Interview: Molly Payton on her debut full-length album 'YOYOTTA'.
Interview: Molly Payton on her debut full-length album 'YOYOTTA'.
"I wear love like it's second hand / And soft and real," earnestly confesses Molly Payton on the track, 'A hand held strong' - from her debut full-length album, 'YOYOTTA'. The album follows up Payton's mini album 'Slack' which she released back in 2021 and carves a brand new chapter for Payton in her sonic universe and closes a past one in her life. A glimpse into her world and all its trinkets for a moment, Payton reminisces on making the effort to better yourself and hold onto precious memories - even though sometimes you don't want to. Allowing moments of looking back but also knowing when it's time to look towards the future, 'YOYOTTA' showcases Payton at her most self-assured yet.
We couldn't be more excited that we got the chance to make a zine in celebration of Payton's debut full-length album - with the support of NZ On Air! If you want to order the zine [for free], head to our webstore + click here for the full list of stockists.
We caught up with Molly Payton alongside the release of her Coup De Main x NZ On Air zine to chat about comfort tasks, contentment, and the importance of certain traits in friends...
COUP DE MAIN: "I want to be happy / I don't want to be beautiful," is one of my favourite lyrics from the record - do you think true contentment truly exists or do you think it is something people spend their whole lives searching for?
MOLLY PAYTON: I definitely think contentment exists. In my opinion, you find it by choosing the people and things you care about and putting as much of your time and effort into them as you can. If I can do my best for the people I love and make the best music that I can, then everything else tends to fall into place.
CDM: You had such a precise vision for the visuals of the album - did the visuals come about during the music or after the album was completed?
MOLLY: The album was finished before I even started to think about visuals. I had ideas but I wanted to make sure I knew what the overarching themes of the project were before I got into the visual side of things.
CDM: If you could describe the album with a colour, smell, and a living thing - what would they be?
MOLLY: Sky blue, the smell of salt water, and a wild horse.
CDM: Do you have a favourite song from the record?
MOLLY: I have phases but at the moment it’s 'Get Back To You'. I love the live session we did for that one.
CDM: What was running through your mind when you wrote 'You're on your own this time again'?
MOLLY: I’d just visited my dad in prison for the first time when I wrote the lyrics to that song. I was 19 and grappling with the fact that I still loved and cared about him despite how much he’d hurt me and my family. I’d believed up until that point that if someone hurt you enough you’d just stop loving them, and I almost felt ashamed of myself for still caring. I wanted to make sense of how I felt so I wrote it all down on the train home, but it was almost two years down the line before I decided it was time to put it to music and put the song together with Lucian [Rice].
CDM: In 'Devotion' you sing, "I forget how to trust at least three times a day." Do you still find that you feel this way?
MOLLY: No, thankfully. I wrote those lyrics at the point in my life when I was first realising what the consequences of my relationship with my dad were going to be within my first real romantic relationship. There were all of these anxieties I never even knew I had until I fell in love, and it was a really intense thing to feel, all of the joy of falling for somebody alongside all of these fears.
CDM: Do you find that you work better in a collaborative space or a more isolated one?
MOLLY: I definitely prefer writing on my own, but every part of the process following is definitely best done collaboratively. I’m lucky enough to be surrounded by the most talented, passionate people both in New Zealand and London, and my music has been massively shaped by these friends. The more hands that go into something the better, I think!
CDM: Coffee is mentioned throughout the album and often used in the context of another person - what is it about coffee for you?
MOLLY: It wasn’t intentional, I just find a lot of comfort in the ritual of having a coffee every morning. Probably more so when going through stressful times, as I was when I wrote the record.
CDM: In 'Benchwarmer' you sing, "I love the way that I feel after seeing my friends" - what are characteristics of a good friend to you?
MOLLY: Empathy, kindness, and a good sense of humour is what I look for in my close friends.
CDM: Do you have a track that you are most excited to play live?
MOLLY: The title track of the album, 'You’re on your own this time again', is definitely the one I’m looking forward to playing with my band the most.
CDM: In 'A hand held strong' you make a list of things that keep you going and you very recently made the move back to London - do you have a new set of little things that keep you going over there?
MOLLY: Although I’m in a different place with different people, the list has stayed mostly the same! I’d add that I’ve gotten really into cooking, nothing gets rid of homesickness like making yourself a good meal.
CDM: What does the next year look like for Molly Payton?
MOLLY: I have a tour coming up around Europe and the UK, and then hopefully I’ll come back to NZ/Australia in the summer for a month or two and do some shows at home. Otherwise I’ve tried not to plan too much, the best and worst thing about music is that you never really know what’s going to happen!!
Made with the support of NZ On Air.
Molly Payton's 'YOYOTTA' is out now - watch the video for 'Accelerate' below:
