Profile: Lydia Shute – singer/songwriter
Monday 01 July 2024
LIPA Music graduate Lydia Shute (2023) has reached the final 10 of the Song Academy’s Young Songwriter 2024 competition.
Now in its 14th year, Young Songwriter 2024 is the world’s leading competition for songwriters aged under 23 years old, with industry leaders judging material based on its melody, lyrical content, structure, originality and commercial appeal.
We caught up with Lydia to talk about the competition and her nominated song Close.
Congratulations on reaching the final 10. Could you tell us about your song, Close and why you think it resonated with the judges?
Thank you! I wrote the song in my first year at LIPA which was during COVID and so we were doing everything online which was really difficult. I wrote it when I realised that I wanted more than friendship with one of my closest friends at the time but didn’t want to admit it in case they didn’t feel the same way and it ruined the friendship we already had. I really hadn’t had the chance to meet many people in person which just meant that the few friends I had made were really important and the only people outside of my flat that I interacted with. The song came from a place of really mixed emotions and the lyrics feel very intimate to me, so I’d like to hope that this vulnerability and honesty made it stand out in the competition.
I only submitted a demo of the song for the competition and have been working with Alex Dopierala and Shell Harris at The Inscape to fully produce the song. Making music with them for the past few years has been so much fun, and Close has turned out exactly how I had imagined it, with the vocal arrangement and production completely bringing my vocal to life.
Who have been the most important musical influences in your life, and how have they impacted your own development as a singer-songwriter?
Some of my favourite artists to listen to as well as reference are Gracie Abrams, Holly Humberstone, Billie Eilish, Lizzy McAlpine and Griff. They are all painfully honest writers which is something I am really drawn to, but often take the song in a different direction through the production which I think is so cool. Listening to their music has just taught me to be honest as well, and that while lyrics can be complicated and have lots of different meanings, sometimes writing more simplistically is just as good. I’ve also realised that not every song needs to come from a place of huge emotion, and it’s really fun to be a bit more relaxed and carefree about it.
Looking back at your time at LIPA, what were the most useful things you learnt?
It was amazing to be constantly surrounded by such talented and driven musicians and friends from the beginning, but I also found this incredibly intimidating. It took me a while to realise that I did have a place here and to start believing in my own abilities, but I felt nothing but support and kindness from my tutors throughout my time at LIPA. They played a huge part in my growth as an artist and helping me to find the confidence and identity that has allowed me to continue my artist project alone for the past year since graduating.
What’s next for you?
I’ve only released one song onto streaming platforms so far called Turn Off Your Feelings which was so exciting, and I plan to follow this up with Close this summer and a couple of other songs I’ve been working on. I’ve been performing a lot as part of Tom Lloyd’s band which I love, but also have some more solo gigs coming up, the next one being The Narrative (a Culture Liverpool supported songwriter showcase) on July 2nd at Arts Bar, Hope Street, which is an event I love attending and am really excited to perform at.
I’m really active on TikTok and Instagram right now with lots of music content and other things that I’ve been doing, so if you want to keep up with everything I’m doing then those are the best places to find me!
The shortlist for Young Songwriter 2024 will be reduced from 10 to five songs on 11July, with the winner announced on 21 September.
