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started writing I had no idea about song structure and that would have been invaluable. FionaI started writing poetry when I was about eight and when I was 11 started writing songs before I really knew what I was doing. I wasn’t brought up on popular music and only heard Te Beatles when I was 15; you can imagine what effect that had on me! Both of us had to work it out for ourselves so we are hoping to help potential songwriters with our master classes. I’d advise people to listen to music from a variety of genres and write something that is true for you and means something, however painful it might be to articulate.


You’ve got very different vocal styles; how has it been for you working together? FionaBecause we have such different voices it means we go together as a double bill but it’s not boring to see both of us on one night. Kal I think our styles are quite different; I’m very straightforward. Fiona is a very lyrical songwriter and is very intelligent and measured in how she writes. In that way we’re very different and that’s reflected in our personalities as well.


Where do you find inspiration for your songs? FionaI love watching films and reading books, but also just hearing peoples stories. Everything I hear and feel and see goes into my songs. KalFor me, everything I write is very personal, sometimes too personal. Tere are a lot of love songs, break up songs and songs about sex. All the really juicy stuff!


You’ve held open auditions (through local bands applying online with their music videos) for support acts for your tour dates. Have you found some interesting new musicians? FionaYes we have and it’s been really inspiring seeing all the female acts that have come forward. Tere’s


18 /August 2014/outlineonline.co.uk


been some women just starting out and some who are well established, and overall we’ve had an incredible reaction, and felt that everyone’s behind us.


I was reading about the fact that only 13% of people registered at PRS are women. Tis is where this project started for you. Why do you think that there are so many more men than women registered? KalTis is what we’re trying to learn and change through our master


FionaWe’ll also answer questions about working in the music industry; how to get a publishing deal, how to get your music on films or TV, how to release your music and run your own business…there are so many things to learn!


“We’re hoping to inspire women and we’re saying look, we’ve done it, you can do it too.”


classes. I think that men and women are different. Men are brought up to believe in their own abilities whereas women are brought up to not take as many risks. And it’s a massive risk to get up on stage and to sing about what can be very personal things in front of people who may not like it. It comes down to confidence. We’re hoping to inspire women and we’re saying look, we’ve done it, you can do it too. We’re also hoping this is just the start of this project, we’d like to make it bigger and we feel it has a lot of potential for the future.


Can you tell me a bit about what we can expect from your free song writing master class for women? FionaWhen we’ve had smaller groups we’ve had the opportunity for people to bring their guitars and we have helped people with the structure of their songs. We also hold a Q&A section, so ladies, bring your questions and anything you want to share with the group, something that you’re struggling with or that you’re proud of. KalWe’ll be covering things about the different kinds of song structures and hooks you have, and how to get the best out of your songs.


Kal, you bought your first guitar when you won £1000 from a Mars Bar wrapper, and now you have 60,000 hits on Youtube and played in Harrods. Did you foresee a career as a singer songwriter right from the start? KalYes, I definitely did.I supported Ed Sheeran at Tetford Forest in front of 10,000 people and a memory came back to me from when I was about 10 and just started writing music. I watched festivals


on the TV and used to imagine it was me on stage. It came to me at Tetford that I had achieved that dream, and it was an amazing moment for me. I realised that I can do it despite the self-doubt that everybody has.


Fiona, you co wrote a song with Ed Sheeran that went to Number One for One Direction, and you’ve just released an album, Talk to Strangers. What’s next for you? FionaJust doing lots more gigging and touring to get my album out there; it’s on an indie label so there’s lots of work to do. I’m going to be doing some gigs in Paris and in Berlin, which I’m really looking forward to. We love our work and just enjoy getting out there.


Lizz Page MORE INFORMATION Te Song Sisters are at Te


Bicycle Shop on 27th August. Teir master class in song


writing for women only will be during the afternoon and their gig in the evening.


You can get tickets and more information from


www.thebicycleshopcafe.com


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