Q&A: Olivia Booth is Back with Mind-Bending Single “MIND”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY STARLY LOU RIGGS ☆
WHEN THE WORLD FEELS HEAVY, SINGING CAN FEEL LIKE THE ONLY LIGHT — For Olivia Booth of Warrington, England, it became her way to escaping insecurity, letting her natural talents shine. Discovering a love for singing at the age of 14, Booth became attached to the idea of songwriting and was determined to make a career of it. The result is a passionate take on indie-rock with highflier vocals and cohesive style that’s both familiar and fresh.
Booth’s first single “OXYGEN,” released in 2022, was a powerful track featuring straightforward guitar chords matched with raw, emotive vocals. Since then, she’s continued to release heartfelt hits, culminating in her latest, “MIND.” Both a croon and an outcry, Booth’s vocals ring out. “MIND” heaves vulnerabilities long and loud alongside a catchy riff and wistful melodic refrain.
We caught up with Booth ahead of her latest release to hear what she’s about, what inspires her, and what we can expect next.
LUNA: Let’s start at the beginning: You seem incredibly well-versed in pop music. What are some other inspirations that help bring your music to life? Was there anyone in your childhood who really encouraged you to sing, or did you gravitate toward it on your own?
OLIVIA BOOTH: Thank you for saying that. The truth is, there is no one musical in my family. All of my family love music and we have music playing in our house all the time, but no one knows where my ability to sing comes from. I have been singing since I was young. I would sit in the back of the car singing along to songs on the radio whilst we were out and about. As my older brother was very sporty, we travelled a lot for his games—some journeys were hours!
I didn’t have the best time at primary school. I was quite shy, but I always loved to sing. My parents thought that singing lessons might help with my confidence, and it went from there really. Midway through secondary education, I moved to a performing arts school, and that is where my music journey really started to flourish. I was one of only four music students in the school at one point, so I was able to do everything including learning to play instruments, stage performance, composition and even tried my hand at being Musical Director for one of the school productions!
I think some of the challenges I faced in my childhood really shaped my music, not just the creativity, but also the emotion.
LUNA: Do you write all your own songs, or is it more of a collaborative process?
BOOTH: I mostly write my own but have done a few collaborations. My track “Satisfied” was co-written with a classmate of mine when we were 16 years old! Most of my tracks are very personal to me, based on my experiences or observations of the experiences of family and friends. So that makes my songwriting almost cathartic, a labour of love inspired by real life events. I tend to find most of the collaboration comes during the recording and production stage. I have an idea, lyrics and a base melody and I work with my incredible band and/or a producer to turn the vision into reality.
LUNA: You’ve been releasing singles since 2022, with “MIND” being the latest. The track reads to me to be about internal struggles, being wrapped up in the mind and feeling shaky with what’s going on inside. What was on your mind while writing this song?
BOOTH: I wrote “MIND” when I was 16 years old. Ever since I was young, I’ve experienced what my family and I call a “confidence crisis” every now and then. In those times, I become overwhelmed with feelings of self-doubt and crippling anxiety. I constantly replay negative comments in my head or relive scenarios or troublesome conversations. It could be a flippant comment or a minor situation that most people would just brush off and not give a second thought about, but for me, my neurodiverse brain doesn’t think like that. So often, mostly at night when I am alone in bed, my mind is racing and overthinking.
At 16, I had moved 250 miles away from home for music college and everything was new and different. I had to reset myself, developing new friendships, navigating an unfamiliar city, and trying to develop my sound and identity as an artist. During that first year, there were numerous challenges of feeling overwhelmed and I struggled with overthinking, worrying and not being able to share how I was feeling. I knew I just had to deal with it. That’s where the lyrics: “Can someone help me now? No? / So here we go” [came from]. That was me strapping myself in for a bumpy few days!
Over the years I have learned to recognise when it is happening, have worked to understand it and develop strategies to manage it.
LUNA: Do you feel there’s an overarching theme to your work?
BOOTH: I think I have a signature theme: authenticity. I write about real experiences and some of the situations I have come across in my life so far. My work is eclectic and has been described as genre-defying which I quite like. I have been called “part Blondie, part Amy Winehouse and part Courtney Love” and “a Northern Adele singing a track which is Dolly Parton meets the Arctic Monkeys”! It doesn’t get much more diverse than that.
Many of my songs are able to be performed as a full-on indie rock band anthem, and are also able to be stripped back for an acoustic set. I like to have that versatility in my work and it helps me to be flexible for performances so I can adapt for different audiences. As my work is based on real-life situations and emotions. I find listeners are able to resonate with the songs, and that is what I am aiming for.
LUNA: Aesthetically, your photos, videos, and work feel very cohesive. What goes into crafting your image?
BOOTH: It took me a while to find out who I was as an artist, and I think you can see that evolution in my work. I knew I wanted to be true to myself. I know some artists develop a persona and have an image that matches that persona. I did think about experimenting with different names and looks, but for me I just wanted to be authentic—there’s that word again—and genuine to who I am as a person.
