Victoria Simmonds, UK Indie Singer-Songwriter

 

Welcome back friends to our podcast, your world of creativity. And when we talk about the world of creativity, we're not only talking about literally around the globe, the creative people we talk to, but the wide range of genres and creative expressions that our guests have. And today we're happy to be talking with Victoria Simmons from the UK, but we're speaking from France today.

e's really pushing through in: 2024

Doubt Love. We'll get into that and a lot of other things as we go. Victoria, you've got quite a journey from performing and, theater and musicals and cabaret acts even, to discovering and creating your own music, your own styles. How was that journey for you and where do you feel like you're on that path?

I think when

you enjoy creating things,

You want to try all sorts of different methods of creating with performing for someone else, performing for yourself theater, film, whatever that might be. So you end up being interested in all sorts of different things, but my own music ends up being a very personal expression through creativity.

ebut album, Let's Do Happy in: 2021

Oh no. To be honest, I never know where the beginning of my music started. Whether it was humming when I was in a crib or when it was when I was five and performing on stage at school.

So I it gets bigger every year. From being in bars and festivals then into cabarets and then the theater and music musical theater and then your own music and it just builds and builds.

This idea of let's do happy. I love the title of the album. What was the inspiration for you behind that?

What does let's do happy mean for you?

're recording it. It was more: 2016

And when I listened to it in: 2021

We, we all need something to help us boost ourselves. And it was so funny to me that I'd written it quite a long time ago and yet for it still to be relevant. And in fact, maybe more relevant to people was really fun.

Isn't that great how music is sometimes the right song comes along at the right time.

Yeah, it does. And I put in, you can't actually hear it if I perform it live, but you can on the single and you go on Spotify or Apple music that there are lots of subtle hints in the background. Say when I say things like things that I love and then it says chocolate. There's all sorts of little things if you listen really carefully.

That's fantastic. And then a little further up to date last year you had one of your songs featured by Fern Buckley on the BBC Introducing Solent program. What was the story behind that? How did that come about for you? It's

something that I know about and people have always said, I'll go on to BBC Introducing and I tried a few songs.

And with that song, I was feeling a bit more confident with it. I thought it has done, it's done better on Spotify than any of the other songs. Maybe this is a really good song that I should be pushing a bit more. Put it on there on the Monday. Got a phone call on the Tuesday and it was playing by the Thursday.

So it all happened really quickly. But it was so exciting. I got all my family to listen in on. So just as you've been listening, not stolen. Yes. And we were all sat there listening to it and, oh it was actually really strange to hear my music on an, I'll say an actual radio station. It's been on radio stations, but this as a BBC.

Radio station is I don't know whether you'd call it higher up or in the echelons of radio

stations. Oh, certainly a name brand. It's one we all know. Yeah. Isn't it great that there are still these programs that highlight local talent? There's so much being said about corporate radio and, playlists and algorithms and it's hard for artists to get attention, but here's a way to get a spotlight.

Yeah, it is actually really good. Several things in each region. But it's Britain. We're very small. But ironic. There are quite a few opportunities. If you can, if you know where to look for them and It was talked about last year and I don't know if they're still going to do it, but they are thinking of taking BBC introducing off air, because they've taken a lot of the regional radio stations away and amalgamated in into sort of, okay, you only get your.

local bit for a few hours a day. So they were thinking of taking that away as well, but I think it would be a shame because as you say, it's introducing so much local talent and people that don't get the opportunity when they're not signed to a major record. Yes.

And we're talking hyper local now, but you've also performed in all sorts of countries around Europe.

I see on the list France, Cyprus, Germany, Belgium, Mallorca. How has this traveling and experiencing different cultures influenced your music? Is there an impact on your songs from all the travel? Oh,

an impact on the songs. I think when I go to each of the places, I'm doing a different style of music.

When I was in Corfu, it was a lot more a lot more ABBA and Beatles and dance music. And then when I went to Mallorca, I was doing what we called a diva show. So we've got Whitney Houston, we've got Celine Dion really strong vocalists. So every time I've been working on a different project, those help me in a song.

So the diva show, you would say October Girl was really influenced by something like that, whereas a Like trust the last or let's do happy. Suddenly, you're working just to have a good time. So they help you see different aspects of life. Yeah.

Let's talk more about that. Having a wider lens of experiences. Does that bring something new to either the lyrics or the music itself?

