Local singer-songwriter and guitarist Imogen Evans has been honing her craft in front of Blackpool audiences for the past couple of years. At just 18, but with a maturity of sound and lyrics, this week she launched the debut album we’ve been waiting for. She hosts her album launch party at Bootleg next weekend, with support from Lola Vaughan & Tegan Hughes. She tells Blackpool Social Club how she got there.
So Imogen, congrats on your debut album release this week. How long has it been in the works? How does it feel to have it out in the world?
The Towers has been in the works for a long time now. Some of the songs I started writing about six years ago. In particular, In The Shadows was a song I wrote when I was 12 and have since developed to go on the album.
We’ve been recording demos of some of the songs since I was about 15, so all in all it’s a culmination of my writing from the past six years. It honestly feels surreal to have it out. I’ve dreamt of releasing it for years. I’ve even had the album title picked out since I was 12/13 and decided it’d be a nice idea to keep it! I’m just so glad it’s finally out there for people to listen to. I’ve already had such incredible feedback from fellow artists and it’s been so lovely to hear how the album resonates with people.
What influenced the album?
The album is essentially raw emotions put down in to lyrics and music. I write whenever I feel something I can’t express by speaking – I’ve always found music to be a good outlet for my emotions. The songs show my progression as a person and learning more about myself. My biggest inspirations are probably Mother Mother, GLDMTH, Auger, Dodie and more recently I’ve taken influences from goth, rock and metal genres. Lyrically, especially on my song The Letters You Wrote, I was majorly inspired by songwriter Ryan Guldemond who fronts the band Mother Mother and has a solo project called GLDMTH. He has very poetic lyricism and you can just tell everything he writes comes from the heart, so I really look up to him in terms of songwriting.
The Blackpool music scene is majorly underrated. There are so many opportunities for artists here.
How does being from Blackpool inform your music and what’s your view on Blackpool’s music scene?
I think the Blackpool music scene is majorly underrated. There are so many opportunities for artists here to get out onto the gigging scene and so many great local venues. The open mics in Blackpool are what helped me to get out doing gigs and there’s such a supportive atmosphere here. Being involved in this music scene has really influenced me as a performer. With so many great local artists like Daisy Atkinson and bands like Optic Chiasm and Another Thursday (just to name a few) I’ve been surrounded by so many supportive talented people which has given me a push to improve. Seeing so many people making a go of music in Blackpool really influenced me to keep going.
Bootleg turns 10 this year, do you have any standout memories from the venue over the years?
Bootleg is one of my absolute favourite venues and I have so many great memories there. Obviously hosting the open mics every month is a stand out thing for me. I absolutely love seeing people perform for the first time and watching them improve as they perform more. The best gig I’ve seen at Bootleg would have to be High Fade who are now one of my absolute favourite bands with other great gigs such as UUHAI, Miles Kane, Loose Articles and AS Fanning being standouts too. Having such a great venue with incredible artists playing all the time just down the road is great and I feel really lucky to be able to play a headline gig there!
What can we expect from your Bootleg album launch?
I’ll be doing a full album play through with some played acoustically and chilled out and with some played with support from the incredible band, Optic Chiasm, who will be joining me to play alongside me at the end of the night! I have two wonderful artists supporting me, Lola Vaughan and Tegan Hughes, who are both incredibly talented local artists, so make sure to get down early so you don’t miss them! You can also expect some covers and possibly even a couple of duets with Tegan. I’ll also be selling my first ever merch (T-shirts and CDs) so make sure to grab them to say you had them first!
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