London-based country singer-songwriter Simeon Hammond Dallas has released her highly-anticipated second EP Make It Romantic. She also announces a London headline show at The Lexington on August 22.
Following the success of her previous two singles ‘A Hundred Lovers’ and the title track ‘Make It Romantic’, Simeon doesn’t hold back with the release of her full EP. With her unapologetic lyricism and vivid storytelling at its core, combined with her captivatingly sultry yet raw vocal delivery, the EP was written over the pandemic and documents her experiences in the music industry as a woman of colour.
Feminist and bold yet still gentle and vulnerable, the nuances of Make It Romantic reflect the nuances of femininity and what it means to be a woman in a male dominated space. Written and produced by Simeon, and recorded and co-produced by her bassist Leon Itzler at Kheda Studio, with Max O’Hara on keys, Westley Joseph on drums, Pete Fraser on saxophones, the EP is a record brimming with honesty and warmth, along with well-founded frustration.
We had a chat with Simeon all about her background in music, the story behind Make It Romantic, what she has planned next and more. Read the Q&A below.
Hi Simeon! Firstly, please tell us a bit about your background and how you got into music.
“I grew up in a really creative household, my dad was an actor/director and there was always music playing in my house. I first got into music when I started guitar lessons at school, and from there it progressed quite naturally; I started writing (really bad) songs as a teenager because I was incredibly emotional and dramatic and they were like my diary entries, and then the songs just started getting better, I carried on studying music, and here we are.”
You’ve just released your new EP Make It Romantic. The record explores themes of love, the Black Lives Matter movement and your experiences in the music industry as a woman of colour. Please expand! Where/what/who did you draw inspiration from around the time of writing it?
“The EP came out of lockdown, so it’s been a little while in the making, and I found that in that space where I wasn’t really doing anything because there weren’t any gigs and my job was in this weird limbo space, it gave me time to reflect on things going on in the world, and my place in it. Instead of waking up, going out playing shows and trying to survive in the music industry, I had this moment of silence to actually think about what it’s been like to exist as myself in that environment.”
What’s your creative process like? What do you love most about it and what do you find challenging?
“I have an incredibly overactive mind, so I often go off on a tangent in my own head, but because I think so much and have so many random thoughts I can take them and relate them to wider themes or feelings or specific situations and stories to form the foundation of a song. I really enjoy finding the best way to say something lyrically. I like sitting on ideas, going back to them, and asking myself, “okay what am I trying to say here and how can I say it in a really beautiful, eloquent, but relatable way?”
What do you hope listeners take away from your music? What’s your mission as an artist?
“I hope that it makes people feel comforted in some way, maybe less alone. It’s always my favourite thing when people tell me, “you’re singing my life”. I like to feel that my music gives people a way to express things they might not have the words for.”
Finally, what else is next for you? We see you have a headline show planned for the 22nd at the Lexington. You must be so excited! What can we expect from a Simeon Hammond Dallas live performance?
“The EP launch will feature my band made up of the same musicians who played on the EP so that’s really exciting for me as we recorded at different times. You can expect a lot of stories behind the songs, lots of energy, and my new glittery stage shoes!”
