Amber T

originally published in her. magazine volume 12

JACKET_ Bougie Studios VEST_ Acne Studios — JACKET_ Bougie Studios
VEST_ Acne Studios

a conversation with amber t

Writer _ James Oliver

We first became aware of Amber T when music legend Sir Elton John added her self-penned single 'No Company' to his Rocket Man show on Apple Music, commenting “How brilliant is she!” and comparing her to Stevie Nicks. Learning she was just 16 years old at the time and not only in possession of a unique voice but was also writing and arranging her own music we had to find out more about her and what she has planned for the future.

Can we start at the beginning, can you talk a bit about your childhood and your upbringing? How did this shape you to be the person you are now?
I grew up with my Dad & Mum, my younger sister Daisy and my two older brothers. My brothers influenced me a lot as they were both in bands when I was very young and were always playing music around the house, they are both massively creative. There's a picture of me when I was 1 standing with them and holding the neck of a guitar as they were noodling on the sofa. My Mum & Dad were also always playing music around the house so I was constantly hearing a whole range of genres, from Rock to Dub Reggae and UK Garage and every thing in between!

What was the catalyst for you becoming a musician? Can you talk about your influences both in music and away from the industry?
I was always singing from when I was little and actually ended up joining a theatre company at 6. I stayed there for a long time and ended up getting some good roles and did my first solo singing performance when I was 8 which was a real buzz at the time. As I got older I didn't feel that theatre was working for me as they wanted to try and change my vocal style as it wasn't really a theatrical voice. From then on I just concentrated on singing more how I'd like and it's just gone from there.
My influences have grown with me, like anyone of my age and era I loved Hannah Montana growing up!... but thankfully my taste has progressed and I'm now listening to The 1975, Frank Ocean, Zayn Malik, James Arthur, Nothing But Thieves etc. but generally I'm pretty open when it comes to listening to new music. I'm trying not to be too genre specific and I think being young gives me the chance to experiment. Obviously I'm naturally developing a sound that's me but I'd still be happy to take a chance with a different style, if I write something good enough.

Where does the drive come from to be successful? Can you talk a bit about your passion for music and being a top artist?
Music is without doubt my single biggest passion, I literally sing every day, while I'm getting ready in the morning, sitting in lessons, when I get home and stuff. It really comes from just wanting to get my music out to more and more people, especially since I started developing as a musician. Like most people I started off playing really small open mic type nights but have now played loads of shows, and when you get an opportunity to play to a big crowd live it really fuels your desire to play bigger and bigger venues. It's frustrating that live gigs have been suspended (although it's totally understandable) as I was working more and more with a live backing band which free's me up to concentrate on performing and playing my guitar more, which I love. It's everyone's dream to be a top artist so I've just got to keep my head down and work as hard as possible.

JACKET_ Bougie Studios SHIRT_ Fiorucci PANTS_Bougie Studios — JACKET_ Bougie Studios
SHIRT_ Fiorucci
PANTS_Bougie Studios

Can you talk about your education in music, both formal and informal?
I had no formal musical education, just bog-standard school music lessons. In terms of playing instruments, I taught myself from watching YouTube videos. I am though, now studying music at school as my main subject, although having the opportunity to record in the studio semi-regularly has really helped my understanding of working/recording in a proper studio.

As a singer / songwriter, can you please talk about your approach to creating? How does an idea become reality for you?
It's pretty haphazard if I'm honest. Inspiration comes from lots of different sources, it could be a good film, or a book or just a day-to-day scenario that sparks an idea. I'm constanly scribbling down lyrics, 90% of which get screwed up and binned, the others I'll probably start demoing, it depends on how I'm feeling. Once the demo is done I might share it with some people who's opinion I really trust and then I'll decide if I want to take it further. Sometimes I'll have a couple of ideas around the same time and I jump between the two to keep it fresh, lyrics I'll be working on the whole time, trying to refine them as much as possible. If we do take it into the studio that's when the idea can get fleshed out properly, it's a super exciting process as some of them have been sitting at home as demos for months so it's always great to see them come to life. I'm lucky to have a really good working relationship with some great producers who really understand what I want to acheive and this helps me focus on the music.

How does it feel to have Elton John as a fan? Even better still be compared to Fleetwood Mac?
It was just an amazing experience, definitely a highlight for me so far. To have someone as legendary as Elton John play my song and then compare my voice to Stevie Nicks/Fleetwood Mac was just incredible. It was the biggest buzz I've had for sure. Hearing someone play your song on the radio is always amazing but coming from Sir Elton it just made it that much better. He even had the track in his charts for two months, which still blows my mind.

No Company is such an amazing track, can you talk about where the inspiration came from to create such a tune?
I put together a very basic demo after hearing a tune that I loved the vibe of, and that was really the catalyst for the song, then I jotted down some lyric ideas I thought would work. Then it was into the studio and we just set about getting a proper backing track down with some great musicians. Then it was just about getting down the best vocal I could, I was really pleased with the result and we actually have another track finished and ready for release later in the year, which I'm really excited about.

JACKET_ Sacai, JEANS_ Levis BOOTS_Toga — JACKET_ Sacai, JEANS_ Levis
BOOTS_Toga

While still so young, what are the biggest challenges you have had to overcome to get to where you are now?

Probably people taking you seriously, it's defintiely easier for me now but it started when I was around 14 and a band didn't want to write songs with me as they dismissed me as being too young. Nowadays as I've developed a little fan base and have some good streaming numbers, have had radio airplay and some good gigs under my belt, it means it's a lot harder for someone to dismiss what I'm doing, and I'd ignore them if they did anyway!

So what have you been up to during lockdown?

I've just put out a single called 'Shaken' with the band Galaxy Thief which we worked on over Zoom calls in lockdown. Then luckily when the lockdown was eased for a while we managed to get into the studio to finish it before the next lockdown started! My next single will be 'Get Me' which I'm really looking forward to releasing... I'm just preparing to film a video for which should be fun.

What is your vision for the future?

I just want to play bigger and bigger shows when venues open again. It would be the dream to headline the big venues worldwide with a regular band line-up. I will keep on writing and recording and at some point I will put an album out, but my attitude at the moment is to continue putting out single songs that I'm really proud of and hopefully build my fan base. Once I think there's enough people who'd like an album, then I'll get on it, I've already got some promising demos waiting to be recorded properly but like every musician, every time I write a new song I want to get that one out...