Pawws

Given the tendency of popstrels to emerge fully formed from the ether, the development of North-Londoner Pawws (aka singer-songwriter Lucy Taylor) has undoubtedly been a much-needed breath of fresh air. Describing her sound as “upsetting disco”, her work details trials of love lost and won, while her impossibly smooth voice washes over the kind of 80s-influenced synth pop that is having a well-deserved renaissance.   Classically trained in both the flute and the piano, Lucy started her career as a live session musician for Kele Okereke and also performed with the likes of MGMT. Her experiences with them led her to write her own tracks, recording them at home and posting them online under her adopted nom de plume. Her first releases gained her a huge amount of attention, heralding praise from the likes of NME and Billboard. Not long after releasing her debut single Time To Say Goodbye / Slow Love she signed a deal with Three Six Zero, a management company partnered with Roc Nation.   Sugar, her debut EP, is set to be released on June 16 via Best Fit Recordings. The record is coloured by a subtlety of emotion and lingering nostalgia that encapsulates the maturity of her sound, all the while exploring the tempestuousness of relationships. “I guess the main theme of this EP is the what happens when you continue loving someone, even when you know it is bad for you,” she explains.   “Although the EP is generally about the pitfalls of love I still think it has an element of hope to it, because you only take risks and end up in those situations when you’re open with your heart.”   Produced by Daniel Lindegren, a friend who also co-wrote three of the tracks, allowed for an honesty that is clear in the frankness of the lyrics. “Daniel is a very talented guy and a good friend which made it easier to be open about the themes in the tracks which is important to me. I also co-wrote one of the tracks, Sugar, with Jimmy Hogarth, and the three of us had a lot of fun working on the record together.”