"Life Changed!" Billy Nomates On Maintaining Independence During The Pandemic
Talking her new EP, creativity, and finding a support network...
Tor Maries’ rapid rise to recognition is in large part due to her endearing humility. An artist closely connected with their fan base; Maries’ project *Billy Nomates *has bloomed tremendously in the last year. Planting her heels in British music as a firm frontrunner.
On surface level Maries is a giggly, somewhat shy artist. Her faded mop of blue mullet sticking out from every direction, swaying to and fro as she speaks, gives Maries a cartoonish quality. An enigmatic presence felt through the screen. Her honesty and willingness to share each step of the creative process with her audience is what sets Billy Nomates apart – taking the “necessary evils” of social media and warping it into her own positive space.
For an artist whose profile rose during a pandemic, Maries has taken the hardships of the last year on as fuel for her verbal fire. Billy Nomates is the modern-day artist – navigating the new terrain post global disaster.
‘Emergency Telephone’ is a commentary on communication breakdown in every avenue of life. Maries took this year of unavoidable introspection as a “kind of playtime” and the result is a fantastic example of what Billy Nomates has to offer.
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*Has life changed for you much since the release of your debut?*
I don’t know really. Life changed mainly because my job finished and I had to move into my dad’s spare room because we lost the tour. Things changed. I don’t know if its necessarily a positive thing.
*What did you do before?*
I was working just part time not doing anything special. I was doing Billy Nomates a couple of days a week and then the pandemic hit. I still feel like that transition is happening. Even though I’ve just released a second record in this whole thing, it still feels like I’m waiting for something else even though things are happening. Because you don’t see anyone, it’s really hard to gage. You become a bit unaware of stuff.
*What is it like playing to empty rooms for live streamed sets? Can you get in the same zone?*
I’ve been in bands before Billy Nomates that played to nobody! It is strange but at the same time it’s weirdly become normal because I’d only done so many gigs as Billy Nomates before this pandemic happened. I’ve done a few bits for TV and the stream the other day (Live at The Louisiana). I don’t know! It does feel strange, but you can kind of see it as ‘ok well we’re just doing a recorded performance. It’s just a different medium’.
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*Is it fun being able to curate the performance more? Are streams not as cut-throat as live performing?*
Definitely. Why wouldn’t you play around with it? Not all but some live streams unfortunately are quite boring to watch! I feel like it is an opportunity to play with the way things look. Make it more of a performance piece for screen.
I think some people haven’t really played with (live streams). I completely understand and respect that decision like ‘not till its back are we bothering’. I think you’re lucky if you’re in that position. If you don’t need to do anything then good for you but some of us need to!
*Do you prefer recording as a solo artist or do you miss your time in bands?*
It’s nice to share! It’s different. I do prefer it in all honesty because I feel like my intuition as a writer has become stronger for it. You have to just go on your gut instinct and it’s hard to do that in bands because there’s seven different opinions sometimes. To follow that is empowering.
This is exactly what’s in my head and I’ve played it exactly as I thought. It is nice, also terrifying, don’t get me wrong it’s actually terrifying.
Anything good you can say ‘yeah, that was me!’ Anything bad ‘yeah… yeah that was me’. You have to take ownership of everything good and everything bad. That’s the lesson. That’s definitely been a lesson. I do enjoy it. I’m glad it’s turned out this way.
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*Do you feel more confident in yourself as a musician as a result of your quick rise to success? Your name appears to be everywhere.*
‘Are people talking about me?’ I suppose so! It’s like with social media, it’s equal parts good and bad. People are saying nice things? That’s great. People say bad things? Ok. They tend to come hand in hand so. I try not to be too impressed or disheartened by either.
Something I’ve learned over the past year because originally I was not that way. It is a massive confidence boost to see the records do well or to hear people talk about things or when they tell you how much they enjoyed stuff. That’s when you go ‘that’s cool, maybe I’ve done something right’.
*The EP is about communication breakdowns in a time of such interconnected culture. Do you think we need to take more time away from our phones and do you think the pandemic offered that for us?*
I’ve had no choice but to be quite connected to (social media) through conversations or having to promote things for the record. It being your own kind of medium and window into the world.
I actually really do hope people want to come off (social media) after the pandemic. I mean you need it. I’ve always called it a necessary evil.
I try and keep control of most of my channels and have conversations with people. I really enjoy people saying things or showing pictures when they get the vinyl. That’s really nice. It’s the 24/7 element to it that I think is just ravaging people.
Or when people get behind artists, like with ‘Get Mogwai to number one’. They got to number one! That sense of community with it is great.
*Is Billy Nomates a personal rebellion against your experiences in bands. Going rogue on your own?*
Oh yeah! The original album was definitely a ‘fuck you’. I hope that sense of revenge comes through. When I look back now those experiences were all really good experiences in the fact that I learned a lot about some men’s attitudes to women in the industry.
Now I’ve made some really great connections with guys in the music industry. I don’t want to generalise that ‘all men are rubbish’ because they’re not. I did have some rubbish experiences, but they were all useful in forming my confidence around Billy Nomates. I’m grateful for them, for that.
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*Has it been quite liberating to work alongside men who respect you and want to bring out the best in you?*
Working with sleaford mods is super cool! It’s sleaford mods! It’s been amazing and they’re just incredibly supportive and they have been from day 1. They are one of those bands that are really empowering for if you identify as working class or anyone that feels a bit pushed out.- I’m just a massive fan!
*Do you think your songwriting style has changed given the events of the last year?*
I think maybe it has. Some people have said the EP is quite a shift. - Maybe it’s a bit more melodic. But then I feel like the first album played with melody a lot. I hope that the more I go on, with the second album, people will go 'Oh!' I think it’s a good thing to change as an artist.
*What was the turnaround for ‘Emergency Telephone’?*
It was a really quick turnaround. I started writing in October and finished it first week of November. That just came from going into winter. Tours were still looking pretty far away. I wanted to just create something. My way of contributing something into this arena.
*Are you enjoying some post release downtime?*
Downtime?! What’s downtime?! I have no idea what downtime is! - I’m going hard into second album mode. It’s going to be a much longer process. I’m equally kind of fired up and excited about. We’re gonna come out of lockdown! Maybe go and see someone in a garden or something. Go to a shop. It’s up there with making the album. A bit of freedom. A bit of reality.
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'Emergency Telephone' EP is out now.
Words: *Amelia Lloyd*
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