Castlebar to Berlin

Singer- songwriter Lydia Ford told David Hennessy about her latest single, upcoming debut album and how New York inspired her to pursue music after her practical nature saw her give it up.

Mayo indie pop artist Lydia Ford’s recent single Leave The Country is the final single release before her highly anticipated debut album  Faking It drops on 8 September.

This is all the more impressive for the fact that Lydia had left music to one side until she moved to live in New York where she was inspired to perform and write again. She lived in New York from 2016 until 2019 and has been in Berlin since 2020.

Written during Covid lockdown, Leave The Country is a tale of self-discovery and growth.

The song reflects on the artist’s experience of moving to a new country with the hope of escaping her problems, only to realize that challenges are universal.

Lydia told The Irish World: “It was about when I was leaving New York back in 2019 and being like, ‘Am I gonna solve all my problems by moving home?’

“And then when I did move to Berlin, about six months in we were peak COVID lockdown.

“And I was like, ‘It was great for the first six months and now I’m feeling like maybe I made a mistake again’.

“And basically just trying to figure out if moving around solves the problem or problems always come with you.

“But I think they always come with you unfortunately and you have to work them out yourself instead of just packing a bag and running away.”

How did you navigate the lockdown, was it a case of staying busy to distract yourself?

“Yeah, I think for everyone, there was a bit of like, ‘Distract yourself, keep really busy’.

“And then you’re like, ‘I’m so burned out, what’s the point of anything?’

“So there was a bit of a mix between those two.

“(The last single) Burning Out was kind of a COVID anthem to be honest, because it was after working and working and distracting myself through and I was just like, ‘I’m so tired and just completely burnt out and what is the meaning of life?’ And trying to figure that out via song a little bit.

“But for music specifically, it was kind of interesting because before COVID, I had always worked remotely.

“So when I lived in New York, my producer was in Berlin all the time anyway so I had always done zoom sessions and been sending files back and forth and been recording myself.
“That was like a brand new thing for people in COVID and I think it was very difficult for a lot of people to suddenly be on a zoom call instead of in a room and collaborating that way.

“But for me, I was more comfortable that way,” she laughs.

“So that was a nice thing about it.

“More people kind of jumped on the Zoom sessions thing and working remotely and you get to work with a lot of different people all over the world instead of being restricted to who’s in your city.

“So it worked out for me In the long run, I got some songs out of it like Leave the Country.

“But let’s not repeat it again please.”

Lydia has still not met a producer she has been working with for four or five years- as he moved on from Berlin just as she got there- while she created her forthcoming album over zoom with producer Sam Stevenson.

“I do a few in persons but I think, for me, there’s a little bit of an extra protection when you’re on Zoom, especially when you’re writing songs and you’re being so vulnerable.

“I feel like it’s a little bit too intense sometimes when you’re in a room with someone and they’re sitting waiting for you to come up with the next line or come up with the next melody.

“Whereas on Zoom, I can kind of be like, ‘Okay, I’m gonna hop off for 30 minutes and come back with ideas. See ya then.’

“There’s a little bit more distance I can keep, which I like, but the in person ones have their place as well, of course.”

The forthcoming album draws inspiration from Lydia’s personal journey and the challenges of navigating one’s twenties.

What made you call it Faking it? Does that refer to imposter syndrome?

“Yeah, it is definitely about impostor syndrome.

“I think a big part of going into the album process for me in general was I just felt like I was an imposter and I wasn’t ready to do it.

“Or I was like, ‘Who am I to be making an album? Who would want to listen to this?’

“I had to fight with a lot of that internally.

“Just sort of, ‘Fake it till I make it’.

“I think all of the songs have a bit of that theme overall, like Leave the Country, moving countries and everyone thinks I know what I’m doing but I’m just trying to figure it out as I go.

“I think that’s kind of the theme of a lot of the album, being in your 20s and trying to figure it all out.

“There’s about three songs that are love songs which is a nice change when you’re listening to all this existential stuff.

“So those are in there too, which is kind of new for me as well.

“I think any love songs I’ve written in the past have been more like, ‘I’ve been done wrong’ or, ‘I’ve been hard done by in some way’.

“These are actual love songs that are happy so those have been nice to write.”

Did you start early with music? “I did, yeah.

“I always loved music.

“When I was really young, I was really into musicals like Grease.

“And then when Avril Lavigne came on the scene, I was about nine and that was a big, big moment for me.

“I got my first guitar for Christmas and I was learning Avril Lavigne songs and started writing when I was nine or 10.

“But I’ve always been very shy about performing so I don’t have a tonne of performance experience.

“I think there’s a bit of faking it feeling there for sure.

“But I played in bands in secondary school, just cover bands, rock bands.

“And then I went a bit more singer-songwritery when I was in college.

“It took me a while to find this kind of indie pop sound.”

Did you study music in college? “No, I didn’t.

“My mam was kind of pushing me to study music, but I was only 17 when I went to college. I was a very practical 17 year old and I was like, ‘I need to get a job’.

“So I actually did media studies.

“And then, to be honest, I wasn’t doing much music in college because I was trying to do my studies.

“And then I ended up working in TV3 and that was my first job out of college. I worked there for a year before going off to New York.”

New York was where you came back to music. What was it about the place that did that? “It’s just one of those places that- It’s so cheesy, and it’s doesn’t make any sense unless you’ve been there- But it just kind of feels like anything could happen at any time.

