PEONIE TALKS MAN UP

Interviewed by Culture Coast Talks editor Daniel John. Interview transcripts might have been edited for length and clarity.

Nine years old, long before you started releasing your own songs, you were performing in musicals at Royal Albert Hall?

I love musical theatre and it was definitely my first love, being in the Westend and on tour at such a young age really opened me up to the world of showbiz and the thrill I got from being on stage then, has stayed with me my whole life. My grandma actually gave me her grand piano, which we kept in the garage, so I would wrap up warm and sit in the garage for twenty-four hours of the day just playing, learning chords and writing lyrics.

Coming from that background, acting, does your songwriting have to relate to your own self or could you approach a song just as you would have a character?

This is a great question because I love anything drama, glitz and glam as you can imagine! I write a lot from personal experience and like everyone, relationships takes a big chunk of it, however I have started to write based on films and characters and just a mood or a vibe, for example, one song is set in a church, this is definitely heavily influenced from my theatre background. And I recently wrote a song called 'We Walk' based on the film 'Papillon'!

You clearly still like putting on a show, as we see in the ‘Man Up’ music video?

'Man Up' is my first real music video! I directed and organised everything myself from the venue to the costumes. I wanted to keep it all my friends and family and make it feel very glamorous. Even if it didn’t feel glamorous on the day (laughs). Looking back there’s definitely things I would change but I am grateful for what I learnt so I can take it into my next video which we’re shooting on the 22nd of April!

What is 'Man Up' about?

'Man Up' is definitely open to interpretation. It has a few different meanings, for me, I am a massive advocate for men’s mental health and I think "Man Up" is a phrase that sometimes can be used in a very negative way. But, there is another connotation that people don’t necessarily delve into, what it means to be a man, what it means to please a woman, and what it means for being happy within yourself as a man. It came from a personal experience but has a deeper meaning than people may think.

You have worked together with different producers and songwriters, but Glen Hartmann seems to be a recurring one?

Yes! Mine and Glen's relationship started in early 2019, I actually got invited on a songwriting camp at Karma Sound Studios in Thailand, which is where I met Glen! My first ever session there was with Glen and we wrote a song called 'To the Moon and Back', I remember it was a piano ballad and we clicked straight away, we wrote quite a number of songs out there. When we got back we lost contact a little but a year later I reached back out to him and after that we’ve been working together ever since. I think it’s great because we have a mutual respect and love for each other and each others talent and we can be honest with one another about where the song should go and what is best for the record! He is a real G.

Hot girls don’t make the first move but is there anyone you’d love to work with someday?

(Laughs) Yes for sure there are so many great producers, artists and songwriters I’d love to work with. Too inch punch, Kamile, Miley Cyrus! To name a few.

What do you do to "man up" and make an effort to show appreciation for yourself. Are you good at celebrating your wins?

I think it’s super important to celebrate your wins but at the same time stay humble and don’t get distracted. It’s funny because a lot of the time my friends and family will think something’s a big deal and I won’t really bat an eyelid at it because I am always working on the next move. But don’t get me wrong, if I am playing a big festival, you will catch me out in the crowd after, having a drink!

Being on stage could be its own celebration?

Performing is my favourite thing in the world so yes, the buzz I get from that is what makes it all worth it.