The track is taken from her upcoming EP of the same name, set for release this August. She also announces a London headline show on 22 August at The Lexington.
Epically cinematic in its sound, ‘Make It Romantic’ wouldn’t be out of place as a soundtrack to the scene in a rom-com in which the two love interests leave each other for the last time. Simeon says, “They’re standing on a bridge, it’s raining, they walk in opposite directions, he turns to watch her leave one final time. Inspired by the last time I saw a man I dated briefly – I knew I would never see him again and as he walked right and I walked left I remember thinking to myself, “don’t turn around but he’s 100% looking back at you now as you go.
Tell us about the genesis of your project Make It Romantic. How did you get to where you are now?
Initially I wanted to release an EP in 2020, but due to the pandemic I decided to place it on hold for a little while. Then, during the course of the next couple of years the project really shifted into something else with different band members and new songs I had written over lockdowns. It was quite frustrating at the time because I really saw it as something different in my mind, but it ended up working out for the better, I learned a little bit of lead guitar too and wrote a solo for it, and the songs and feel of the whole project just works a lot better as this final result.
What should a song or piece of art communicate in your opinion?
I think art should contribute to the human experience in some way, so I really don’t believe that it needs to communicate anything really deep or really academic necessarily – however great art can also do that – but for me it needs to make me feel something. Whether that’s joy or sadness or more nuanced emotions. A really great piece of art acts as a call to action in some way in my opinion – it makes you want to travel somewhere or call a friend or dance in the rain
Who were your top 3 artists last year?
According to my Spotify listening it was Joni Mitchell, Kendrick Lamar, and Haim
What do you do when you’re feeling uninspired?
I used to get on a plane and meet new people and have a love affair, but then I got into a long term relationship and we weren’t allowed to travel anymore. I can get really into my head, so I like to go out into nature and get into my body, or go out to a party or something and just live life instead of observing it for a while
What are your 2022 projects and goals?
My main project this year was releasing this EP, and developing my lead guitar playing so that I can get those lines down for the EP launch, which is happening at The Lexington in Kings Cross on August 22nd
Favorite movie or TV show?
My favourite ever film is Good Will Hunting – it makes me laugh and cry in all the same places even though I know what’s about to happen
Tell us about your latest release and how it came about
Make It Romantic the single came out on the 16th June, but I wrote it at the end of 2019, after the last time I saw a man I was dating briefly. I knew it would be the last time we saw eachother and I like to romanticise everything in my life so as we were walking away from each other in opposite directions I thought about how in a movie he would be looking back at me for the last time, and then I wrote this song based on that classic rom-com moment.
What is something you would want to change in the music and entertainment industry?
I think the things I would change in the music and entertainment industry are things I would want to change in the world generally. One thing that does make me really sad is that we have such an obsession with appearance and having the perfect body and making sure we don’t look old or show any imperfections at all, and it just has such a devastating effect that we’re not allowed to be real humans anymore with laugh lines and stretch marks and scars and grey hairs. I think the idea that a certain type of human body can be in or out of fashion is wild.
Can you outline your creative process?
It really changes each time I write. Sometimes it starts with chords, sometimes a melody. Sometimes I will write down lyrics or a theme of some sort and work it into something that way, but for me the lyric is almost always most important. I’ll change the rhythm and melody and structure to fit around what I’m trying to say rather than change what I’m trying to say to fit into a song.
Who inspires your style and aesthetics?
This is a hard one for me because I don’t consciously follow fashion in that way, however I do really enjoy beautiful clothes, and I REALLY enjoy beautiful shoes. I think my style is mostly inspired by wanting to show off my legs so you’ll see me wearing shorts and skirts with a slit in them more often than not. I’m also a firm believer in buying pretty lingerie to be seen, so I’m a big fan of underwear as outerwear. Winter style is not so much for me!
What is the achievement or moment in your career you are the most proud of and why?
It’s actually really recent. I have always played acoustic guitar, and even when I started playing electric guitar it was still all rhythm and finger picking styles. I never really let myself imagine what playing lead guitar might be like, and I completely wrote it off as never being able to do it, but last weekend I played my guitar solo live for the first time at Black Deer Festival, and it wasn’t perfect but I did it, and it got a really good reaction from the audience and it made me believe in the lead guitarist version of myself a bit more.
What do you think an artist should sing about nowadays?
I think an artist should sing about whatever they feel passionately about. I think that music is always best when it resonates with others and art is supposed to connect us, so singing your truth and it touching other people is something really special
Do you have any regrets?
I don’t really have any regrets, I think there’s a really strong case to be made for the butterfly effect so even if I could I wouldn’t want to change too much anyway.
What is some piece of advice you would give to yourself right now?
Stop trying to be a perfectionist and just get the things done. I sometimes mistake worrying with actually being productive and I find I can really lose time just worrying about something instead of actually making a start on it. Also – remember to wear SPF every day.