Interview: The Sisterhood With Áine Deane
Interview by Lindsey V. Britt / Photos by Em Marcovecchio
Singer-songwriter Áine Deane, known for her smash hits “Handmedowns,” Did You Ever?,” and “World’s Most Famous Mistake,” has just released the latest girl power anthem “THE SISTERHOOD,” while touring with Tors and gearing up to play shows and festivals this summer across the UK.
Your new song “THE SISTERHOOD” comes out May 9th, what inspired you to write such an inspiring song about sisterhood?
I’m lucky enough to have the world’s best friends and I just wrote this song about them. There’s the six of us, we’re very tight-knit. We lived together at university and I sort of just found the loves of my life at university and it was them. And I wanted to celebrate the ways in which we support each other,
Are there any artists or songs that were an influence on “THE SISTERHOOD”?
I’d say that I’m consistently influenced by artists like Taylor Swift, and I think you can hear that through the song. But I think Kelsea Ballerini’s latest album in its entirety is a really big influence on this track.
You also have a music video coming out the same day, how excited are you for the video?
I’m so excited! We went to Prague in January the six of us, I bought an old camcorder off eBay and just like shot the entire trip and gave it to the girls at different times. It’s such an organic music video, and I love that I think it represents us really well.
Your show with The Sisterhood at St. Pancras Old Church in London on May 31st is completely sold out! Are you excited for the show or are there any nerves there?
I think there’s always nerves before I play live, it’s a nerve-racking experience but I think if you’re not nervous, you don’t care as much, you know. Being nervous shows that you really care about it and I’m so excited to sing some of my favorite songs with some of my favorite female artists and my sisterhood. My girls are going to be there, so I think it’s going to be a really special night.
Tomorrow you’re going to be opening for Tors on their The Miracle tour, are you excited to be working with them?
I’m so excited, I love going on tour in general but they are amazing musicians, so I’m very honored to be sharing a stage with them. I think it’s going to be a really fun week.
Later this summer you’re going to be playing festivals such as Black Deer, Cambridge Folk Festival, and Secret Garden Party, but are there any other plans for touring this year? Maybe even a show in the States.
I would love to play in the States so much. I love going over to America whenever I can. Not in the plans for this year but hopefully very soon. There might be some sneaky secret plans for touring later this year, which I might be shouting about quite soon but for now, I have to remain tightlipped, but I’ll be announcing that later on.
Recently you released a song called “the one before the one.” What gave you the courage to release such a bold yet vulnerable song?
I don’t know if it’s courage. I just wrote the song, I felt my feelings that day and I wrote the song and I ended up just loving it and wanted to release it. I think that I maybe to my own fault don’t really consider anything other than like rather the song is good when I release it. And then it comes out and I’m like oh my god, people have just heard what I think. So, I don’t know if it’s courage but I love that it could be, but it’s actually a love for the music and wanting people to hear what I’ve been doing and maybe a bit of naivety.
What inspired you to start writing such beautiful songs such as “if I called you today, I would come back tomorrow” and “Hopeless”?
Truthfully probably the boys that I date, haha. They’re probably the biggest inspiration cause I write about what is truthful to me and I write a lot about relationships, so unfortunately the people that I date are the inspiration, but I think I’m also constantly inspired by my favorite artists and songs they are releasing as well, I guess a combination of both of those things.
Do you prefer writing songs by yourself or working with co-writers?
I think that I like to start ideas by myself and if I’m going to the studio, I like to have a pretty solid concept and lyrics. But it’s really lovely to get a fresh perspective on your story, cause as I said, I write what is true to me so I obviously have my own bias, so to get a fresh perspective from other people in the room is invaluable. And also I just love to co-write, I think that sharing ideas is so much fun and it makes you a better writer.
How many unreleased songs do you currently have in the vault?
Like hundreds! I write every day and I have written every day for the longest time. If we’re talking like every single song I’ve ever written, loads, hundreds, but they will never see the light of day, they are not good, there are some really bad ones in there.
Is there an album or EP currently in the works?
I will be sharing an announcement about a project in a couple of days. There’s definitely something in the works that will come out later this year.
If you could pick any artist to collaborate with, alive or dead, who would it be and why?
Either Ed Sheeran or Noah Kahan. They’re both huge inspirations to me and I always say Ed Sheeran is the artist that made me want to be a songwriter and Noah Kahan is the artist that now makes me want to be a better songwriter. I think Ed Sheeran was my inspiration all of my life and he still is, and I discovered Noah Kahan in my 20’s and felt just as excited about Noah as I did about Ed when I was 12. So one of those two or maybe we can do one together, a little trio.
You recently ran your first half marathon. What made you decide to run the marathon?
Both my older brothers and my Dad have run many marathons, my Mum has run many half marathons and I think I just got to the point of, Christ, I’m going to have to do one too. Feels like it was like, okay, well maybe I should get in with this whole family tradition. I kind of signed up for them but also because I wanted to raise money for Alzheimer’s research which is a charity that is really, really close to my heart and my family’s heart, and so I thought it was a good way to push myself, I am not good at running, I am not an athletic person in any sense and so I wanted to show myself that I could do something difficult, and it was horrible, I hated every second of it but I have signed up for another one, I don’t know why. Terrible, terrible, terrible decision for me but I guess they’re a little bit addictive.
Last year you famously did The Bookstore Tour which is an incredible idea, but I’m wondering what your favorite book is?
It’s Everything I Know About Love by Dolly Alderton. I think everyone in their 20’s or late teens should read that book. I’m not usually a big nonfiction reader, I love a good fiction story but that book is just life changing. I love it, I could read it a hundred times over.
Have you ever been to “The Black Dog” which inspired Taylor Swift to title a song after it?
I actually haven’t, I think it’s in Vauxhall which is a different part of London than where I live. I definitely need to, I bet their sales have gone through the roof since she released that.
What’s a song in one of your go to playlist that people might be surprised you enjoy?
I’m a very open book so I don’t know if people would be super shocked by all too much that I listen to, I love country music and I love musical theater. Sometimes people are a bit surprised I love country music to the extent that I do, and I’m always listening to musical theater especially on a run or in a gym, that’s like my favorite. I don’t think it’s surprising but I listen to the live version of “Bennie and the Jets.”
Finally, do you have a recommendation? It can be absolutely anything you want from restaurants to movies, places, advice.
I’ll stick with the theme of book recommendations because I love them. I would recommend a book called Little Fires Everywhere and also while I’m here the book Lessons in Chemistry, I just finished both of them, I think everyone should read them, they are so good!
Check out “THE SISTERHOOD” out now along with the rest of Áine’s wonderful discography on your favorite streaming platforms, and be on the lookout for some exciting announcements coming this summer!
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