Moving to Cardiff was a huge decision, being Bath born and living there for the whole of my life, the idea of moving was frankly terrifying, but I have to say, Cardiff feels like home now, and Bath is pretty much just down the road right?!
I came to Cardiff to study music after being offered a place on a Bachelors of Art in the city centre, and it’s been a wonderful inspiration to me. I’ve written so many songs since being here and I have just finished my most recent EP ‘Made of Stars’ which has to be attributed I suppose to falling in love with a man from the Vale, he’s even got a single written for him called ‘To the Vale’ all about it. Soppy I know!
The thing about my music is, it is written from the heart – and to be honest, sometimes it feels more like channelling someone else than actually writing anything. In fact I don’t even write down my music, it’s all improvised and then I have to go back and write it down and learn it for performance. I suppose that’s my get out card if you don’t like the album, “I didn’t even write it!” I shall profess at your down turned faces. I attribute my talent to my grandfather Michael ‘Shag’ Connors, who was a well known singer/songwriter, he died when I was 9 months old, my mother says I was the last person he kissed goodbye before he passed on, perhaps he’s the one writing all these songs?
As a musician, I am a fully functioning recording machine, it’s like that character off of Little Britain….”I wrote the theme tune, sang the the tune….” – I write all my own music, record it in my home studio and publish, promote and manage it all myself. I compare it to the way Bob Dylan wrote and recorded many of his songs in the beginning. I don’t want a record contract or management, I want to do everything my own way – I’m a girl of morals and I refuse to compromise myself because of seeking something as vacuous as fame. I just love singing, I’ve been singing and writing songs all my life, I suppose my passion came from watching old black and white ‘MGM’ movies as a little girl and falling in love with Ginger Rogers and Fred Astaire, Audrey Hepburn, Cary Grant and all the other greats of the silver screen. I’m an idealist creative type, I feel things very deeply – and I need a release, this is my music, I sing my little heart out, whether it’s happy or sad – and I feel so much better for it! In a world that is sometimes sorrowful and shocking, there is beauty and light in the Arts – and no matter what you enjoy doing I would encourage you, from experience, to value and feed your little creative beast inside and nourish it until it flourishes – as they say “Follow your bliss” – and with music, I am following mine.
The New EP ‘Made of Stars’ is out on the 10th October 2014 and you’ll be able to hear exclusive releases of the single ‘Boy Blue’ on radio soon, for more details about all you’ve read here you can check me out via www.facebook.com/LauraMusic29 and you can listen for free and purchase tracks via www.soundcloud.com/LauraConnor.”
