New Music
Interview
Beattie: “Everyone has moments where they don’t feel the same as everyone else”
The Ticketmaster FRESH List 2026 artist opens up about her musical origins, her forthcoming EP, and how songwriting helps her connect with people where she can’t socially
Beattie knows she’s not like everybody else her age. “I love dingy pubs where there’s nobody else in there. I know I’m in my twenties, but I don’t like busy places,” the Ticketmaster FRESH List 2026 pick shrugs over Zoom. With jet black, poker straight hair and a disinterested stare, the budding artist looks like the kind of character you’d bump into lurking in the shadowy corners of The Bronze – the fictional club from supernatural coming-of-age (and soon to be revamped) television drama Buffy The Vampire Slayer, for those not in the know.
The more people that engage with her music however, the more Beattie has realised that there are fellow outsiders she shares a kinship with.
In contrast to her gothic and melancholic persona, Beattie is affable and open, despite admitting that she struggles to communicate how she feels in social situations. So, to express what she can’t in real life, the artist started to write songs. It’s clearly resonating – Beattie has already drawn comparisons to Lana Del Rey and Wolf Alice with her brand of gothy alt-pop, which weaves anthemic pop hooks into gloomy rock atmospherics.
Ahead of her first ever headline show at The Camden Assembly on Wednesday 4 March and with her sophomore EP in the works, Beattie opens up about her musical origins, her inspirations, and her bright future.
Before you even started to play instruments, when did your relationship with music start?
When I was younger, I used to collect CDs. In hindsight, it wasn’t a formative collection – it was mainly Take That. As I got a bit older I started listening to Radiohead and Elliott Smith (got my Elliott Smith tee on now). I’ve always loved music but never thought of myself as someone who could make music. Even when I was really young I’d sing secretly in the bathroom, but never in front of anyone. I started uploading covers anonymously, and somehow my mum found it. It wasn’t until my early teens when I started to learn instruments though.
At about thirteen I came across Lana Del Rey. For me, that was the first time that it felt formative of who I am now. I saw Lorde when I was 14 too, at Brixton Academy. Her first album inspired me to start producing my own music. I used to produce my own music, and it used to be very synth-heavy like Lorde‘s first album. Listening to Lana whilst I started writing and learning instruments shaped my writing style. My first ever concert was Britney Spears though…
What is it exactly about Lana’s music that inspires you?
Sonically, there’s not many similarities. It’s my style of writing songs. It’s brutally open and honest. She’s not afraid to say whatever she wants to say in a song. It’s the graphic nature of her lyrics. She’s so vulnerable. When people have drawn comparisons, it’s that element. Other than that there’s little resemblance, I think.
There’s a diaristic frankness to your lyrics. Has songwriting always been a necessary catharsis for you?
For sure. When I was growing up I thought ‘how is anyone getting by without writing about it?’ It’s always been my outlet. Even now, I’m hyper emotional. My brain is always so full with thoughts and feelings. Being able to make music makes it less overwhelming, having such an overreactive brain.
The nature of being in a live band seems really important to you. How do your songs generally start out, and is it difficult presenting your bandmates with your innermost vulnerabilities?
My songs, a lot of the time, start with me and my piano. Then I cross it over to guitars and start getting my guitarist to track stuff. It pretty much starts that way, then we’ll go into a session to demo it. They understand what I’m trying to do with my music, so I always feel safe. They’re never going to have a bad reaction.
Your music ranges from dreamy opulence with the likes of ‘Other Humans’ to affronting and anthemic alt-rock like ‘Forgotten’. Is there a particular sentiment or emotion you aim to convey in your music?
It’s just an overspill of emotion. I think that’s why people have connected to my music. Saying things that people can’t say out loud easily. That’s why I started writing – I find it difficult to articulate my feelings to someone, or be confrontational with it. Writing felt like being able to tell someone how you feel, without having to actually do it. Social media makes it hard, as you have to describe what a song means, but I just want people to listen to it.
With songs like ‘Other Humans’, is this you lamenting or celebrating your differences?
