Wolverhampton unsigned singer-songwriter Bryony WIlliams releases new single

When we speak to her this week, the Wolverhampton singer-songwriter has just had a long weekend working on and helping as assistant curator at the brand new Thinking/Not Think Festival in Birmingham.

And with a new single also here, she has been appearing across media and music outlets speaking about her latest creation. A cover appearance on Ryan’s Gig Guide, airtime on BBC6Music, and being featured on BrumRadio have been taking up her time.

But it’s a good busy. A busy that means the Bryony Williams brand is on the up.

“The festival was curated by one single dude, Si Paton, and originally he'd booked me to perform on the Sunday line-up,” she tells us. “Si then asked me to come on-board to help assist him once he realised how super-organised I am - his words, not mine - and to help run of the festival.

“It was super-important to me to be able to show people what I am capable of and to prove it to myself that I can work under pressure in a new environment.

“The festival was a hit! It was a four-day event which mostly kept to its timings and I met such wonderful people. The turn-out was great and despite stress levels, the satisfaction was immense.”

Festival done and dusted, her attention immediately turned to the releasing of Silhouette – out today – which is a hugely personal track to her as it reflects recent personal strife which inspired her to pick up her guitar and get writing.

“Silhouette is the first ever break-up I've written and published,” she reveals. “I was in a very healthy, loving relationship when long-distance tore it apart - and by “long-distance”, I mean America. When I went over, things simply unravelled.

“I wrote this song a couple of months after when I knew she was back in England for the Christmas break, knowing I couldn't see her because it was all too confusing for us both. So, I guess I play a lovesick creep in the song.”

Song written, she linked up once again with Matthew Pinfield at Grandflat Recordings in the autumn to make it come to life.

READ MORE: Wolverhampton's Bryony Williams releasing new single

“Releasing this track has definitely brought me certain closure,” she admits.

Silhouette is released via her own self-funded imprint GRRRL GROANNN. What started as a fanzine promoting girls in the music industry and beyond it has grown into a collective of girls working together.

“GG's main creative outlet has always been the music ‘zines we make, and by “we” I mean myself and Jess Webberley, our graphic designer,” Bryony adds. “I photograph any gigs I can get into and interview touring artists within the indie/pop/rock genres.

“Through that organic network, local promoters often help me out access-wise as touring bands and their management can be very hit and miss.

“We recently co-hosted a fundraiser gig on International Women's Day for Birmingham & Solihull Women's Aid with our good pals Indie Midlands where we raised £185. What we do in our own time is a lot of fun - sticker bombing venues, selling merchandise at shows, and slowly building the GRRRL community. The feeling of contributing to gender equality in the music industry and within social and cultural contexts is enough reward since GG is not-for-profit.

“We'd love to get stuck into live events and host music-orientated workshops, while providing unnerving spaces for identifying women. But that's something to think more about in the future.

“I've always been self-releasing but never through my own label, so I figured why not use GG? It's easy enough to set up and I already do all the work myself. And in the future I'd love to open the label up to other artists similar to myself.”

Bryony is a guitarist whose soft, almost haunting, vocals can give across a lot of emotion through only a few short words. She can do the rock-heavy and she can strip it all back with an acoustic and shrink the sound down to an almost claustrophobic feel. This is due to her vast influences.

“Regarding my sound, I can't truly pinpoint it,” she admits. “I guess it's a subconscious accumulation of the artists I listen to, which at the moment is Girl In Red, Arcade Fire, and Broadcast.

“But what's unique to me are my lyrics. I'm really not an emotional person in my everyday life, it's just who I am, and I don't think that will change for a long time. So my songs are my way of expressing my emotions in the rawest sense possible.

“I'm not afraid to say what I feel, and I don't care how people react to my lyrics because they're masked by the music and most people just pay attention to the surface area of the song. Not many people will analyse my lyrics – or so I say to myself.”

And Bryony reveals that 2019 is a pretty busy year for her outside of music, so she can’t make any concrete promises on what is coming around the corner for her fans. But a few cheeky hints should at least give them excitement.

“Considering I'm studying an MA full-time until September, I can't say too much right now,” she admitted. “But I'll be releasing the A-side to Silhouette on May 10 - it's called Little Tree and I am dead excited about it.

“For the remainder of 2019, I might have an actual cabin in the woods, so I'll be turning that into a music studio. Of course, I'll be songwriting, demoing and continuing producing with Matthew Pinfield where I can guarantee that my best work is yet to come.

“Perhaps a debut album will prove that.”

Bryony Williams can be found on Facebook @bryonywilliamsmusic and Twitter @bryonywmusic. Silhouette is available to listen to via her Spotify profile from today. Bryony is also performing at the Castle & Falcon in Birmingham as part of the Hott Date Easter Bank Holiday event alongside Sunshine Frisbee Laserbeam, Bad Girlfriend, You Dirty Blue, Modern Literature, Gruel (acoustic) and Liquid Cheeks. Tickets available from The Ticketseller website.