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He is definitely one of the most sensational voices of this year. After supporting Lewis Capaldi and Lana Del Rey, and now on tour with Dean Lewis. Billy Lockett expresses his thoughts on Abington Grove, a journey through his life and experiences.
Fresh off a UK Tour with Dean Lewis, how was it?
The tour was just insane, Dean’s a great guy. We were both on the same line up at a festival in Germany ten years ago and we’ve been mates ever since, so it felt good to just hang all week. The crowds were so up for it too. Dean really has the best fans in the world, feel lucky to have met so many of them.
Abington Grove is your new album, what is it about?
Abington Grove is about my life for the past ten years, the ups and downs of losing my dad, drug addiction and being dropped by two labels and how I built everything back- each time a disaster hit. It’s got highs and lows because it’s pretty much a documentation of life and hopefully the lyrics can help people who are going through similar things. The aim is to lift people up with it by the end. But also most importantly I just wanted to make something fun and entertaining with catchy tunes.
What was the writing process of the album?
Mainly I started with chords and melody, then lyrics were last but with a lot of the songs we kinda rewrote and changed things when I was in the studio process. It kinda all happened naturally and was made purely with gut feeling I think that’s why there’s no kinda “sound” it’s just whatever spilt out of my head.
What was the most difficult part of creating the album?
I think some songs were harder than others but ‘Miss Missing You’ was a tough one. Personally I think the writing process is the hardest, writing lyrics that mean something can’t be rushed so sometimes you have to wade through a lot of bad ideas sometimes for months.
You've shared the stage with so many great acts from Lana Del Rey to Lewis Capaldi, what have you learnt from these experiences?
Yeah, I mean supporting people is the best part of the job because you learn and I think I’m lucky to have learnt from the best in my world. I think everyone has a different style but they’ve taught me that being unapologetically yourself is the key to success in this. Everything has to be authentic and real or else people see through it and your art suffers.
What inspires you the most?
For me chords inspire me the most. I love a good chord pattern, without that I don’t really write anything
What is next for Billy Lockett?
Next for me is festivals and getting the biggest headline tour I’ve ever done together. I really can’t wait to just be on the road constantly, I’m ready now.
Photos by Gavin Wallace
Words by Sal Fasone
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