I suppose,

yes, in a way, but I think you experience all of these things and subconsciously they are changing you and how you think, which will in turn Make its way into the music, but I'm not entirely sure I'm conscious of it. I don't look at my time in Corfu and say, Oh, that song is brought about

because I was in Corfu, maybe some of the experiences. Perhaps that I'm writing about will be a little bit different and just had one set of experiences, but I think it's all subconscious and then it just suddenly comes out and after a while you read the song that you've written and go Oh I know how I did that.

Yeah.

Connect the dots afterwards. Yes. And your music has been described as a blend of pop and alternative rock and, I guess everybody wants to put labels on music, but how would you personally describe or define your style?

I would describe it as me just expressing myself in whatever manner I feel at the time.

Does that make sense? Sure does. I've been, I've had so much influence. over so many different genres over my life that if I want to say something about empowerment, maybe in love, then I'm going to do that in a certain way. Maybe it's going to be more of a pop soul genre. If I'm going for something happy, then I've been listening to a load of pop music that makes me happy.

So I'm going to go more in that direction. I did country music for a long time. So often I will suddenly be drawn in that direction. And I don't, I find it very hard to actually put one label in it. I always put it as indie music, but I really. find it hard putting a label on it.

And what about influences on you?

I love the ABBA shows versus the diva Whitney Houston show going into it. And I read that you were influenced by Neil Diamond of all people. And your dad was playing 60s and 70s music. And once it gets in, it's in there.

Oh, you give me the live version of America. I think it's on the jazz singer is where I first saw it.

And I just melt. I love it. But I've had so many influences my grandparents would teach me about their music and anything that was, say, from the, even the 30s into the 50s. And then my dad would take me into the 60s, 70s, not so much the 80s, funnily enough. And then I was growing up with all the 90s music and I've been influenced and been listening to such diverse style of music that it all comes together.

Love it. Yes, Neil Diamond is the quite big one Fleetwood Mac. I have to say Spice Girls have to be in there if you're going to go with pit brick pop. Yes. Yeah, you can't not put Spice Girls in. They influence every five or seven year old girl in England. Yes, of

course. I love that.

Before we look to the future, I want to make sure people know where to find you, how to follow your work. What are your best coordinates?

You can go on to Facebook at Victoria Simmons Music or Instagram at official Victoria underscore music. If you want to listen, it's on Spotify, on Apple Music, on Amazon, Deezer.

I have no idea how many others there are. I just put it up and distribute it. They're

all out there.

This one's great in Taiwan. Okay. If you say so.

Yes. That's how music is for sure. Tell us about what you're working on now and I know you've got a new song out, Doubt Love, and that was a great collaboration.

What else are you working on now?

We will be working on the same collaboration, me and Andreas Berndt, we're looking at doing another song, and I've sent him the song, and Hopefully this weekend at some point, he might get back to me and say if we change this and this, maybe it will work.

It's usually the way it goes. No, I don't think he'll say too much is wrong with it. But I've also been asked to fill in for some singers at cabaret groups. So I'll be doing that and. I've actually got into the final of a competition. It's, I will say it's a local competition because it's regional.

So it's\ part of the Olympics of our region. And cause the flames will be coming be passing the flames through. So it's a competition for singer songwriters. And I'm doing that and we'll see how that goes.

Yeah, sounds like fun. What about looking ahead to the summer?

Any plans for tour dates, festivals?

I'm hoping to do some festivals in the UK. I've got a few down at the moment. If anybody would like to give me more, if I could come to America, then that'd be brilliant. Always available.

Somehow things seem to come up month by month and they're like, okay can you do this next week?

Oh yeah. Okay. I had no idea I was going to do that last week. So it continues to

go on. Stay flexible.

Tell me and I'll get on the flight.

Fantastic. Listeners, my guest has been Victoria Simmons. We've been talking about her work as an indie pop and alt rock singer songwriter and all the things that inspire her music.

And you can be sure to follow her and listen for new music going forward. I love getting into the song writing, the song development, the song inspirations, Victoria. Thanks for sharing those insights. No problem. Keep us posted on all the new developments and listeners come back again next time.

We're going to continue our around the world journeys as we talk to creatives all over about how they get inspired and how they get their ideas organized and of course how we gain the confidence and the connections to launch the work out into the world. So until next time, I'm Mark Stinson and we'll keep unlocking your world of creativity.