INTERVIEW: Lilly Carron on her latest single 'Keeping Our Bodies Warm'

Aotearoa/New Zealand’s Lilly Carron has been releasing her delicious, dreamy, ethereal pop since 2019 and has recently announced her second EP And The Clouds Came Undone will be released on May 24. It has been preceded by the gorgeous single ‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’.

Written by Carron and produced by Pierre and Henry Beasley, ‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’ tells a whimsical story of a girl who is in love with the moon, backed up by some incredible melodies, wonderfully warm vocals and a soundscape that blends synths with heavy guitars to create a beguiling, pop-rock-indie crossover.

Carron’s second EP And The Clouds Came Undone will feature six tracks and follows up her 2020 debut Messy Mind which explored her journey of growing up and coming of age and attracted over six million streams and critical acclaim.

“Creating these songs gave me space for internal reflection, confronting myself, parts I needed to lose and those I wished to draw closer,” Carron says of And The Clouds Came Undone. “Exploring the idea of escapism, solitude and boundaries. My heart is spilled all over this collection of songs, I am so excited to be sharing it with you soon.”

Carron’s is one of New Zealand’s most exciting young artists, and has a depth and versatility to her music that makes her that much more special, with her songs touching on pop, rock, indie, R&B and deeply moving ballads. We recently caught up with her to find out more about her music and her future plans.

Hi Lilly! So good to chat to you today. How is everything in your world right now?
Things are going good! It feels so nice to be putting music out that I've been working on since 2020. Such a thrilling feeling.

We are in love with your latest single ‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’, it is a gorgeous mix of pop and rock with some really delicious melodies. Can you tell me a little bit about the creation of and inspiration behind this track?
Eeek thank you! Yeah I was inspired a lot by Kate Bush, Anna Calvi and Jefferson Airplane when working on this track. I really wanted to play around with something poppy and fun and I feel very proud of this track. 

I also love the lyrics to this song, there is a real poetry to them and I love how you have this juxtaposition between the sun and the moon, and you perfectly encapsulate the ‘moods’ of both in just a few words. Are words, poetry, lyrics always the drivers behind your songs, or do the melodies come first?
Thank you! I definitely enjoyed leaning into something that felt more theatrical. I feel as though it works both ways, sometimes I will write first and consider melody after and other times I will construct lyrics around melody. This song in particular I had the phrase ‘Keeping our bodies warm’ stuck in my head and then wrote the rest of the song around that.  

Your lyric video for ‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’ is this grainy, ethereal, atmospheric delight. Can you tell me about its creation?
Ooo yes! I took my sister and a friend to Muriwai and frolicked for hours through the forest capturing little moments. We filmed it all on Super8, I absolutely adore that form of media. It adds a sense of nostalgia and whimsy to the visuals with very little effort. 

Your second EP And The Clouds Came Undone will be released on May 24. Can you talk us through what we can expect from the EP?
Hmmmm, it’s a little whimsical, introspective, fun and vulnerable at the same time ha ha!

Is there a particular theme, or soundscape, you wanted to project with this EP?
I don’t feel that any one song sounds like the other but I really like it that way. You can really hear me figuring out my sound and experimenting with my voice. I wrote this over the course of four years, so it touches on different themes surrounding my life over this period of time.

You released your first single ‘Evaporate The Rain’ in 2019. What is your musical story leading up to that first release?
I’ve loved music and singing my whole life. I was a slightly annoying child in that way as I'd always be singing around the house! I played guitar and did vocal lessons in high school, but i didn't start writing my own songs till my final year. Then wrote ‘Evaporate The Rain’ and bit the bullet and uploaded it Soundcloud.

As a young solo female in music, did you find breaking into the industry difficult? Did you feel you had to work twice as hard as male artists to get noticed?
I was pretty lucky with breaking into the industry, getting signed off the back of my first single at 18. But I do wish we had more local female artists on festival lineups here in Aotearoa, there has been a shift but there can always be improvement.

Who were the artists that influenced you growing up?
I have been heavily influenced by Lana Del Rey, my sister showed me her music when I was younger and I've never looked back ha ha. Her poetry and depth is something I consider when I write today. Also listened to a lot of Fleetwood Mac and Red Hot Chilli Peppers.

How do you feel you have changed as an artist since that first single?
100%, I think a lot can change in a person in 5 years. Even just my confidence from when I was 18 to now has impacted my music. I'm more assertive and sure in myself, and I can hear that in my writing and in the sonics of my upcoming EP as well. 

‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’ is out now, and we have And The Clouds Came Undone out on May 24, what else is on the cards for you this year?
Hopefully do more and more shows! I'm doing an acoustic set opening for Bar Italia on June 2nd which is going to be fun! But also just to keep on writing and developing myself.

‘Keeping Our Bodies Warm’ is out now via Sony Music Australia. You can buy and stream here.
Follow Lilly Carron on Instagram, Facebook and TikTok.