Rianne Downey In Conversation

Rianne Downey is a talented singer song-writer, orignially hailing from Scotland but now based in Liverpool. Her debut album, ‘The Consequence of Love’ is avaliable to stream now.

How would you introduce your music to someone who’s never heard it before, and who are your musical influences?

I usually say, just as like thinking I’m funny, that I’m a country folk ‘prin’ because it’s country folk music but I live in Liverpool and it’s still quite modern. So there’s that sort of ‘prinny’ element to it. And I’d say my biggest influences are the country greats like Dolly Parton, Johnny Cash, but also I’m a massive fan of Fleetwood Mac. In particular Stevie and Christine.

How would you summarise your debut album, The Consequence of love?

I would say that it is a country folk album, with elements of pop and things like that in there. It’s a culmination of all my influences really and I feel like it represents ‘Rianne Downey’. Who I am now, but it also touches upon the journey that I went on to actually get there. So the album is called ‘The Consequence of Love’ and I chose that because the album was born out of The Consequence of Love. It’s all about the relationships that I’ve had, whether that’s through friendships, or family, or love. So I guess you could say as well it’s a bit of a coming of age album, about how I’m trying to navigate my way through life in my 20s really.

What was the process of creating the album like?

Actually writing the album, that was quite sporadic. I’m not someone who writes every day, I try but I’m quite hard on myself so I don’t always get the best songs. A lot of the album was songs that sort of fell out of me over the course of a year or so. Actually recording the album and bringing the songs to life, I went to America. So I recorded the album in Seattle at the Bear Creek Studio which is quite iconic. There’s so many greats who have recorded there, as far back as Lionel Richie, Eric Clapton but also Big Thief, The Lumineers, Zach Bryan. So it is quite an iconic place and my producer Ryan, he actually produced The Lumineers debut album, and Zach Bryan ‘Something in the Orange’. It was really special. It’s in the middle of a forest in the middle of nowhere, so I just lived in the woods for like a month while creating music. It definitely felt like a dream. Very magical.

Would you say your songwriting is normally more lyrically or melodically led?

I think lyrics and melody I do find quite important, but I guess it’s more lyrically led because the songs that I’ve written were so personal and I had the lyrics first and then built the melody around that. I love to create a story. My lyrics are quite personal. All the songs that I’ve written have come from experiences that reflect on what I’ve been through or what I’m going through. So, I’d definitely say it’s more lyrically led but I’ve tried to write them in a sense that people can really take what they want from it. It’s not so Black and White, it’s allowing people to create their own story in their head.

Out of all the tracks on the album, which one do you think University of Liverpool Students need to hear most?

I think ‘Good in Goodbye’, my lead single from the album, is definitely the one that I’d give to someone that needs advice because that song is really about that point where you’re growing up. You’ve just stepped out into the real world but you’re not prepared. Nothing can really prepare you for that transition between being a teen into an adult. I experienced so much loss in the one go, my life completely changed. I went from playing the pubs, my life was sort of on track and then Covid came. At the same time I lost my Papa, I came out of a 5 year relationship, I lost my job singing in pubs, everything was totally upside-down. I didn’t have a sense of self really. My mental health was gone. It felt like my world was ending. When you are between the ages of like 18 and 25, everything is so intense because it’s like a new life, a new world you’ve stepped into. The positive in it is that all of that loss and heartache that I went through put me on the path to where I am now. I threw myself into my music and I started to really try and put myself first. The song is called ‘Good in Goodbye’ so the message is kind of in the title. I think there’s a good in goodbye when you think you’ve lost people, or you’ve lost things, lost your way, rejection is redirection. I know that’s probably quite cliche but there’s good in the loss.

Do you have a personal favourite track?

I think I would say Angel is probably my favourite track. It’s like a classic finger picking country song, and it was one of them where I sort of wrote it and thought ‘did I make that?’. So I’m really proud of it in that sense, and I think it’s one of those songs where it feels quite timeless as well. So it could have been written today or it could have been written years ago. That’s something I’ve really tried to capture in my music because I loved so many different types of music and genres. I think when something feels timeless, and it feels the same way today that it did all those years ago that’s a really special thing so I’m quite proud of it. 

Are you exicted to be bringing the record out on the road?

I am absolutely buzzing! I feel like I’ve lived with these songs for so long, so I’m just so ready to share them with everybody. With my sort of music and the way my voice is, I think the songs come across better live sometimes. I think because they’re so personal, and I’m quite an emotional person so I put a lot on human connection to really feel the things I want to feel and say the things I want to say. I think it’s going to be really, really special. 

Did you have a good festival season this year? Were there any highlights?

I loved festival season this year. I wasn’t really sure what to expect because I haven’t played gigs as ‘Rianne Downey’ solo for a long time but it was amazing. I toured with Texas so I got to play loads of gorgeous castles and stuff like that. Playing to thousands of people every night was so lovely. I loved seeing people taking to new songs that aren’t even out yet. I got to play Glastonbury again on my own, and we managed to pack out the Bread and Roses stage at 12:00 on Saturday so that was a really nice surprise. It’s just lovely to see how much people are buying in to me and the songs, and wanting to cheer me on. It’s lovely.

How has working with Paul Heaton helped to hone your own musical identity?

It’s been a total dream come true working with Paul in every sense. Obviously the scale of the gigs we’ve played has been quite hard to fathom to be honest, but I think I’ve really learned to put the music first cause I see how much the music means to Paul, which is lovely. I think it’s so easy to get caught up in the aesthetic of it all these days, especially with social media you feel like you have to have all that in place first, so it’s nice and eye-catching and blah blah blah before you actually think about the music. But that’s the thing about working with Paul, it’s just amazing songs, amazing writing and just getting to perform to thousands of people who want to hear those songs, it feels like music in its purest form. It’s taught me to put that first as well. He’s such a lovely person to be around as well. He’s so kind, so giving. He really looks after the people around him. It’s taught me how it could be and how it should be as well which is lovely in terms of touring and working with other musicians.

What are your hopes for the future? Do you have any milestones you would like to hit?

For me, I would love to play the Barrowland in Scotland. I think that’s a dream for loads of Scottish Musicians. I would love to make it over to Nashville and play the Grand Ole Opry. That would be an ‘I can die happy now’ moment. 

‘The Consequence of Love’ is out now.

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