INTERVIEW: Winifred on her debut single 'Into The Night': "Making this video was a watershed moment for me as a person and an artist."

Melbourne-via-North Queensland singer-songwriter Winifred released new single ‘Into The Night’ last week, an exquisite, ethereal, gentle electro-pop track held together with Winifred’s angelic vocals.

Influenced by artists like BANKS, Nao, Joji and Little Dragon, Winifred first emerged in 2019 with the release of single ‘Chain’ and has also gained acclaim as a songwriter, co-writing the 2019 Alice Ivy featuring Ecca Vandal single ‘In My Mind’ which featured in a global Apple 'Shot on iPhone' ad campaign in August last year.

With more music to come in 2021, expect more great things to come from Winifred with her expressive, almost otherworldly pop music. We recently caught up with her to find out more.

Hey Winifred! Great to chat with you. How is everything in your world right now?
Hi there! All is well, a little crazy but plenty of excitement going on! Feeling very relieved and grateful now that ‘Into The Night’ is finally out.

Congratulations on the release of your new single ‘Into The Night’ it is such a great song.  Can you tell us a little about the inspiration behind the track?
It’s basically about the nuance of power struggle, navigating that delicate grey space. When I wrote this song, I was feeling pulled in every direction so ‘Into The Night’ became my re-centering anthem.

Can you share with us a bit about the creative process behind the song?
I wrote this one with Chris Chidiac (Chí) in Sydney. Chris reached out a while back and I had this immediate feeling something really wonderful would come of this collaboration. We wrote and produced it at the same time - It actually took us a while to wrangle this one, but we were committed to staying in that studio until all the puzzle pieces clicked into place. Totally worth it.

The video for ‘Into The Night’ is beautiful with some amazing choreography. What the experience making it like?
Thank you! I couldn’t have done it without Gabrielle Pearson (from Majella Productions) and Zoee Marsh. They directed the music video and brought everything together perfectly with such finesse. Zoee choreographed me and the dancers too, she also single-handedly taught me how to dance. I’m very new to dancing I only started moving in 2020 so making this video was a watershed moment for me as a person and an artist. I feel completely myself when I dance, it’s so expressive, like another language. Dancing with backing dancers is something I'd always dreamt of too but never thought possible. 

This music video was everyone's first job back after lockdown restrictions began to ease so the energy was high on the day and the vibe on set was amazing.

You are based in Melbourne which faced the worst of the coronavirus pandemic in Australia. How did that affect you as a musician, trying to be creative through such a trying time? 
Like everyone else, I felt particularly challenged during iso especially because I was living on my own at the time. Some days were really productive, I would bunker down in my home studio and dive deep into projects but other days my motivation level was zero, and I felt totally out of sync. But the turning point for me was connecting with Zoee Marsh, choreographer and movement coach.

Out of COVID-19 came some really unexpected opportunities and defining moments for me. Having never danced before it was a great challenge to throw myself into which really solidified the visual component of Winifred - and it felt so good just to MOVE! A big part of coping with lockdown for me was learning to dance.

You have co-written for other artists, including Alice Ivy’s ‘In My Mind’. How does the creative experience differ for you when you are writing music for other people to perform, as opposed to music for yourself?
When I write by myself, I’m usually quite indulgent, I like to write in stages when the inspiration is at its highest. But in a collaboration setting everything moves at a much faster pace which I really enjoy too. When I collaborate on other artist’s music, I try to consider how it will translate to a live performance, I’m usually a lot more open minded too. There’s infinite possible outcomes especially when two or more creative minds come together. When a collaboration starts bubbling, it’s one of the best feelings, it’s exciting to share the creative experience with others!

Who were the artists that inspired you when you were growing up?
My Mum and Dad were musos and I remember there being a lot of music playing in the house everything ranging from Chic Corea and Al Jarreau right though to Aussie faves Tina Arena and John Farnham. 

But during my moody teen years I dabbled in all different genres as I was finding my sound. I’m talking Circa Survive to Sigur Rós to Stacie Orrico and everything in between. A pivotal local Townsville band who influenced me and many others hugely were The Middle East, it was great to have that standard of musicality so close to home.

How did you get started in music? Was it something that was always a given or did it come about in a more unexpected way?
I always identified strongly with anything to do with music growing up but I wasn’t a standard musical kid, I’ve never been able to read music, in hindsight I needed no restrictions or parameters! Makes sense why I got kicked out of concert band in grade 10 for improvising on the clarinet when I should have been reading the sheet music. I always struggled to apply myself unless the creative part of my brain was lit up. I never really thrived within the school system of formally structured music lessons but when I picked up Dad’s old nylon acoustic from when he was younger, I really began to discover my passion for playing, writing and eventually performing.

What else is coming up for Winifred in 2021?
More Winifred music and dance visuals are on the way!

‘Into The Night’ is out now. You can buy and stream here.

To keep up with all things Winifred you can follow her on Instagram and Facebook.