“It’s that ‘American dream’ type thing, I guess.

“But there’s also just a confidence that American people have that Irish people do not have at all.

“We’re very, ‘Stay in your lane. Don’t get too many notions, don’t rock the boat’.

“Whereas I think Americans are very much like, ‘Look at me, I’m doing this, aren’t I great?’

“And we could use a bit more of that, to be honest.

“So I think it was really important for me to meet all these people who were just unabashedly like, ‘I’m an artist and I work in a bar’, whereas I think in Ireland people would just say, ‘I work in a bar’. They would never say anything about the most important thing in their life. That’s not what they lead with.

“I think it was a mental shift in that way that I was like, ‘Well, maybe I can do this because everyone else is doing it, and is saying that they’re doing it and are confident about it’.

“So yeah, it was really helpful in that way.”

Would you have gone back to music had it not been for New York?

“I think I might have needed to see it actually, I never really thought about it until now.

“But yeah, I had fairly stopped doing music.

“I hadn’t been writing much at all before New York, and then it kind of sparked something in me again.

“Yeah, it definitely was important.”

So you had three years in New York and then the move to Berlin was more music motivated, was it? “Yeah, I think music motivated, but in general, just lifestyle motivated.

“When I came back from New York, I couldn’t see myself staying in Ireland.

“I knew I was going to go somewhere and it was kind of between London and Berlin.

“And I felt like Berlin is much more similar to Brooklyn where I was whereas London is more busy and stressful.

“So I think Berlin was the easier choice.”

“It’s a really relaxed kind of vibe,” she says of her current city. “Especially for a city.

“I think German people in general are very focused on like work/ life balance and enjoying themselves, the hustle of New York was very much work, work, work all the time.

“But there’s a lot of Irish artists in Berlin now also because the cost of living is a lot better than Dublin.

“And just they get four seasons instead of just having rain all the time.”

Is there a little Irish community?

“Yeah, there is.

“I actually went to a session a couple of weeks ago that was just kind of impromptu.

“It was in a bar, and it was the most magical thing ever.

“It was just a bunch of Irish musicians, well known people as well. Maria Kelly was there, Louise from Heathers, Conor Cunningham, Ruth Mack, and everyone was just passing the guitar around or going up to a piano and playing.

“And it was the day after Sinead O’ Connor had passed away.

“So we sang some Sinead O’ Connor songs and everyone sang along in perfect harmony out of nowhere.

“It was really magical.”

On that subject, what did Sinead mean to you?

“It’s very, very sad news obviously.

“To be honest, I feel like I was quite young when the picture of the Pope happened, the most famous incident.

“But obviously, she was a phenomenal musician, and phenomenal person and very outspoken about very important things.

“And she’ll be sorely missed, that’s for sure.”

Lydia is from ‘a big GAA family’.

Is it Mayo for Sam? Or do you stay out of that? “I stay out of it. My dad is very involved in football so we have enough of it in our house.”

Lydia’s father is Peter Ford who played for and captained Mayo and has also managed Sligo and Galway.

He currently manages Ballinrobe.

Did you ever play? “No, I actually didn’t. I never played GAA.

“He never pushed it because it was his thing.

“I always kind of thought he would but he was like, ‘No, stick with music’.”

Is it surreal how far you have come from being reticent to do anything with music prior to New York and now be talking about a debut album? “It doesn’t feel real to be honest.

“I think I need to get to 8 September and see it in my hands and see people listening to it.

“But it is a massive achievement.

“It’s years of work.

“This is my whole life’s work at this point so it is a huge deal and it’s very nerve wracking, but it is very exciting at the same time.”

Lydia’s music has garnered airplay across Ireland and the UK, secured spots on popular editorial playlists on Spotify, and earned praise from notable media outlets like Billboard, Earmilk, and Uproxx. Her performances at renowned festivals such as Ireland Music Week 2022, Other Voices, and We’ve Only Just Begun Festival have solidified her status as a captivating live performer.

What is it like to get media support from the UK so early on? “Yeah, it’s amazing.

“My last single Burning Out was on Radio One and then I’ve had some other various smaller radio stations in the UK support as well which has been amazing.

“It’s really nice to get a bit of an international reach even though you’re only across the water.”

Do you get to hear yourself on the radio if you’re in Berlin? “Not much.

“I do the online listen live thing if I know it’s going to be on.

“I’m raging I’ve been home all week and I haven’t heard it because Leave the Country is on 2FM all this week and I haven’t heard it.

“Usually I get my mam or my sister or someone just taking videos in their car and sending them to me and I’m like, ‘Oh, that’s so nice’.

“I’ve never heard it in person.

“Or they’re like, ‘I was in Super Valu and your song came on’ and I was like, ‘Love that for you, wish that I could hear that’.

“It’s never happened and I’ve had so much radio play.

“I’ve been so lucky.

“And just because I haven’t happened to be home, I just haven’t caught it I guess.

“I don’t drive as well so I’m just relying on walking around Centra or Spar being like, ‘It’s gonna come’.

Will we see you play some UK gigs soon? “I hope so.

“It’s definitely on my wish list.”

Leave the Country is out now.

The album Faking it is out on 8 September.

Lydia plays Workmans in Dublin on 21 September.

For more information, click here.