Allysen Callery - A nightingale and her guitar

Let's imagine you run into an old friend you haven't seen in ages. You tell them you're a musician now, and they ask you to play one of your songs. Which one would you play?

"I Had A Lover I Thought Was My Own", for sure. I really love the guitar picking, as well as the story behind it. I think it shows my full vocal range and presents all my qualities at their best.

This year you released “The Song The Songbird Sings”, your fourth album. Can you tell us more about how it came together?

There are a lot of birds where I live. I hear their song in the background while I record my little demos at home. I ended up writing quite a few songs centered around birds, so the album's concept came about pretty naturally. Also, some people actually gave me the nickname "Songbird".

Any particular anecdotes that came with writing and/or recording the songs?

I was working on the album with my friend Bob Kendall, who produced and recorded some of my previous singles and radio sessions. He has a shed in his garden, a simply magical place, which I thought would be perfect for recording the record. This time around, though, Bob felt it would be better if we moved to a friend of his' studio to record. As soon as we got there, I was left alone in this room full of drums, while Bob was on the other side of the window. Everything felt so cold, so lonely…. In the end, even Bob agreed it was better to go back to the shed. There we recorded almost all the songs in a single session.

What has Allysen Callery been listening to lately? Any great musicians or bands we might have missed?

I've been listening to a lot of Jessica Pratt lately. I love her, everyone should check her out, especially her first album. I've also been discovering Joshua Burkett lately. He's been making experimental folk since the '90s and sends me tons of CDs and compilations. We're talking about a possible collaboration in the future.

You've often said you were a poet well before becoming a songwriter. The way you develop lyrics for your songs makes that part of your past tangibly clear. What usually inspires your lyrics?

I'm driven by love, the longing for love, loneliness, desire, these forms of enchantment. Likewise, I find inspiration in the elements of nature.

What impact has being a self-taught musician had on your music? How did you develop your distinctive fingerpicking style?

I think that's exactly the point. When you're alone in your room, there's no one to tell you whether what you're doing is wrong or not. That's how I developed my own personal fingerpicking, which only uses four fingers.

Has your songwriting changed in any way over time?

Definitely. It's rather curious: at the start I was writing well beyond my abilities, I think my chord sequences were originally much more complicated, with my left hand being dominant. Now I often use open tunings and come up with my own sequences. I can't read musical notation, so I have to record myself so I can remember what I played. When I started using open tunings, my fingerpicking changed so much that now my right hand outdoes my left.

As polished and excellent as your songs are in their current sound, have you ever thought about a stylistic change? Maybe some new instrument?

Yes. I recently met a friend of a friend of mine, who came to one of my shows in Cambridge. She asked if she could accompany me on her violin. The way she played, full of Eastern nuance, was truly enchanting. If I'd ever written music with a violin in mind, I would have wanted it to sound exactly like that. I asked her if she'd like to record something with me, and she said yes. I'm so excited!

Last question: what can we expect from Allysen Callery in the future?

There will soon be an EP called "Princes Pine", out on Reverb Worship. I've also already written the songs for the next album, and I should start recording them in the coming months. Someday I'd like to record a covers EP of songs drawn from the British folk songbook, which has influenced me so much as a musician. Early 2017 will also see the vinyl release of "The Song The Songbird Sings", out on Jellyfant.

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