Quinny On New Single ‘Settlers’
Scottish-born, Melbourne-based artist Quinny weaves warmth into wistful, driving indie folk via his brand new single Settlers out in the world now. Previously renowned for his tongue-in-cheek Christmas sonic creations, as well as strangers frequently mistaking him for Ed Sheeran in public, Quinny’s brand new single showcases his absorbing creative flair, as does the accompanying video for Settlers also out now.
Penned in rural Maine in America during 2022 alongside friends Marie Collins (The Vegan Leather) and Hannah Daman, Settlers was given its finishing touches courtesy of Graham McCusker, a composer for BBC’s His Dark Materials and lead artist in Glasgow/Manchester bands KAZE and Marouli. Recording in Scotland with Robin Evans (Dodgy & The View), Settlers embraced many of Quinny’s musical muses while also capturing the poignant heartache that accompanies disappointment.
How has the build-up been leading up to the release of Settlers?
It’s been an interesting one! Lots of incredible moments of collaborating with different people, but the production of this song has been alongside a good amount of personal loss and illness amongst the team of friends who were working on it. It’s interesting to reflect on it all now that we’re here.
Was the process of making your single as challenging as you thought?
Creatively, it was probably my favourite process yet. I got to be together with some of my oldest and closets co-creators to make something and we did it all better than ever. I’m trying to do things “properly” for the first time though, and that presents the real challenge – Money!
Sonically, how would you describe your music?
I like to think of my music as a bit of a Venn diagram of the 4 B’s – The Beatles, Biffy Clyro, Bombay Bicycle Club and Blink-182. Funnily enough, I also got a B for music in high school.
Who would you consider to be the biggest influence on your music and why?
Mostly it’s the musicians I surround myself by. Settlers is a great example of what I can achieve when I stand on the shoulders of my friends – in this case Marie Collins, Hannah Daman, Graham McCusker, Martin Tormey and my brother Martin Quinn.
Best piece of advice you have been given?
A pretty basic song writing principle, but it’s always worth going back to: “Show Don’t Tell”. This basically means that you should paint the picture and let the listener see what’s going on for themselves, rather than spell it out for them.
What is the “Quinny” life story?
Where do we start!? I was born in Paisley, Scotland. Quinny is my high school nickname, so I’m probably a bit old to be still using it. I started working on this solo project in perhaps 2011 or so, after trying to start a new band but struggling to find permanent members. Weirdly, that’s now grown into an international network of band mates I can call upon depending on where I am.
I released my first EP in 2013 (Read All the Rumours) and then did a solo tour of America that year, following a generous, anonymous donation of £1,000 while I was busking in Glasgow. I moved to London in 2014 and ultimately took a bit of a break from music until 2018 when I started to release yearly Xmas singles, which sort of got me back into the game. Richard Wilson from One Foot in the Grave and Merlin appeared in one of my Xmas music videos actually.
I moved to Melbourne in 2020 (great timing) after doing over a year of long distance with my Aussie girlfriend. And now we’re here!
Are you looking to tour more broadly?
I’d love to tour Australia – particularly going round the regional towns. Hard when I don’t have much of a name though. I’m working on it.
What’s next for you?
Well I’m releasing an album later in the year, and this is just the first single. So it’s going to be a bit jam packed for the rest of the year!
Who’s your favourite Adelaide artist/group at the moment?
Well it has to be Cold Chisel right? Jimmy B’s from Glasgow!
Interview By Rob Lyon
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