motel void

MOTEL VOID: You’re from London, UK (if I’m not mistaken?:). How would you describe the current music scene there? Do you feel that you’re part of it?

CORDELIA GARTSIDE: I’m from Hastings, UK. it’s a small town but it has an amazing music scene. great acts and great grassroots venues that really support independent/early stage musicians. i love it.

MOTEL VOID: You’ve just released your new single ‘December’. It’s part of your new album that you’re releasing track-by-track. How many more songs can we expect and when?

CORDELIA GARTSIDE: yeah i have! and it’s had a wild reception. like it’s weirdly getting the most airplay out of any of my new releases which was unexpected cos it’s just a scratchy strange little song about feeling nothing at all. and yeah – i’m basically releasing a song every 4-6 weeks. i’m gonna stay cagey about exactly how many tracks the album has, but there’ll be a new one coming soon. (@cordeliagartside for updates :)))

MOTEL VOID: Could you tell us more about the recording and writing process of your new songs?

CORDELIA GARTSIDE: I was really lucky to work with Sean Woodlock on the album. Everything we made he mixed on a desk not a computer, so the album has a really warm analogue sound. and it was very organic & experimental process. for example with December we were just messing around with a tape machine in the studio. there was an old rotary dialup phone, and i span it backwards from 9-0 through the mic. then we reversed the tape so the sound played backwards. that became the rhythm section of December. that was just me and Sean. but when we were working with a band, I wanted to make sure the songs weren’t over rehearsed, so there was an element of spontaneity and feeling the music out as we went. that made some really incredible moments on a few of the tracks. things that we didn’t expect and couldn’t have planned for.

in terms of writing, that’s a huge and hard question to answer!! before last year I hadn’t written for a very long time. so a lot of the album speaks to the process of trying to let go of my tendency towards perfectionism, and just to keep writing and finishing songs. the tracks are experiments in form and subject matter and, for me at least, they really show a kind of learning curve. or maybe curve isn’t the right word because it suggests something too linear. they just show how i started writing again, in different shapes.

MOTEL VOID: Your biggest inspirations right now?

CORDELIA GARTSIDE: adrianne lenker. forever and always. I’m taking her School of Song songwriting course at the moment and inspirational isn’t a big enough word. the way she thinks about the universe and translates that into her songwriting is a constant source of motivation for me. and how gently she approaches everything. yeah. it’s what i aspire to be close to.

MOTEL VOID: Your (other) plans for 2024?

CORDELIA GARTSIDE: releasing lots of music! touring! writing a lot, recording an EP! you can keep up with those plans on my mailing list :)) cordeliagartside.com. (also you get a free gift when you sign up)