I'm sure that a lot of women and men feel differently about it, but for me this isn't about being the girl in the band... it's just about being IN the band, if that makes sense? We're trying to keep it in a pure and genuine place for us and not break it down to gender, because it's just a bit boring and obvious isn't it?
Lauren Mayberry'Princess' is a good word, as is 'girlish', 'pixie-like' and all these other things. I personally find it a bit boring, it's all been done before. The amount of times you read reviews of bands and it's an all-girl four-piece, and they talk about what the women are wearing... you'll never read a review that's like: "Male singer Thom Yorke, who was dressed in a white t-shirt and jeans..." You would never read that about a man.
Lauren MayberryNo matter how many people try, no matter how many fancy songwriters in Los Angeles try to break it down to a formula... to an extent, there isn't a science to writing great songs, I suppose.
Lauren MayberryMy dissertation was on the idea of feminine-themed women's magazines, so like how the ideal woman is put across by women's magazines.
Lauren MayberryNobody is strong 100 percent of the time, or falling apart 100 percent of the time; sometimes you're doing both at once.
Lauren MayberryEveryone's [ me, Iain Cook and Martin Doherty] equally involved in all the writing. Normally we'll start with a sample or a drumbeat, or a synth sound or something like that, and that will spark the initial idea. And then we'll write an instrumental sketch of a song, and then we put on a nonsense vocal melody, which is always my favourite bit because it obviously sounds amazing.
Lauren Mayberry