Stealing Sheep: Blueprint for Success
Prepare yourself for a weekend celebrating art, music, dance and performance across Liverpool. Getting proceedings underway with a bang, the Blueprint Festival welcomes indie-folk darlings, Stealing Sheep to the party…
Tate Collective’s Sumuyya Khader caught up with Becky Hawley, Emily Lansley and Lucy Mercer for a chat about what they’ve been up to.
You mentioned that you’re heading to the studio later today; can you reveal what you are currently working on?
Lucy: Yes we’ve recently written our second album and are now busy recording it and that’s pretty exciting. Looking to get it out next year.
Emily: Maybe for February-ish next year
Lucy: Yeah, hopefully in one of the months!
You’ve recently performed as part of In Dreams: David Lynch Revisited at the Barbican. How did that come about?
Emily: Last year we met David Coulter who worked with Beck on SongBook and we learnt two songs and did them in our own style, collaborating with David Coulter and Ed Harcourt, and we really enjoyed working with them … this year he thought of us while compiling a night at the Barbican to do the David Lynch. We had a great time working with him and hopefully he felt the same working with us.
As part of Blueprint we are trying to collaborate with creatives already in the city. What is it like having that creative platform and venues in Liverpool with places like the Kazimier and Mello Mello? Does it help in terms of support?
Lucy: Yes it definitely helps, and everyone is creative within our little circle so we are egging each other on and supporting each other. It’s all good.
Emily: We collaborate and help each other out so it creates a network of people and a scene, hopefully not an exclusive scene.
Lucy: It’s good having like-minded people about but you have to be careful it doesn’t get too insular.
You are performing in Tate on Friday, and we have the Biennial happening in the city until October. Have you had a chance to check any of it out yet?
Emily: I’ve been to see some things at FACT and to The Old Blind School, which was also the old Trade Union building. I’ve really enjoyed it so far and I’ve been to Tate quite a few times so we know the building.
What do you have planned for your performance at Tate, is there anything special you have in mind?
Becky: We were thinking of some Mondrian costumes using red yellow and blue!
As part of the festival we’re looking at creating a network of people we don’t lose touch with. Would a future collaboration with Tate Collective or other young groups be something you would consider?
Emily: Yes, definitely. But really interested and open into doing more things like that, music and art together.
Becky: It’s good to feed the music.
Emily: I was with someone who mentioned music and artwork and I said art being music and they were like no. They didn’t like that notion of it being the same thing.
Lucy: All the same flow.
Sumuyya Khader
Image © Tate Liverpool
Blueprint is a three day festival of art, music, dance and performance taking place @ Tate Liverpool and across the city
