we had a chat with Lynnie Carson about her new album Everything In Between which is out now
What are the themes of the new album?
Thematically this is quite dark for me. I have previously shied away from revealing anything too personal in my work, but John Grant said that when writing if it felt like something he shouldn't be talking about then it absolutely should go into a song. So I wrote these songs in the wake of a break-up, getting married and then my brand new, lovely wife suffering a cancer diagnosis. The songs were cathartic and I wrote them without thinking anyone would hear them so there is a freedom in that. There's also songs that cover addiction too, I'm not judging anybody in them, these are just what came out of me feeling that so many people from my past never reached their potential because of drink or drugs. It seems like such a waste and I felt I had to write about it.
How did lockdown affect the recording?
We started recording 3 summers ago so lockdown didn't affect the recording so much but I feel like everything up until this point with the album has happened for a reason. The album suits the current lockdown climate I think. I have fallen in and out of love with these songs and listening to the masters in lockdown somehow made them make sense to me. I feel this is an album for lockdown and I hope other people find that too.
Who inspired you to take up music?
Both sides of my family are musical, my mum and maternal gran both have beautiful voices and doing a turn is compulsory at any family event on that side and my dad is a musician too. There's no doubt I was privileged to grow up in one house where showing aff was encouraged and another where there were guitars and pianos there to be picked up and played.
what makes you optimistic?
This is a really interesting question and at a very unusual time in humanity......I think you make yourself optimistic. It's a choice/state of mind. I can acknowledge that I am probably not naturally optimistic so I tried meditation for the first time at the start of lockdown and it helped me to utilise visualisation to feel good. Being active and using the power of being positive can't be overstated. There's so much horror in the world but to be ignorant about it all and supposedly blissful is not the way for me. I want to be robust enough to know the truth and still be generally a positive person. Someone like Greta Thunberg makes me feel optimistic that we can save the planet to give a short answer : )
what’s the most depressing thing in the world today?
The thought of vulnerable children is what keeps me awake at night. That and climate change.
what three films would you like to save for prosperity?
Some Like It Hot for laughs
Call Me By Your Name for us gays
Singin In The Rain for the songs
what is your biggest regret in the world?
I regret that I didn't know myself better when I was in my 20's. I think if I had I would have had more confidence in my abilities and understood where my strengths were quicker. I wasted a lot of time studying for things that I would never use later in life. I wish I'd done an apprenticeship. A female plumber who could run a diary would be loaded! I also regret not trying to help my school friend Fiona more before she died. I hadn't seen her for years and she could be difficult to be around. I don't even know how I could have helped but I regret putting it to the back of my mind and not trying at least.
which ambition is the one you most like to fulfil?
Glastonbury - I want to play Glasto!
which three albums would you save from a burning house?
Joni Mitchell - Blue
The Last Waltz - The Band and friends
John Grant - Queen Of Denmark
And I'd sneak a First Aid Kit album into one of these cases too : )
What is your definition of success?
I genuinely want to make the best music I can. Success is writing and recording an album I would buy and listen to if someone else wrote it. The dream is that the work alone could sustain me and my family. Providing enough income to run and own my own home.
what would be your definition Failure?
Returning to full-time employment in the future having tried to be a self-employed independent musician.
what’s your favourite restaurant /café anywhere in the world?
My wife and I had a cafe creme at Les Deux Magots in Paris last year when we went to see Scotland women play in their first World Cup. I was reading Hemingway's Fiesta: The Sun Also Rises, we got a much sought after seat outside under the canopy and watched the Parisians go by as we sipped the creamiest, richest, sweetest coffee I've ever tasted. A day out of the top drawer of life. We both still talk about that coffee!
do you have a favourite saying?
Fittingly......all I can think of right now is the French saying "Everything in moderation, including moderation". I love the idea that you need a good blow out every once in a while. That it's good for you and not something to feel guilty about.
is there one trait in yourself that you’d like to change?
There's a million! But the biggest would be that I wish I was less opinionated. I would like to be a better listener, just shut up for once and actually hear what other people are saying, John Grant sums it up perfectly in GMF.
"I'm usually only waiting for you to stop talking so that I can"
Sometimes I catch myself doing this so I'm working really hard on my listening skills right now! : )