To find both healing and resolution in relinquishing control of past traumas is no mean feat. Nor is simultaneously publishing a book, and releasing an album that recount in great detail the reasons behind, and after effects of, dealing with said trauma – just ask Lucy Spraggan…
“The way I see it, there are two ways to deal with the past – you either embrace it, and learn from it, or you keep running, and remain a prisoner to it for the rest of your life,” a considered, yet good-humoured Lucy muses as we chat just weeks before the launch of her autobiography ‘Process: Finding My Way Through’, and 7th studio album, ‘Balance’. “How I’ve personally chosen to confront things from my past has changed over the course of time, but as of right now… well, let’s just say I don’t have any plans to go out for a run anytime soon (laughs).”
Whether speaking literally, or metaphorically, (as fans and followers of Spraggan will know the ‘Empire’ singer is mad keen into her fitness), there’s a lightness and sense of calm that punctuates the air around the 31-year-old, despite the seriousness nature of some of the anecdotes she shares in both her memoir, and album, the latter of which we are scheduled to talk about today.
“Going into the making of this record, I knew exactly what I wanted to say, and what stories I wanted to tell,” Lucy explains when breaking down the origins of the songs that would go onto become the LP now known as ‘Balance’. “But you can never be quite sure if you’re going to be able to pull it off and bring that vision you have to life, because it takes a lot to be so open and honest in song. Luckily for me though, I’m somebody who finds strength in vulnerability, and I believe it to be a powerful tool to use when communicating with people. If I stay hidden and closed off, I get nowhere. Whereas if I open up and tell people everything, then hopefully they will feel comfortable to do the same. We’re all just mirrors of each other at the end of the day, and our individual stories are a reflection of what we’re all going through.”
Taking a pause and a deep breath, Lucy continues: “I’m so ready to come out and say to everyone: ‘this is everything about me, and here are a load of songs that tell you exactly what I’ve been through’. It’s time for me to let go, and live as my authentic self.”
Balance (Official Lyric Video)
Thoughts of letting go, and making peace with times gone by, are two recurring themes that have remained prevalent on Spraggan’s mind in recent years. Back in the winter of 2021, during an interview to promote the festive release of her enchanting remake of the Mariah Carey classic ‘All I Want For Christmas Is You’, a reflective Lucy revealed to CelebMix: “There was always far more to my story than the public knew. I was catapulted into the limelight, then smashed right back out of it… with my next album I really want to tell that story. It will be dark times, but there will also be light and hope. I want my audience to see how they too can come out the other side of a hard time, and live a great life, just like I have…”
As we read back her words aloud, an almost stunned Lucy replies: “Wow, that was quite a bold statement to make wasn’t it? Honestly, hearing that gives me the most incredible perspective… because I knew that was how I felt, and I knew I would do my best make good on that promise, but like I said to you before, you can never be sure how a project will turn out. But yeah, I guess I did kind of deliver with this record, not just in an artistic sense, but to my soul as well.”
Made up of 14 evocative tracks, that beautifully encapsulate the essence of Lucy, ‘Balance’ is an album filled with substance, that takes listeners on a rollercoaster ride through the many different chapters and verses of her well-lived life so far.
Written from a place of both solitude, and contemplation, songs are filled with thoughtful prose, and melodies that speak straight to the soul, whilst messages of hope, resilience, despair and togetherness help to cut through all of the rumours and noise, to offer wonderful insight into the mind of one of the UK’s most honest, and truthful songwriters. There’s light, there’s shade, then ultimately, light again.
“The way I see it, there are two ways to deal with the past – you either embrace it, and learn from it, or you keep running, and remain a prisoner to it for the rest of your life.”
– Lucy’s take on dealing with the past.
Though acutely aware some of her words will have consequence, draw judgement, and provoke reaction, Spraggan remains calm in the knowledge she has always, and whole-heartedly stood firm in her truth. In the midst of the chaos unfolding around her, the singer stays centred, and admits that more than anything, she’s excited for ‘Balance’ to make its way into the world…
“I’ve actually been sitting on these songs for quite a while now, because I finished making the album ages ago, so I feel like the time is right for it to finally have its moment.” Lucy says, appearing at ease and relaxed at the thought of the LP’s impending release. “Whenever I’m done writing and recording a record, I go through a period of listing to it constantly on repeat, almost as a way to sort of let it sink into my psyche. But after that I leave it alone, and I don’t really revisit it until it comes out, and I’m promoting the songs, and playing them live at shows, and on tour.”
“That’s when things get interesting, because my take on what I’ve created is one thing, but hearing what other people think is a whole other type of situation (laughs). For me, the mad thing about music is that nobody hears it in the same way. Ok, we might all be listening to the same song sonically, but lyrically we all absorb a different message, so our individual take aways, and interpretations of what a track is about tend to be totally polar opposite – that’s kind of amazing don’t you think?”
“Hearing people’s perceptions of my songs is actually my favourite part about releasing new music – it’s so interesting to me to hear what a song means to someone, and how they relate it to what they’re going through. Take a track like ‘Cocaine’, which is a song on the album that seems to be generating quite a lot of response. On the surface, lyrically its about somebody saying to their partner ‘please just love me more than you love that drug’, and so far what I’m hearing from people is that it reminds them of an ex-boyfriend, or girlfriend they had, who struggled with substance abuse. Whereas when I wrote that song, I was the person on the other side, doing things perhaps I shouldn’t have been doing, not acknowledging the effect my behaviour was having on my partner. So I used my perspective of how I used to be, but I sing as if I’m the person who was always saying to me, ‘please stop!’ Some people will get it, some people won’t, but like I said, that’s the great thing about music, we all interoperate it in our own way.”
As a thoughtful lyricist, Spraggan’s clever use of language has long brought to life the wonderful richness, and delicate nuances of the spoken word, with fans around the world seeking solace in her musings, and hope in her melodies during times of trouble and personal crisis. With this notion never far from her mind, Lucy admits she feels a responsibility to remain authentic in the delivery of the messages she choses to convey in her music, for fear that if she doesn’t, things may start to go awry.
“I really respect my audience, and I take pride in knowing that people find comfort, and make such personal connections with my songs,” Spraggan says, her tone still sounding light yet slightly more studious. “So for me to make an album like ‘Balance’, which is essentially me baring my soul to the world, I had to be in the right headspace, because it would not be right for me to stand on any kind of stage, and preach all of these messages to people if I’m not able to live by them in my own life.”
“From a personal point of view, I want people to discover me, and listen to this record and feel hopeful, and feel safe in the knowledge that even when shit happens, you can get past it, and go on to do great things. But more importantly than that, I want everyone to know that there’s no shame in making mistakes. To me ‘mistakes’ don’t exist, they are just life lessons we all need to learn in order to grow, and get better. Are there things I’ve done in my past that I maybe now wish I hadn’t? Sure! But I can’t undo what’s already been done.”
“One of the questions I get asked a lot is: ‘if you could go back and change the past, what would you do differently?’ And, no offence but I find it such a pointless thing to ask! Because, to the best of my knowledge – and I’m open to the possibility that I maybe wrong – there’s no way to travel back in time and do things over, so I’m sorry, I’m not about to start torturing myself further by thinking about things that make me feel unhappy and sad – I’ve moved on from that way of thinking, thank you very much… and I encourage everyone else to do the same (laughs).”
‘Balance’ is available to download / stream now.