I have landed in a space where my look and feel is that of a realistic, gritty, northern girl with a bit of glam—[someone who] lives a normal working-class life, but works hard and aspires to do well. I have never been one for fake eyelashes and sequins, etc. I am far more comfortable in jeans, adidas trainers with a corset top for the glamour part.
Simplicity and storytelling are key for me, and that carries through in my look and in the visual imagery I use. I don’t use a stylist. Everything in preparation for a shoot in regards to visualisation and the creative look comes from me. I choose my own clothes and do my hair and make-up. I use local areas for photo and video shoots, including some pretty stark environments like industrial units and back alleys—lots of brickwork, barbed wire and metal shutters!
I try to ensure the track artwork reflects the subject of the song, and I always use photographs to ensure the listener can connect the song with the real face of the artist. This is what feels right for me at the moment. Whether I continue to evolve, who knows, but I will always continue to push for cohesiveness in my look, feel and work.
LUNA: What is your production process like? Can you talk a little bit about who you work with and how this track came to be?
BOOTH: This track has had various iterations. I wrote it when I was 16 years old and used to perform it as an acoustic song. I originally recorded it in early 2023 and was always meaning to release it, but the time never felt right. So, I held on, and then when I thought it was the right time to release it, I realised my vocals had changed a lot and I had ramped up the song to a full band version, so I needed to re-record the song.
So, this version of the track is produced by Gareth Nuttall of Lounge Studios in Wigan. Gareth has worked with several UK rising Indie Artists such as The Ks, The Lottery Winners, Frank Turner and Andew Cushin. We have worked together on my previous release “A Kiss from Me to You.” He did such an amazing job the first time I had no hesitation asking him to work on “MIND” with me. Gareth really understands my vision for the songs and can take the skeleton of the acoustic track I have written and turn it into a rip-roaring band version. I trust him implicitly with my songs and that is such an important thing when as a songwriter, your work is like your baby.
After discussing with Gareth, we agreed to some instrumental tweaks from the original recording, such as the addition of live drums performed by the amazing George Clarke. Compared to the original demo the track has evolved into a mature indie pop-rock anthem with heavy guitar, bass, and pulsating drums. I am really happy with it.
LUNA: I saw a video of you performing “MIND” live and was struck by how differently the song sounds live versus produced. What’s the difference, for you, between performing something live versus working in the studio?
BOOTH: The development of “MIND” was a labour of love that started four years ago, so over time it has changed. When I first performed it publicly with a band, we literally had about 30 minutes of rehearsal time, so that was a bit more laid back than the heavy-hitting recorded version we are releasing today. When you are recording, you have time to perfect things, redo them and ensure everything fits regarding timing, instrumentation and vocals. However, for a live performance everything must come together at once. Performing live also gives you the opportunity to mix things up a bit—maybe to have an additional guitar riff, or for me to add additional vocals. It keeps things new and lively for the audience. When you are playing with your band on stage, you can feed off each other and that’s the beauty of live performance: the enjoyment of sharing that stage with your friends and playing songs that you love.
LUNA: Do you have a favorite place that you’ve played?
BOOTH: I have played at some great venues, and all are good in their own way. There are three that stand out, firstly London’s O2 arena. I was only fourteen years old when I performed there in the Grand Final of a UK national open mic competition. That was the moment that clarified for me that I wanted to do music and perform for the rest of my life.
This year, I played at the world-famous Cavern Club in Liverpool. Obviously, that was where the Beatles started and so it is renowned for emerging talent, but the history of the place and the atmosphere and energy of the audience was very special.
Finally, the last place is a big venue in my hometown. It’s called the Parr Hall. When I was growing up, it was the cultural arts centre for the town. Some amazing bands have graced the stage at the Parr Hall, including the Rolling Stones in their early years, so to play it earlier this year was a dream come true!
LUNA: And a place you haven’t played yet that you’d really like to?
BOOTH: I love live performances and would absolutely love to play the Pyramid Stage at Glastonbury and to play Wembley Stadium. Both venues are the pinnacle for an artist in the UK. One more place that I would love to play would be the Royal Albert Hall. The venue is simply stunning, and the acoustics are supposed to be amazing.
LUNA: What can we look forward to in the future? Is there an album on the way, or any upcoming shows booked?
BOOTH: Yes, you can see a lot of me in the second half of 2025. It’s looking pretty busy. I have this current release of “MIND,” and then maybe one more track for release before the end of the year. There are some great gigs coming up in Manchester, the Midlands and Lincolnshire, including a couple of one day festivals. I am also recording a podcast in a couple of weeks and have a video of a live band recording being released before the end of September. There’s lots happening, and fans can find out more via my socials. If anyone wants to know more or have some exclusives, [they can] sign up to my mailing list, which you can find via my website: www.oliviaboothmusicuk.net
