Seeing as I skim through thousands of new songs each month from artists around the world, it is not very often that an artists comes through that immediately blows me away. While I can confirm that there is an incredible amount of good music being released everyday, finding something (that I consider) GREAT comes few and far between. With that being said, since London-based singer/songwriter Lexie Carroll first came onto my radar in 2020, she has continued to blow my mind at every turn, and at this point I can honestly say that I may be a bit obsessed. Thanks to her unique tone, incredible lyrics, undeniable authenticity and hard-to-ignore consistency, there isn't a day that goes by that one of her songs doesn't play through my KRK's. In short - she is incredible and she should be on your radar because I promise you will hearing a lot more from Lexie Carroll.
Having released an EP and a number of singles this year, Lexie Carroll's most recent release, "annual birthday cry," is yet another shining example of her talent, further cementing herself as an artist to watch in the UK and beyond. Delicate, emotive and oh so human, you'd be doing yourself a favor if you checked it out. When her new offering landed in my inbox, I was instantly hooked and hanging on to every word. As someone who is a sucker for words/lyrics, Lexie Carroll hasn't let me down once since I first discovered her and I can't even begin to tell you how excited I was to find out that she was willing to do an interview with RockDafuqOut.
Before we get into the interview (keep scrolling), do yourself a favor and dive into her catalog. I promise you it is worth your time.
RDFO: Seeing as you are still only 17, I’d have to assume you have been involved in music in some form for quite some time. What was your first introduction into music and how old were you when it all started?
LC: I feel like I’ve just always written bits of songs which is a bit odd but I don’t even remember when it started! I began learning guitar when I was about 8 and that’s when I wrote my first ‘proper’ songs I guess you could say, with chords and a structure etc. My guitar teacher was so supportive of me writing songs which was really encouraging and definitely kept me going.
RDFO: Being someone who is super into lyrics, I was immediately impressed by your songwriting. Do you write everything yourself and/or is there anyone on your team that you collaborate with when writing? Any friends or people in your life that you often lean on, ask for input or run things by during the writing process?
LC: Ahh thank you!! I’m pretty protective over my lyrics so I often don’t really talk to people about them much until the songs done. But I am always jotting down random words and phrases that people say in general conversations and draw upon them when writing, so I feel like the people I love are sprinkled all across my songs which is really nice for me. And then I’ve had some lovely writing sessions as well and it’s so exciting to be able to collaborate with such talented people. Especially in terms of chords and production- lyrics are my happy place, I feel a bit more comfortable writing them on my own but when it comes to the music side of things I love being able to work with somebody to take the songs in different directions.
RDFO: Considering how quickly you grabbed my attention and immediately cut through in my inbox, what do you think it is about your sound and style that you credit for making you stand out?
LC: Thank you, that’s really kind!! But a difficult question, I have no clue- am just trying to write songs that I would like to hear haha so it means a lot that you like them too.
RDFO: I find your voice and tone incredibly unique, are there other vocalists that you think you’ve pulled some influence from? Who are some other artists whose songs you love to sing?
LC: I think dodie is probably the person I’ve been most influenced by with vocals. I’ve been such a fan of her for the longest time and I think hearing somebody who sang so gently but still with such emotion was really inspiring for me. I’ve always been quite quiet and can’t belt for the life of me haha so dodie’s voice was the first that made me realise you don’t have to sing in one particular way.
RDFO: Seeing as you are based in London, do you think the high density of talent there has helped or hindered in your journey thus far?
LC: I’m sure it has helped! I did a lot of youth open mic nights and everyone who would perform was so inspiring.
RDFO: When it comes to the artwork and lyric videos for your releases, why do you prefer to create these yourself and how would you explain/describe the aesthetic that you have been able to curate so far?
LC: I really like arts and crafts so doing the artwork and lyric vids are so fun for me. I am a big scrapbooker, it’s probably my favourite thing to do I find it so calming and I think the scrappy theme of bits of paper, handwriting and printed pictures has taken over my music project which I love!!
RDFO: In all honesty, your lyrics seem to hit me and connect with me way more than other songwriters. Where do you find inspiration for new songs and how important are lyrics in the overall picture for you?
