Interview: Lauran Hibberd

Here at AM we have been absolutely loving the fresh and unique sound of Lauran Hibberd so felt it was about time we had a chat with her! Hibberd’s latest single, the defiant and gutsy ‘Bleugh’ featured in our latest weekly new music roundup and her slacker-rock sound has been fast gaining support from the likes of NME, Line of Best Fit and Clash to name but a few.

Speaking with AM she reveals the inspiration behind her lyrics and what/who is influencing her work currently.

Hey Lauran, thanks for talking to us here at AM! For our readers who might not have heard your music before, how would you describe your sound?

Hey!! I would describe myself as comedy driven slacker rock artist (the joke is always on me). Probably relatable if you are also a self-depricating human being and love Weezer and watch Micheal Cera movies on a Saturday night. Wow, that’s a strong tinder bio if I’ve ever read one!

What’s your writing process like? Do you have any particular habits/write the music or lyrics first?

I normally always start with a title, story or theme in mind. My notes are full of ideas, words I like, song titles etc. I love my songs to be about something specific, I like it to read like a story lyrically as you can use a lot of imagery that way. I then move onto playing around with some chords, or a riff that I like then base the instrumentation around that. Normally the first lyric that falls out of my mouth is my favourite so that really helps set the tone. It’s all luck really, a lot of happy accidents and the whole thing can be extremely mood dependant. It normally happens for me straight away or not at all.

Your lyrics are so wonderfully characterful and honest, do you ever struggle drawing on your personal experiences for songs or does it feel necessary?

Thank you! I think it’s really important to have a personal attachment to anything you are writing about, it makes it so much easier to write about it for a start and it’s kind of fun exploring the darker corners of your mind. I always find that I subconsciously drag things up lyrically that I didn’t even realise I was still holding on to, it’s a cheap therapy session for sure.

What/who have been some of your biggest musical influences?

Weezer, Phoebe Bridgers, Weezer, Smashing Pumpkins, Weezer, Liz Phair, and I’m super digging ‘that dog’ right now!

What is inspiring you at the moment?

My puppy ‘Jango’, the entire cast of ‘Lost, and the Euros (lol). Musically though, I’ve been watching a lot of documentaries which has kinda helped me get out of lockdown slumps, a lot of live from Glastonbury YouTube videos and constantly buying new musical equipment that I absolutely don’t need but it’s cool.

Your next EP ‘Goober’ is set to be released at the end of July, how did you find the process of creating it and can you give us any hints at what to expect?

It’s been a super fun one! I think because I’ve had so much time to make it, and get it right I’ve gone through the phases of being super hard on myself and making lots of last minute changes (which weirdly has been a good thing). It feels like I’ve really found my feet with this EP, and as I’ve been working on an album to its just a really nice set up for that. I think there’s a few surprise tracks in there, I always like to catch listeners off guard and send them from laughing to crying in minutes.

Where can our readers find out more about you? (social media links/contact details etc.)

As long as you spell my name right, I’m pretty much @lauranhibberd everywhere! For merch/tickets and mailing list head to www.lauranhibberd.com

Thanks!