Läpsley on Young Success and Mental Health
Låpsley, real name Holly Fletcher, is a British musician from Liverpool, who has amazed audiences across the world with her spacious, synth pop sound. At only 23, her young age is not an indication of her successful career, with her second album Through Water scheduled for release March 20th. However, with so much success coming to her at a young age, Låpsley has struggled with balancing the complexities of growing up with the pressures of fame. Backyard Opera was able to talk to Låpsley about her early career, the toll this took on her mental health and how she found balance for this new album.
“I was looking back at pictures of me,” explained Låpsley, “because the (first) album came out four years ago and I was like ‘ooo you didn’t look that well then’. I kind of wanted to give the old me a hug.”
Music as a passion didn’t come to Låpsley as easily as many would think. Playing a range of instruments in school, like piano, oboe, guitar and drums, she never had a real passion for any of them. When Spotify came out in 2013, her passion was ignited as music streaming allowed Låpsley to listen and take in as much music as possible. From there she began making tracks on Garageband, uploading them to Soundcloud and finding immediate success at only 16. This led to her first album, Long Way Home, which she released at age 19 in 2016. She cites Jack Green, Bon Iver and early James Blake as key influences, as well as the disco nights she hosted in Liverpool, which directly lead to her hit single “Operator”. The album was an immediate success, launching Låpsley into stardom.
“Being able to travel around the world at that age is such a privilege,” said Låpsley. “Writing that record and touring it was a highlight. To have people who are there that support you and believe in you as an early artist is incredible. That fact that those people are still there now, amazing.”
While this young success was welcomed, the intensity of being on the road took its toll. Describing this time as a “constant party”, Låpsley believes it wasn’t just the fame that was burning her out, but also her uncertainty as a teenager.
“It’s a very strange life,” said Låpsley, “especially if you struggle with mental health like I did. You end up just struggling sometimes. And then as a young person, you don’t necessarily know how to ask for help or you feel guilty or whatever. There’s a lot of pressure that you put on yourself because you realise you’re in such a good position. I realise with age, it wasn’t just the lifestyle I had, but also feeling a bit lost as a teenager. I do look back and wish I wasn’t so harsh on myself”
She started to feel unhappy on tour, knowing she wasn’t giving it her 100%. Dealing with anxiety on top of all of this, she had lost her passion for music, not wanting to even listen to music because the confidence in her own music had hit rock bottom. This meant that listening to others became a source of anxiety. This resulted in a year hiatus, not wanting to return to music unless it was on her own terms. She moved away from the industry, to Manchester, and reconnected with her friends and family. She even began some volunteer work.
“The antidote to being so in your own head is to help others,” explained Låpsley. “That’s what I felt like I needed to do. I wasn’t 100% happy and I needed to know why. To go on, I needed to understand the foundation and the building blocks from which I exist from. It was a strange period, not really listening to music, going to gigs, writing. Just kind of taking myself away. It was dark, but it resulted in so much light.”
One day, she found herself impulsively walking into a music store and buying a studio set up. In order to justify the impulsive purchase, she wrote a song. That song is the new album’s lead single “Womxn”, which she wrote from the perspective of “a version of her that did know shit”.
“It was about this happiness and this strength and this confidence that I just didn’t have”, said Låpsley. “A few years down the line, that song was my present. It had gone from something I didn’t believe in to everything I believed in.”
Suddenly, she was back writing music, channelling the creativity that had made her such a young success. Now with a passion for music and a maturity for life’s hardships, Låpsley was ready to come back to the industry. Through humility and understanding her own mental health issues, she can now navigate the music scene without it hurting her love for it. Her new album, Through Water, is out 20th March via XL Recordings. Listen to “Womxn” below.