LC: Thank you!! Yeah lyrics are probably the part that means the most to me so it makes me really happy that you like them. I find writing a really weird and unpredictable experience, it’s almost like it all comes out of my subconscious. I’ll be writing a verse and not really know what I’m writing about and then it all clicks into place and I’m like ‘oh - I’m writing about that feeling I’ve been having’. Often I’ll make up stories in songs, like I’ll write about things that haven’t happened but they’re normally woven together by feelings that I have actually had, if that makes sense.
RDFO: How do you balance your career with your school/home/teenage life and do you have plans to go to university or do you think you fully focus on music?
LC: Oooh probably not very well haha. I am applying for uni at the moment- I want to study psychology but I’m gonna take a year out to focus on music for a while and then go when I’m ready I think!
RDFO: So far, what has been the most exciting moment of your career?
LC: There’s been so many lovey things that have happened but a stand out is probably playing support for Wasia Project at The Garage - I was already such a fan of the band and the people in the audience were so so supportive. It was the BEST!
RDFO: What is your favorite venue in London to catch a show?
LC: Probably Hammersmith Apollo because it is like 5 minutes from where I live!!! I saw Cavetown there last week and it was so so so good!!!
RDFO: What has been your favorite venue to perform at so far?
LC: Probably The Garage, it was just so COOL but I’ve also played at Omeara twice now and that is such a beautiful venue.
RDFO: What was your reaction and how did it feel to first land on BBC and Spotify’s radar?
LC: Very surreal!! BBC introducing has been so supportive and same with Spotify, it is such a great opportunity to be on playlists where people can stumble across the songs.
RDFO: What/who would you say was the most influential thing/person that helped you realize your potential and inspire you to be an artist?
LC: I think all of the people who were sharing their music through YouTube really inspired me- like dodie, Cavetown and Chloe Moriondo. Just seeing people that felt a bit like me being able to post stuff from their bedrooms made everything seem so much more possible and definitely pushed me to start posting my stuff.
RDFO: When it comes to your personal taste, who are some other artists or what are some songs that you currently find yourself listening to over and over?
LC: My favourite songs are probably Chinese Satellite by Phoebe Bridgers and Giving In To The Love by Aurora. I’m a huge fan of both of those artists!
RDFO: Do you find the reaction to your music so far has exceeded your expectations or do you feel it has taken longer/been much harder than expected?
LC: Ahh I try not to think about stuff too much or expect anything because it’s so unpredictable and the thought that I could be doing any of the stuff I’m doing now wouldn’t of even crossed my mind before so it is very exciting and I’m just trying to take it in and not get ahead of myself!
RDFO: Knowing how horrible the music business can be sometimes, have you encountered any situations that you think other young artists should keep an eye out for when diving in?
LC: I’ve been really lucky so far to just be surrounded by nice people!
RDFO: Currently, what does the extended Lexie Carroll team look like? Any label deals, management, other team members you want to shout out?
LC: My manager Nick is great! And I’ve just started with a label called 7476 which is really exciting for me.
RDFO: Your new single, “annual birthday cry,” is an absolute stunner. Can you tell me about how this song came together and what it means to you?
LC: Thank you so much! I wrote it just after I turned seventeen, I think I was just feeling very overwhelmed and not ready to be so old! Sometimes it has felt like I skipped a load of years in my early teens so I don’t feel quite in the right place and birthdays have always just made me emotional (I’m just a very emotional gal in general hahah it doesn’t take much to get me teary I don’t know why!). Anyways, from the first verse the song just turned into a big brain dump of all of my fears and it very much reflects the way I was feeling at that time. I think it was quite nice just to let it all out of me, like throwing up haha. Then I made a demo of it and then recorded it properly with Hugo Hardy who is so great. It was so fun working with Hugo to bring the ideas in my demo out into a fully formed track and playing around with distortion and stuff.
RDFO: What is up next on the release schedule, and can you tell us about some upcoming gigs that you may be super excited about?
LC: I’m putting out a Christmas song yay! And I’m playing my first big proper headline in London on December 7th at The Grace, which is SO EXCITING. I’m literally counting down the days.
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