As a multi-instrumental two piece band, Living Dead Girl are a duo who produce introspective and atmospheric music for the masses made up of Jonno Lloyd on guitar, bass, synth, programming and backing vocals alongside Jessica English on lead vocals, synth, piano and programming.
Living Dead Girl
Debut single 'Skylines' explores the idea of looking at the night sky "permeated by the light of stars that have long since died", taking cues from eerie movies such as Donnie Darko, Edward Scissorhands and It Follows as well as inspiration from bands including Massive Attack and Portishead.
We got the opportunity to chat to Living Dead Girl and find out more about their music, plans for the future and more.
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
Dark, electronic pop. We take elements of rock, electronic and trip-hop and try to make something distinctively dark and epic but with accessible pop sensibilities.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
As a self-funded new band, it can be difficult simply backing your releases, music videos and other costs that come along with any start-up business. It can sometimes be tough pushing your music without an 'in' as well. There's definitely a choice to be made when presenting yourself as an artist; what you're willing to do and what will define you. We've always hoped that for a lot of those situations the songs will speak for themselves.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
Jonno: I'd say it's a difficult thing to get yourself to be a household name, but we're not really after that kind of thing. There's definitely a lot of competition in this industry, but there's also definitely a place for our music and for us to make a name for ourselves doing what we do. It's our job to just make sure that as many people as possible have a chance to hear our music and then we can go from there.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
Jess: It's the most important thing. I think our distinctive sound is what makes us original and works as our greatest asset. We're never going to be a mainstream band so I think with that territory comes a license to steer your own path.
Jonno: There would be no joy in compromising what we wanted to do and make any art that didn't feel completely our own.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
Interesting films, horror games, a lot of different things. We each have our own individual musical influences that we draw from as well. I think it comes down to the kind of mood that we want to explore at the time.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
Jess: Without a doubt, Fiona Apple. She writes intelligent, quick-witted lyrics, has a gorgeous emotive voice and I've definitely got an affection for percussive, brooding piano. I really dig the amalgam of power and fragility in songs like 'On The Bound' and I think that's definitely contributed to shaping how our band sounds. Our voices are at different ends of the spectrum so I think it would be interesting to hear a mix of the two.
Jonno: Ken Andrews. When I first discovered 'Failure' something just clicked for me, they became one of my absolute favourite bands in no small part thanks to Ken Andrews. I've loved his work with 'Year of the Rabbit', as well as his solo work and albums as 'On'. His production work between these projects has been fantastic as well. The production and songwriting on 'Failure's release this year shows that he's still at the very top of his game.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
Jonno: I've been featured in Kerrang, but not as an artist or anything, they were just making fun of my clothes.
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
Jonno: For me, I'd love to be able to make an album that really matters to someone, to be able to inspire people the way our influences have inspired us. There's still a lot of great people we'd love to work with, and a lot more music we're looking forward to making.
Where do you hope to be by this time next year?
Jess: We're a brand new band and this is our first release so it would be great next year to have a broader, loyal fanbase and to get our music heard and enjoyed by as many people as possible.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
We release our debut single 'Skylines' on October 16. Our first shows will follow at the end of the year, along with lots of new audio and video content.