Taura Lamb
I'm thrilled to share my latest interview with the talented Taura Lamb! Her new EP, Sunny, dropped in June and it's a game-changer. Produced by Bit Funk, Fred Cox and Ollie Morley, this R&B-pop gem boasts three vibrant, innovative tracks that shine bright. Sunny is the ultimate summer soundtrack, but its appeal goes far beyond seasonal vibes. With its catchy melodies and top-notch production, this EP is one of the standout releases of the year.
Sunny is the fourth installment in Taura Lamb’s Moods collection, following the 2024 releases Tetchy and Teary, and Sultry earlier this year.
Taura Lamb is an artist on the rise. Make sure to stream Sunny now !
Photo credit: Will Warr
Hi Taura ! How are you? What's your story?
Hello! I’m great thank you, enjoying how PERFECTLY the weather is matching my final EP, it all feels like it was meant to be!! I’m actually getting married next week (wtf), so a little stressed - trying to tie up all the final details while wrapping up the last piece of my Moods puzzle, but all very exciting!
So I grew up in Solihull near Birmingham, and moved to London when I was 18. I got a guitar for Christmas when I was 14 and started writing my own music (it was rubbish... I was 14). I’d play in open mic nights around Birmingham (The Yardbird, The Sun on The Hill, that kind of thing), and fell in love.
You’ve just released your EP Sunny – what’s the inspiration behind this whole project?
Sunny is part four of my Moods collection, where each EP represents (shock!!) a different mood! We have Tetchy (the sassy one), Teary (the emotional one), Sultry (the sexy one) and finally Sunny (the happy one). For me, Moods has been about finding inspiration in the day-to-day moments, rather than waiting for a big ‘thing’ to write about. It’s about listening to your emotions and tapping into them, rather than ignoring them. Plus, people can listen to the EPs without having to skip a random club bop when they’re trying to cry themselves to sleep, or avoid a tear-jerker when they’ve got a date over for a nightcap. Moods captures the emotional, mood-swinging ups and downs of life, but it’s organised and categorised in a way that makes feeling all the feels a little more manageable. I love that, and I hope you love it too.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this EP? Who helped you create it?
So every track on this EP has been created with different people, and actually all 3 of these songs were written virtually rather than doing it together in the room. I feel like I wrote Lucky FOREVER ago now. It was produced by Bit Funk, who I also worked with on 'Post Your Body' and 'Love Song’. I absolutely love his 90s r&b/pop style, and I keep going back to him again and again, despite us never actually meeting!! Next time I am in LA I MUST change this!
I looove the concept behind Lucky. I wrote it after going to my friends wedding where the groom said in his speech “thank you for manifesting me, and bringing me into your life.” I thought it was so sweet, and wrote this whole song on the idea that maybe all those wishes on birthday cakes, pennies, and eyelashes are, in some part, responsible for the happiness I have today. It’s the idea that a wish, at some point, somewhere, must have come true, because there’s no way I was just born this lucky.
Then came Mascara!! I wrote this in a similar way to Lucky - all at home in my little studio booth (my bf calls it the chokey cause its so hot and teeny), and then reached out to a producer far more wonderful than me to take it up a level. This time I reached out to Fred Cox, who did absolutely that. Mascara is written about replaying the happiest memories in my mind over and over. I loved it, but it wasn’t until Fred sent over his version that I became convinced it was my favourite song from this collection. I feel like I’m watching a montage of memories sewn together in a Greta Gerwig A24 film every time I listen to it. Fred made it feel almost euphoric with the big full 2nd verse and the stripped back post chorus, he got it right immediately.
And finally, straighten my curls. This was my usual process, just flipped on it’s head really. I met Ewan Vickery for a coffee and he mentioned him and Ollie Morley had made some tracks together. He sent them over and I was immediately in LOVE with what would become curls. I wrote most of the song pretty quickly, but couldn’t work out the main ‘and you hate it when I straighten my curls!’ line for SO long. I had it in my head but was worried it was just way too niche. Then I thought no, it’s really nothing to do with hair, it’s about someone saying to you “I like you as you are”. And I think that’s something everyone loves to hear.
What did you feel when recording "Straighten My Curls"?
It was a weirdly healing moment - one of those times where you can actually feeeeelll music making you happier bar by bar. The song means so much to me, my curls have been such a self-confidence sticking point in my life and my bf absolutely LOVES them. So it felt like such a nice way of writing a love song to both myself and to him, and I also felt like I was finally talking to my younger self and saying, “stop looking in the mirror and stressing so much, one day you’re gunna love that hair.”
What can you tell us about the visuals behind "Straighten My Curls"?
So myself and my wonderful friend Will Warr created all the visuals for the entire Moods project in one morning. I knew from the start that I wanted a consistent visual thread running through all four EPs. I loved the idea that each mood could exist in its own immersive, multi-sensory, colour themed world. I came up with a concept where each mood is represented by a character celebrating with a cake - and the video is a heightened, almost theatrical depiction of how that character might react in that scenario, depending on their emotional state. This allowed everything to feel cohesive and clearly part of the same universe - something that was especially important to me, since the EPs won’t technically be grouped as one album on streaming platforms. So by keeping the cake and setting consistent, I feel like it really highlights just how different each mood is.
What do you want people to feel when listening to this EP? What message do you want to deliver through these songs?
I want this one to give people the kind of feeling you get when you’re walking down the street at the sun is shining and you’re on your way to see all your favourite people in your favourite outfit listening to your favourite song. I want it to be that proper euphoric, driving with the windows down, happy music.
Could you list a few records that influenced the music you are making today?
For Sunny, I would say three big inspirations were:
Augustine - Weeks Above The Earth
Sabrina Carpenter - Short n’ Sweet
Dominic Fike - Sunburn
But in general, I’m looooving pop queens like Tate McRae, Addison Rae, flowerovlove, Eli, and of COURSE R&B girls like Aqyila, Victoria Monet, Pip Millet.
What are your thoughts on today’s music industry? If you could change one thing, what would it be?
I’m loving how independent artists can build their own world now, but it’s also exhausting trying to be a one-person content machine. If I could change one thing, honestly, I’d make the streaming services pay artists more per stream. We put so much work into the music, the artwork, the video, the socials, the promotion, artists kind of have to wear EVERY hat now... for £3 per 1000 streams :/ wuh oh thats a bad business plan.
What’s the best advice you’ve ever received?
I love the quote “what you’re not changing, you’re choosing”. Oh, and don’t worry so much about your hair of course!
In your opinion, what would make the world a BETTER place?
If everyone could stop judging each other, that would be lovely. If we all had a bit more empathy and a bit less ego, I think we'd have way more joy and be way more creative and love our lives that little bit more.
What biggest life lessons have you learned so far?
If I don’t make a list, I absolutely will not do it. And slightly more deep, but sometimes I think you need to take a step back and look at what you’re aiming towards... do you still want it? Or was it what you wanted 5 years ago and you’ve forgotten to look up and check in since?
What can we expect to hear / see next?
I often feel I work so hard on something, only to get bored of it by the time it’s released and skip straight to the next thing. I’m definitely going to let Moods breathe for a little while, I want to bask in their glory for a few months before moving on to the next project! I’m planning a few live shows some new fun moods merch (think vinyls, mood rings, the lot!!!), really delving more into the concept of these multi-sensory universes for each mood. The sunshine is definitely not over yet!!!
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