What next? The Survey Says...

Hey there,

During the process of creating and releasing Villainess I’ve felt really sure about what I want to create and how, but I wasn’t always sure what you people at the receiving end were thinking. So I put together a survey to ask a few questions, hoping at least a few people would take the time to tell me what they think. I was completely gobsmacked by the number of responses that I received and I’ve LOVED reading your responses. Thank you to everyone who responded. Hi 5 you rock!

Many things that I asked about were just some ideas I’ve been playing with, but as always, I’m quite careful about what to commit to actually doing because I want to make sure I actually do what I say I’m going to do. And next year’s big priority is to work on new music, which needs space and time.

I asked about the direction that you would like me to take for the new songs, and the key message that you guys had for me was “just keep doing what you feel like doing”. That was such an awesome thing to read. It was my entire message on Villainess - do what feels right and don’t worry too much about what other people think. And I think you feel the same way. There is no match to creating from the heart and from an inner vision. We have to stay true to what feels right for us, and not worry about anything else. It felt so good hearing it back from you. I agree and will continue to tune in to what I really want to express, and I know that that’s exactly what you want from me.

I’ve slowly started working on some new songs. There are definitely going to be some new elements to the songs that were not present on Villainess (you Velcra fans will love these), but I will still be making dark synth pop music. I have no idea how quickly the new songs will come about but know that I’m back to songwriting. 🙂

I didn’t expect this, but many of you would like me to start a YouTube channel! Wow, I love YouTube, but I haven’t put an awful lot of effort into it. I would love to start vlogging, but if I’m honest, I really don’t think I have the time to do it consistently. Maybe later.

The same thing with podcasts, I would REALLY love to start one, but I don’t think I can do that right now. Maybe later.

Writing, on the other hand, I’m glad to hear you enjoy it! I love writing and I love that I can do it anytime anywhere. It’s also my way of reflecting and making sense of the chaos that life sometimes is. I’m so happy with how well my book “Becoming Villainess” was received. I’m definitely going to continue to write my blog next year and I will probably expand the topics beyond release updates.

Curiously, you didn’t really need me to post more actively on social media which I’m SO HAPPY TO HEAR! I feel like I’m pretty crappy at posting inspirational snippets of my everyday life. I don’t like living my life constantly looking for the perfect Kodak moment. I’ve been really inconsistent with my posting, and it’s good to hear that you don’t mind!

So many crazy ideas! Patches, pins, beanies, bags, condoms(!), perfume, jewellery, skincare, cassette tapes, ...! 

The most important message, however, was that you want bigger sizes for shirts and hoodies, which I can definitely do.

Also that you want special stuff, whatever that may be. 

So many awesome answers for this too, thank you! I’ve been really thinking about creating some kind of community space for us, where I can share the behind the scenes. Patreon seems to be a very popular way to doing this, and I’m a Patreon to a few artists myself, but as a service, I think it’s really naff. It’s basically just a private blog, and it’s really difficult to find any content in there. So if I ever do this, it won’t be on Patreon, I don’t think.

Right now I think I’ll just share my process on the blog, and maybe the more secret previews just with my email subscribers, because I’m a little worried about the commitment that I’d need to make for the fan club. But maybe later.

I have been really excited about how nowadays us artists are able to release music ourselves completely independently. I have loved being the ultimate boss of my work, releasing this record all by myself. I’ve had the privilege of working with a good label and great partners in the past, but for me personally, going 100% indie has been the most fun way to work.

I feel that it’s important to share this message and help other artists to get their work out there. I was super surprised to hear that 40% of you make music or other art yourselves and would like to learn from me how to do this. I’m not sure my own blog is the right place for it, so I might start another space. I’ll keep you posted.

Such an incredibly diverse list of artists and new discoveries for me. My Spotify will be busy as I will be checking these out!

Facebook wins. Then YouTube. Surprisingly Instagram was way behind. Ok, I’ll try to do more stuff on YouTube next year.

The overwhelming response was YES! Only 10% of you said you don’t. What is this madness? Records were supposed to be dead and buried years ago. By the way, I just read an interesting interview with the managing director of Record Store X (who also sells my records) and this year was their best year in business EVER. 

So physical records will definitely stay on the menu for me. Including vinyl. Cassette tapes? I’ll think about it.

So there! Thank you once more all you beautiful people.

And the winner of the t-shirt is Sammy F. I’ll send you a private message.

PS. I’ve got a Christmas pressie coming your way on Friday. Have an awesome Christmas!