Misty Miller interview: I've always been this way

Image: Misty Miller

With Misty's debut album set to finally drop next year and her vivacious punk-pop number 'Next To You' garnering steadfast attention, it feels like now is the time that things are finally coming together for Misty Miller to really push on with her music career.

Equally adept at holding the stage on her own or fleshing it out with an accompanying live band, Misty Miller's female fronting presence is a vastly welcome one. 

Wolf Alice's Ellie Roswell set the bar aloft this year in a similar role, and with Misty's razor-sharp song-writing skills the South Londoner could easily enter the same bracket with her radiant appeal ahead of the band's forthcoming November tour. 

In wide-eyed anticipation of all that is Misty Miller and the eventual album release, we spoke on the phone to Misty while at one point she ran for a bus, covering topics that explain her story so far, song-writing dynamics, label politics, touring and gender equality.

What's the reaction to 'Next To You' (listen above) been like so far? 

It's been good so far, we've had radio plays, that's been nice. It's been knocking about for quite a while, I written it when I was 17 so all the things i'm saying are coming across from an angsty teenagers point of view.

I'm blatantly listing out things I was doing to my boyfriend at the time, and I kind of wrote it as a bit of a joke so it has that kind of tongue in cheeky vibe to it. But when I play it now I don't feel an emotional connection, it's just great to play and one song you can really get into.

Does it annoy you that you're consistently linked back to the folk music you played when you were younger? 

Of course it annoys me yeah, the thing about that is I was doing that kind of music in the public eye, but for myself I was playing music like 'Next To You'. You know? I had an electric guitar and a female drummer, and it was all going in that direction but obviously the world had sort of cottoned on to the folk stuff I was doing so I had to sort of push that.

I've actually been this way for a while, so when people talk about me changing and having this big tranformation it's just bollocks. The truth is i've always been this way and i've had to fight for the past four years to get people to understand that. 

Of course, no ones like they were when they were fifteen right?   

I'm 21 now and i've done a lot of intense shit, and i've been through some completely different stuff so my music is going to be different naturally. 

Has the way you approach song-writing changed then? 

I guess it is different, when I first started I just wrote autobiographically and had this idea in my head, something would happen and I'd write a song about it.

Whereas now, I find i'm a little bit more obscure with the things i'm saying, there's a few songs from the album where people go, "oh so this song is about this and that" and in my head i'm saying it's really not. But you know I quite like people being able to interpret things in different ways.

Are the songs you write always personal? 

I guess in general you are giving of some kind of message. For me there's two kinds of song-writing. There's cathartic song-writing where you're releasing some sort of demon or for a therapeutic experience you're just sort of getting it out there, but there's also the kind of song-writing where you're just writing a song for the sake of writing a song which is also great.

Like my song 'Happy' (listen below), it's not actually about anything that really happened in my life, obviously the lyrics I can relate to definitely, but the main thing about that song is it's just really fun to play. As i've grown older and played gigs i've started writing songs that will work well live basically. 

So you can't wait to tour then? 

I'm really looking forward to the tour, I think that the set we've got is pretty good.  

Will you be touring with your full live band? 

Yeah thank god. I've done so many shows on my own, it's not difficult, but the thing is when I do it it's a really different kind of show. There's something quite special nowadays about seeing a female fronting rock band that isn't just doing full on emo-rock but isn't doing something half way through indie, and just playing some old school punk music. That's what I get with my band.

How did the band come together, are you all friends? 

All musicians I've ever had n the band are people I know who have been very much involved in the south London music scene like Peckham and Brixton.

They're all people I've just met there and through mates. In saying that my guitarist I met on tour, and we were playing a gig in Nottingham and he's actually my boyfriend now, so yeah I snatched him up.

Is it true that the album has been held back several times? 

We recorded it about two years ago, so it's been really frustrating but that's just what happens with major labels. I guess it's kind of good because we're way more developed.

The most important thing to me is the live show and it's so much better now than it was back then. You know you've just got to accept the circumstances and make the most out of it. I'm still proud of the album, Is still feel it represents me so I'm looking forward to it coming out. 

When is it coming out? 

Well I've been told February, I've been told April then I've been told March, I really don't want to give a month, but I guess spring next year. 

I've noticed you push messages about poverty and sexism on your Instagram account. Does any of that come across on the album? 

 

NO TO SEXISM #omighty #sexism

A photo posted by Misty Miller (@mistymillermusic) on Sep 25, 2015 at 10:19am PDT

The album not so much, but the songs that i'm writing at the moment are yeah. In a way I feel like a lot of people are almost afraid to say they're a feminist, but the way I try and deliver the songs and what i'm saying is in a fun way.

I think it's quite brave, especially in 'Happy'. In that chorus, a lot of people said before I recorded that, "Oh you can't sing that because you'll come across as this and that but then it's like guys sing about sleeping around all the time so why not? 

So essentially it's about seeking equality in general? 

Yeah definitely, a lot of men are afraid of feminists because we're male haters which is bullshit. But it's like anything, with a movement there's always going to be a lot that's misconstrued and a lot what's misunderstood it's just like anything.

For me as long as I know where I'm coming from and my fans know where in coming from then that's all that really matters I'm not desperate for everyone to know my opinion on everything, I don't think it's really healthy to give so much of yourself away. Give yourself away to the people that matter. 

Thanks Misty, we look forward to the tour! 

Misty plays at Night and Day Cafe in Manchester on Thursday 5th November 

Like this? Read our interview with Stealing Sheep: An ever-shifting Liverpool landscape

Tickets are no longer available for this event