The Scotsman Sessions #174: Bow Anderson

Welcome to the award-winning Scotsman Sessions. With performing arts activity curtailed for the foreseeable future, we are commissioning a series of short video performances from artists all around the country and releasing them on scotsman.com, with introductions from our critics. Here, Edinburgh singer Bow Anderson performs New Wave, the title track of her newly-released debut EP

It’s often said that music is therapy. Bow Anderson knows that to be true. Edinburgh’s latest pop prospect was a talented teenage gymnast before a serious trampolining accident at the age of 13 derailed her aspirations to join Team GB.

She took up singing as part of her recovery, with her dad using music to help distract her from the nerve pain she was suffering. These precious bedtime singing sessions set her on a path which took her from her native Joppa to London, where she studied at the BIMM (British and Irish Modern Music) Institute. Alumni include James Bay and George Ezra, but now Anderson herself is attracting acclaim from the likes of Elton John and Cyndi Lauper for her polished, soul-infused pop.

For her Scotsman Session, she performs the title track of her newly-released debut EP, which also gathers up her previously released singles, Sweater, Heavy and Island.

“New Wave is about letting go and moving onto bigger and better things,” she says. “It’s about learning to love yourself and knowing your worth. Sometimes you have to learn to let go of people who bring negativity to your life because it’s not worth your happiness suffering. I hope it uplifts people and makes them wanna dance!”

While music has been a lifeline for many during the pandemic, it’s understandably a tricky time to launch a pop career.

“Lockdown has been a challenge for me,” says Anderson. “I’m not very good at staying indoors on a normal day never mind in a pandemic! But luckily being creative has really helped. I’ve still managed to get into a local rehearsal room to be able to sing at full volume when possible, and I've been writing and playing a lot more than I usually would. It’s like my therapy.”

The New Wave EP is out now on Island Records, see https://www.facebook.com/BowAndersonMusic/

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