They had lessons where you could play in bands and folk groups, so I did all that from the ages 10-16, which was pretty cool.
I started writing my own songs when I was doing GCSE’s and did a lot of gigging whilst at Sixth Form.
What do you enjoy most about being a musician?
My favourite thing about being a musician is definitely gigging.
There's this really cool venue in Carlisle called Warwick Bazaar that I’ve played a couple of times, and it's just really magical. You can tell everyone's there because they're genuinely interested in music, it's just good vibes all around! I love it when someone comes up to me and says that a song that I wrote meant something to them, that's the best feeling in the world.
Since, with the virus, gigging isn’t really a thing at the moment, I’ve been working really hard on mixing some songs to release, which has been pretty fun. I’ve spent ages on them, and I think they’re finally almost finished.
It's nice when you know you’ve worked really hard on something and just can’t wait to release it!
Is there a song you have written that is particularly important to you? Which and why?
They’re all important to me in different ways, but I’d say at the moment ‘we.were.dead.’ (which is coming out in February, but stay hush, as I haven't told anyone that yet!).
It accurately describes all the emotions I felt moving to Uni, and my relationship between Cumbria and Leeds. I really struggled with that transition initially, so wrote a nice sad song about it that hopefully people will enjoy.
I think it matters more to me now because of the pandemic, as I’ve been lucky enough to spend a lot of lovely time at home, that I’ve really appreciated. However, it has certainly made the juxtaposition between home and uni even weirder to me.
Are there any tracks you've been into lately that you'd like to share with our readers?
My favourites change every day! This is what I’m liking at the moment, listen if you have time:
What advice would you give to young musicians trying to get the word out about their music?
I can't lie, I'm not certain of what I'm doing myself, so if anyone has an answer to that question I’d love to know!
However, in all seriousness, I’d say just keep at it. Keep working on stuff that you’re into, and don’t listen to what other people say - what matters most is that you’re proud of what you’re creating and that you think it’s good!
Oh, and to know it’s okay if you have a period of time where you’re feeling unmotivated creatively; the writer's block will eventually end!
What are the future plans and goals for you and your music?
Well, I have a single coming out in February, which I’m super excited about, it's one of 3 tracks on a new EP which will be out in April.
After that, another EP (which I’m writing for now), and some gigs as soon as they’re allowed. I’ve actually got my first ever gig in Leeds booked, so fingers crossed that'll go ahead!
Eventually I’d love to play Glastonbury, that's my lifetime ambition - so you better watch this space!
In terms of collaborations, I’d really like to do some writing with Marblmoon, once we’re allowed to see other humans. There's loads of cool musicians on my Uni course who I’d also love to collaborate with once I’m back in Leeds. So yeah, I’m pretty hyped for what 2021 holds (once we’re out of this lockdown!)
You can listen to birdseed.'s music here on Spotify-
And here on Soundcloud-
Follow birdseed. on social media: Instagram: instagram.com/thisisbirdseed
Facebook: facebook.com/thisisbirdseed
Twitter: twitter.com/thisisbirdseed
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