A CONVERSATION WITH... PRIESTESS
We sat down with sound artist and rising star musician Priestess to explore their roots, future, and creative process. Features a never-been-done-before-in-interview tarot reading.
WHEN DID YOU FALL IN LOVE WITH MUSIC?
I was brought up in a house filled with music. My dad would play The Beatles, Led Zeppelin, and Clannad and I hear their influence in my music all the time. There's always a slightly mystical ancient Celtic background to a lot of the stuff I do, even though sometimes you wouldn't necessarily notice that immediately with the dirty electronica with the melodies. My dad got me to learn guitar and piano, which I wish that I'd stuck with. That was where I had a foundation for knowing that music was a very important part of life, regardless of whether you're a musician or not.
Yeah definitely, oh I love that. Do you have any Celtic family connections? Or is that just a type of music that you really enjoy?
My surname's Young, so quite a big Scottish clan. I have roots in a lot of those sounds and folk music overall, listening to Fairport Convention, Annie Briggs, Peter, Paul and Mary. You know, a lot of old folk music that resurged in the 60s and the 70s. I’m a die-hard fan of that and of metal as well, which uses a lot of medieval fifths. Specifically in grunge, like Alice In Chains. They use a lot of medieval fits in their harmonies, and that was something that I always kind of was really drawn to. That slightly medieval dirty dark sound. I wanted to use that with Priestess, and have that layered with a lot of deep electronics.
I've never had the same “you sound like this artist” thing twice. But once somebody told me that I sound exactly like a female version of Maynard James Keenan and that's the lead singer from Tool and A Perfect Circle. So, two bands that were very influential in my sound. You don’t have to listen to those bands to understand my music, but some people who have listened to a lot of the influences have to hear that, even with the layers. It's like a very weird mix of electronic music paired with my roots in really folk, metal, and grunge. Metal is very classical in some ways, and quite folky, but the melodies have darkness to them. Like mine in a way
Call it a Celtic Gloom! So, you've been putting out music for a couple of years, but people might not have heard of you just yet. What are a few things that you want people to know about you as a person and/or as Priestess?
That's quite a hard question. One would be what my influences are, so that possibly if people are into that type of music, they would listen to mine and resonate with it. I guess that if you're into some English Gothic dark Electro pop, then you need to hear it. I have another life which is based on sound because I work as a sound healer and a sound artist.
That makes sense – you released an EP of sound healing under the Priestess name a while ago.
That was an experiment: releasing that under Priestess because I don't think I'll be doing that again necessarily. I’ll release more under a separate name because now I'm moving more into electronics and I’ve been very inspired by albums by John Hopkins, 9 Inch Nails, and things like that. There's a lot of ambient kind of healing music going around, and there's a lot out there. I've played at the Barbican, and I’m about to do a big sound installation at Tottenham Court Road. My whole world is sound and music. And priestess... Man, that’s a hard question.
It is! I don’t know what to say when people ask me either, but here I am asking people about it. Here’s an easier one, where did the name Priestess come from?
It came from an amalgamation of things within my spiritual life. There was a certain point in my life when I had broken up with a partner and a band, and I didn't know where I was going or what I was doing. I was in a lot of pain and a lot of confusion. And I was going for some tarot readings — I mean, I've always gone for tarot readings, but at that time it was literally like the cards were like High Priestess and Tower, High Priestess and Tower, WOW. And the High Priestess card is about constant transformation. There was something about the word priestess that was evoking a lot of feminine energy and power… within magic, sex, mysticism, and the darkness, and that’s what I wanted to encapsulate. I didn’t want to use my name. I wanted to have an archetype. I wanted to have a pseudonym that I could work under and expand within. It has expanded over my releases but there's still that sense of something that’s a little mystical, a little ancient, a little magical. Within the lyrics as well, you know it lends itself to that kind of essence.
And how will Priestess expand throughout 2023, or at least how do you hope it’ll expand?
A lot of expansion into sound and music this year, I just feel it coming. Because at this slightly embryonic stage of the year where things aren't fully formed... what I'm thinking about right now is the fun that I'm having listening to a lot of music and trying to think what I can turn on its head to create something new. I want to release another EP, for sure. We've got a lot of ideas now that need forming, reshaping and sculpting. It's a clean slate right now, which I’m so excited about.
Where do you want your music to go from here? Like where do you want it go visually and sonically as well?
I really want to explore some more darkness, actually. How can my music be ruder, darker, heavier? Keep working with the piano and these long, spacious ballads that have a dark twist. I want to keep feeling like I have to make something or follow a specific structure with a big chorus or a hook. I don't feel any pressure to do that, but I would like to keep creating and seeing where that creativity goes and how that comes out sonically.
You’ve had a few years to explore your sound, so what piece of advice would you give to yourself when you were starting out? What do you wish you had heard?
Music is clearly a journey. Some people get seen and some people don't. But what people don't realise is how long everything takes when you aren’t a full-time musician. We have to pay our bills, we have to work, and we have to have time to do something outside of all of this. So, my advice? Allow yourself that space to not stress about getting everything done and doing something because you think you should. The EP and the music videos took the best part of the year to do, but often times it takes way longer than that as well. But it’s something I wanted to make. That’s another thing: make what you want to make. If you thought about how hard it was going to be, or whether people would like it or not, you wouldn't get out of bed in the morning. It's best just to stay true to your creative self. You leave a unique imprint on the world and you do that best by expressing yourself, rather than making something just for it to be judged or to be accepted by other people. There are really dark days in the industry and days where it feels easier to just leave. Especially when you’re unsigned, you don’t have a lot of budgets. You can’t just take 3 months off and get it done. But as long as you keep creating, you can carve out a beautiful and fulfilling path for yourself. It’s a mixed reality.
The reality of it is important. It's better than just brushing away everything. And since we only have a few minutes left, I quickly shuffled my tarot deck and pulled a card. Got the page of cups!
That’s beautiful, that's our message for this call. Are you good at reading tarot? I normally get my cards read and I know the major and minor arcana but I don’t read my own cards.
I've been doing it for a couple of years! So, the page of cups is about that childlike and youthful innocence. I take that as a sign that when you're working towards something, or you're being yourself, your inner child is happy. You’re listening to yourself and healing at the same time.
I love it! What a great message for January and the year.