I wrote it because I always have this feeling of ‘I wish I could do what everybody else can do’. I get such bad anxiety. I feel like I can’t do ‘normal things’. I can’t go to Tesco by myself, I haven’t driven for such a long time, I’ve never ridden a Lime bike. That’s the route of that song. But after I released it, the amount of people who said they’d connected to it, it makes you realise that everyone has moments where they don’t feel the same as everyone else.
There’s a sense of irony in the fact that you struggle to do things you consider mundane, whereas you can openly express yourself in your music and perform on stage, which many people would love to have the courage to do.
It seems ridiculous that I struggle to leave the house sometimes, but feel comfortable performing to hundreds of people. Obviously I still get stage fright, but probably the same as the average performer. It doesn’t make sense. My friends who can go to busy pubs etc would feel terrified. I guess it’s what you’re fashioned to cope with. I’m not fashioned to socialise, basically.
Your song ‘London’ is obviously about adapting to the dichotomies of city life. But for an artist like yourself, do you struggle with having to be here to ‘make it’ so to speak?
It’s obviously an expensive place to be an upcoming artist. It’s difficult wherever you’re starting out in music! It’s just the feeling of being like ‘it’s too much too noisy’ in London, but when you’re not there you miss it. It has this weird hold on you. No matter where I’ve been in the world I’ve always been exciting to come back to London. It is overwhelming at the same time. There’s something about London that feels like no other city.
What do you love and hate most about London?
I hate the traffic. How expensive parking is. Not that I drive myself anymore… I just hate how overwhelming it can be, as there’s unlimited things to do. Which is also a positive. Like, you can’t go to every new restaurant. No matter what night of the week there’s a gig to go to. I’m from Bedford. The venue there, Esquires, is a great venue. But it’s not every night of the week there’s something on. It’s very much ‘this is the week, this is the weekend’. Every borough feels like a different city. I lived in South East when I went to Goldsmiths. Now I live in Hackney, and it’s a very different experience, even though it’s 20 minutes away.
I hate the dating scene. It’s savage. Back in Bedford everyone’s chill. When you’re here people think the grass is greener as there’s almost an unlimited amount of people. The volume of horrible men is high.
There’s a hell of a lot of f*ckbois in London.
I was going to say that… It’s good for songwriting, I guess.
Where do you predominantly listen to and connect to music?
I just listen to albums now. Everyone has playlists. I don’t make playlists ever anymore. Most of the time I just listen to vinyls. I’ve found some of my favourite songs from artists as I’ve been forced to listen to the entire album. If I’m on Spotify – and yes, I’m a victim of the digital age’s short attention span – and I’m ten seconds into a song and not convinced, I’ll skip. It’s a different listening experience putting on a vinyl. It’s my favourite way of listening to music. It’s way more immersive. Way back when music was recorded to be listened to on vinyl, and I wonder if something was lost in the digital conversion. Vinyl is just way better.
Can you tell us a little about your forthcoming EP?
I’ve been in the mixing process for the next single. There’s a couple of songs out already, ‘Forgotten’ and ‘On My Mind’. I’ve been recording with Thom Lewis [aka Bramwell Bronte] up in North Shields. Whenever I leave London my brain opens, so I’ve been recording up there. He produced the first two Sam Fender albums, which are two of my favourite albums of the past ten years, in terms of UK music. I’m heading up there to finish off the final tracks.
Can you pinpoint the moment you decided to pursue music as a career?
It’s weird. When you’re a small artist, even though it’s your career, you don’t actually make any money. I always knew I wanted a career in music. I was obsessed with making music and learning instruments, and wanted to be an artist. I always knew that, but didn’t have the confidence to be like ‘I’m doing this’. I went to uni and did a degree in Arts Management. As soon as I finished, I pursued music properly. If I went into a 9-2-5 I would’ve regretted it.
Beattie headlines The Camden Assembly in London on Wednesday 4 March. Find tickets here.
For the full line-up on Ticketmaster’s FRESH List 2026, see here.
