Interview: Hannah Scott, singer/songwriter

Published on Friday 18 December 2009 17:08

'MY gigs are for jumping around at, as well as swaying at, with your hands, high in the air," enthuses local 18-year-old singer/songwriter Hannah Scott, as she looks forward to previewing her debut EP, I Picked You.

The gig comes at Kitsch, Bernard Street, on Tuesday ahead of the EP's official launch on 27 December at Cabaret Voltaire.

"At Kitsch I will be revealing which songs are going to be on the EP and will be playing some new material for the first time," she says excitedly. "But as the venue has limited space, entry will be on a first come, first serve basis."

Those lucky enough to gain access on Tuesday can expect an evening of electro pop and uplifting, feel-good songs. However, with an eclectic range of influences, Scott is keen not to be pigeon-holed style-wise this early in her career, believing simply that "a good song is a good song."

"I listened to Annie Lennox from a young age and was inspired by her Medusa album," she reveals. "But I have been most influenced by The Kooks, Fleetwood Mac, Bon Iver, Coldplay, KT Tunstall, No Doubt, The Clash, Camille and, most recently, Prince."

I Picked You finds Scott singing about nights she will always remember, feelings she once felt, people who inspire her and times she wishes to forget.

"Music for me is a way of escaping, letting my feelings out and a way of focusing emotions into something creative," she explains. "The results of doing so have often surprised me."

Despite her tender years, Scott is no novice to the Capital's music scene with gigs at Electric Circus, Cabaret Voltaire, the GRV, Studio 24 and in Glasgow at Oran Mor to her credit. Having written her first song, Hold On, at the age of 13, she has been writing seriously for two years now.

"When I was 13 my mum's friend fell ill and that was the first time I really had something to write about," says the Trinity Academy FP.

"That was the moment I realised that I wanted to write. Then at 16 we had a Christmas concert at school and as part of my Standard Grade course I had to write a composition and ever since then that has been the song that everyone has related to."

Entitled Wouldn't Want It Any Other Way, that was the first song Scott performed live, and one she still sings today, along with Hold On.

At Kitsch, Scott will be accompanied by just one member of her backing band, which consists of Matt Arnott, Rio Brady, Becky Gowans and Jamie Hogg.

The full band will be there to support her at Cabaret Voltaire, although her next adventure will see her back on her own, when she takes her music onto the streets of Paris in January, a month she plans to spend busking and selling her EP in Parisian venues. She was invited to the French capital by musician friends she met while performing in Corsica last year.

"I'm looking forward to seeing what reaction the Parisians have to my music and I have been translating some of my lyrics into French," she says.

"My motto this year is to take every chance I get. I just want to keep performing. The more gigs I do the better I will become and I am passionate about giving a good performance, even when I'm busking.

"I busk on Rose Street as KT Tunstall used to and I really like busking. Many artists started on the streets. People are great. You get an instant reaction and I love that."

From Leith to Edinburgh to Paris in less than a month, it appears Scott is already living by that very ethos.

Hannah Scott: I Picked You preview gig, Kitsch, Bernard Street, 7pm, Tuesday, free (but limited entry), 0131-553 7046

Hannah Scott: I Picked You launch gig, Cabaret Voltaire, 7pm, 27 December, 5, 0131-220 6176