More about: Connie Constance

Sometimes, our only escape is a story. It’s our entry into a sometimes better - or at least different - world. Stories are an interlude into somewhere we can hopefully find some form of satisfaction and learn that we’re not alone. Right now, few are creating these stories better than Connie Constance.

Hard-hitting, honest and often humorous, Connie Constance creates immersive music to address the issues of the modern day; capturing moments that happen in her everyday life and transforming them into infinite moments of music. Adapting elements of indie-rock and soul, Constance has fashioned her own unique style, capturing the upbeat and passionate guitars of indie-rock and melting them perfectly with the mournful vocals of classic soul. We caught up with Connie to chat about her new label, her new EP and a touch of politics. 

Gigwise: So we’re more than a year on now since your debut English Rose, what’s changed since then?

Connie Constance: I’m now independent and I've got my own label and I do things differently now with my team behind me. On a personal level I've gone through a lot of changes and they've really helped me refine my sound.

GW: So tell us about your label Jump The Fence - what's the drive behind that?

CC: It’s about people who want to take risks and go against the norm. I wanted to have artists who go against the grain or they do things different to other people. It’s also a production company doing videos and stuff. I want it to be a multimedia company and not just a record label in the end.

GW: And of course you're releasing your next EP The Butterfly Club on this label, what can we expect from that, have you changed your sound or way of working?

CC: There's more indie-bangers, it’s more soulful and I haven't really released anything like that for a while so I tried to tap into that and channel that sound!

GW: Does this change then have anything to do with producing your music with Vasser? I know your older stuff and his are very different areas of music, so did coming together in those two sort of different musical backgrounds change anything?

CC: When we started working together we realised we had a lot of similar influences even though our sounds were different. So then it kind of became a clash of how we’d taken our influences and that's how we grew this new sound.

We showed each other music we’d each never heard before but it kind of instantly clicked with each of us. But yeah that's how it worked out. We also work quite differently as well, like he’s got a setup in Tottenham and I'm much more of a bedroom writer. I love to go to a studio but something about having that familiar writing spot and not having too many people around at the start of that writing process works best for me.

I think we worked together for like a year and a half before any of the songs were ready and way before we even thought about releasing anything. Those so many demos from then as well that I don't think will ever surface.

GW: So you mentioned that you found mutual influences with Vasser. Have your influences changed since English Rose and would you cite any new influences on the EP?

CC: I’m always looking out and trying to change what I’m listening to, but recently I've been banging out Gus Dapperton's album Orca. I tend to avoid having things being straight influences on my music. I grew up on indie-rock and stuff, so now that’s kind of me.

GW: I think the indie-rock elements are really clear on ‘Costa Del Margate’, can you tell us about that track?

CC: So I'd just been to Margate and when I went into a little writing session I was eager to write about my Margate experience and we said “Shall we make a banger today?” and that was the start. We wanted to really up the tempo and make a really good guitar hook and then, as the session went on, it just started to get really slow and chill and basically we wrote the outro first and when that finished we were like, “Shit, i thought we were meant to be making an indie banger today”. 

But I still really liked this melody, let's just make it up tempo and leave that melody. That's what I love about this EP as well is that it's stories that just happened. I really like being able to work all year on something that’s from a fresh story.

GW: Obviously storytelling is your signature: do you hold storytelling as the highest importance on your songs?

CC: I think that's what got me into music in the first place, writing down what had happened in my life. It's always been the centre. Anything I disagree with or i'm confused by I just wrote them down and tried to mould a story around them.

GW: Speaking of things that are confusing, of course the whole music industry is well, a bit fucked for lack of a better word. The government has come out and said that musicians should go and find other jobs, how does this make you feel?

CC: Honestly i'm just let down that the arts could be viewed in that way. It's tough on everyone and it made me feel gutted on the impact it has on the industry. My friend tweeted saying she’d already retrained for many jobs and now may have to go find another one. It makes the government look like they think music isn't important. It’s a slap in the face, but we’re used to the disappointment.

GW: Unfortunately so, but hopefully things will be clearer soon. On a lighter note, the EP’s dropping soon! After that, what's next for the label?

CC: Im working on another video and then lots of new tunes, I might dig into a new album maybe next year but at the moment i'm just enjoying my freedom and time to just create new music. I can say what I want to say and get it out straight away. It's great.

GW: One last question for you! It’s been four years since your first EP, how have you evolved and how do you feel looking back.

CC: When I first did the first EP I was just a writer. It's been beautiful to harness music as a whole opposed to just writing and being able to use proper studios to get even more creative with my music. I also think it helps to look back now and realise what my sound is now and how I prefer it. I feel finding their sound is what a lot of artists do straight away but now I think I've found mine and can change it freely and just hope people still vibe with it.

The Butterfly Club EP arrives 23 October via Connie's own label Jump The Fence. 

More about: Connie Constance