Northampton singer Robyn Wilson has been a mercurial talent from a young age. Now a young adult she embarks on the next stage of her burgeoning career with breezy new summer single ‘Hotel Room’. Interview time then!
You broke through at 16 with your debut EP. When did you first pick up an instrument and began writing songs, and how did it get from there to that first release?
I’ve loved music for as long as I can remember, I would always be singing along to a bit of Taylor Swift or Miley Cyrus. If I’m honest, they are the artists that inspired me to learn the guitar at the age of about 12. After getting the guitar I would learn covers but I always preferred messing about with my own stuff, it was so much easier because I could just mess up and say it was intentional. One day the messing up turned into whole songs.
How would you describe your sound? Who are your main influences in music do you feel?
I listen to a lot of different styles of music and have a lot of favourite artists, but I wouldn’t necessarily say that there is any single style or artist that has influenced my sound. Some people say I sound ‘poppy’, some people have even said I sound a bit country. But I just sing whatever comes out.
Tell us everything about this dreamy new single, ‘Hotel Room’. It’s about the events of your travels…
I wrote and recorded Hotel Room in 2016 after a holiday in Mexico. I was 16 and really fancied a guy at our resort. I put the recording online and people started listening, it was just for fun really. But then I was contacted by somebody who heard it and said he could help me release it properly as a single! Shout out to Matt! We re-recorded it and and also have plans to record more. Following this I’m going to record an album, so what started as a stupid crush turned into this incredible experience and new journey.
Have you played live much? More plans to do so?
I’ve played at open mics and small festivals and venues since the age of about 13, with the occasional bigger gig. However since my focus has been on recording the single I haven’t been around as much. I definitely plan on gigging a lot more after summer, and hopefully it will include Northampton and other areas too.
What’s been your experience of the Northamptonshire music scene so far? Any favourite people/act/venues etc you wanna give a shout out to?
Everybody involved in the Northampton music scene is so supportive and friendly, it feels like you belong to a very special club and everybody supports and follows each other. There are some great venues, my favourite was performing on the main stage at The Roadmender. To grace the same stage as some absolute legends such as Arctic Monkeys, Coldplay and Oasis was amazing! It was an event called The Y Factor, where local artists performed and we managed to get the venue full, it was awesome … I wish they still did that.
You seem to be travelling a lot. How has it been, experiencing different cultures? Has it influenced your sound at all do you think?
I love travelling and it’s always been a passion and ambition of mine – so many places on my bucket list! At the moment I’m travelling around Eastern USA with no firm plan apart from I need to come home by September 😂. It’s most definitely given me lots of inspiration for new songs, lyrics are buzzing around my head. I’m soaking up the vibe ready to bring home and tell my stories via some new songs. I feel like my songs are personal diary entries ….apart from I share them with everyone!
What has been your favourite artistic moment of the past year?
I’ve had lots of great artistic moments, they don’t come every day but when they do it’s like a little boost to let me know that I should carry on on this path. Things like getting a random message from somebody you have admired and followed for years, a musician or songwriter. A random follow on social media or an inbox from somebody telling you they love your music.
For years I’ve been singing my own songs in front of small crowds, big crowds and sometimes no crowd. Sometimes people will listen and sometimes they talk over me – I’m sure every singer-songwriter knows this feeling. What has been the most amazing thing is with ‘Hotel Room’, people are actually singing along – they know the lyrics and it feels fantastic! 
I can’t describe how it feels when I play the song and the whole audience starts dancing and singing at the top of their voices, it’s kind of euphoric 
What was the last album you bought/streamed?
Ed Sheehan, it would be rude not to!
What is your burning desire to do in the future? What plans do you have?
If I can carry on singing and writing music in the future then I’ll be happy, and if I could make a living off it then I’d be ecstatic! So if all my dreams could come true I would carry on expressing myself via music, and people would enjoy listening to it. And I need to travel the rest of the world too obviously 😂
