Chatterbox: Cat Ryan chat Blue Peter badges, touring plans and lockdown learnings.

Hey, thanks for taking the time to talk to us today. Could you tell us something about yourself that nobody knows?

Mary-Anne has three Blue Peter badges: a traditional one she got when she was much younger and drew a picture of a snowman with tipex. She also got a green, Blue Peter eco badge and a white one, but can’t remember what she did to get those.

What influences have gone into your sound recently?

We’re influenced by Vampire Weekend, Wolf Alice and The Japanese House – they all go into our sound. Some of our songs were written quite a while ago, but newer material is still inspired by events we’ve experienced; a lot of our writing comes directly from things that have happened in our lives.

What are you currently working on?

Right now we’re mainly shouting about our latest single “Mary Shelley Song” that we released 25^th November, so it’s still really new. Other than that we’re focussing on completing our university deadlines, getting ready for Christmas and then thinking about January deadlines.

What are your plans for 2021?

We have plans to tour, if it’s safe to do so. This will most likely be around the north (Newcastle, Glasgow, Edinburgh, Liverpool, Leeds) but we also want to get a London show to play in front of our friends and fans there. We’ll be releasing a few more singles too, and might have an EP along too – if we can get into the studio to record that, but it’s also quite ambitious because the threat of a lockdown happening at any time.

Any top tips for getting through this difficult time?

Listen to good music by bands from around Newcastle upon Tyne (including us and friends’ bands). In all seriousness, lockdown has seen smaller, independent bands gain attention, so there’s been some really cool music discoveries that would have gone under-the-radar in normal circumstances. Having a car and being able to visit beaches and countryside is helpful too – if you can’t do that, then finding somewhere good to walk to for some space has been helpful for us.