Billy Lockett conquers former demons on new EP Reflections

Lockett talks about making his new EP Reflections and gives a track-by-track breakdown of the new record.
Reflections by Billy Lockett is out now.Reflections by Billy Lockett is out now.
Reflections by Billy Lockett is out now.

Billy Lockett is back with his new EP Reflections, his first collection of new music since last year’s instrumental classical album and his first physical release.

The six track EP was released on Friday and for Lockett, Reflections is a record which he says rids him of his past demons, admitting he’s finally happier and healthier than ever.

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While the Northampton singer songwriter has experienced significant successes in recent years which have included sold out gigs across the UK, a tour across Europe’s arenas with ELO and a performance in America on The Late Late Show With James Corden, Lockett admits his life was spiralling in a dangerous direction.

“The record is six different moments in that dark place,” he explains.

“I think I realised everything around me was falling apart. My relationship had broken down and I’d split up with my management and the label thing had gone wrong.

“There were other things besides what I was doing, but a hell of a lot of it was me being in a very bad place.

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“All the songs I was writing, I didn't know at the time, but they were all explaining that in some way.”

Reflections, which is available digitally and on CD now with a vinyl version set for release at some point in the future, is Lockett’s third EP, following 2015’s Burn It Down and 2019’s Reset.

In the last four years, Lockett explains he has written hundreds of songs – with the six on Reflections his best.

It’s just over 12 months since he headlined the Roadmender in Northampton as part of his UK tour.

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The following date in London was his last ‘live’ performance with venues closing shortly after because of the coronavirus.

In the past 12 months, Lockett has performed socially distanced shows for fans and performed online.

While you may assume, not being able to tour and perform would be a negative, for Lockett, there’s been positives to lockdown.

“Lockdown has got me sober, it's got me working well, my relationship is back together and I've got new management,” he explains. “I'm fitter and healthier and happier. It's brilliant.

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“I’d basically been on tour for the last four years of my life nonstop.

“It was probably partly the reason I had a drug problem and probably part of the reason my relationship broke down.

“It's been nice to just fix everything and have some time off.

“Don't get me wrong, I can't wait to get back on tour, but it's going to be interesting doing that with a new mind.

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“In lockdown I made a classical album, I've done some drum n' bass with Dimension and now we've got this EP. Lockdown has given me some time to actually just enjoy music again.”

Lockett jokes that he hopes this mindset doesn’t take a toll on his music because “misery is a really good tool for writing songs”.

However, he adds: “It doesn't really matter whether it's sad or happy as long as it's quality and as I'm really making sure the choruses are ‘hooky’ and lyrics are honest and meaningful - it doesn't really matter what place I'm in.

“This EP is a way of just locking it all in, saying ‘that's documented’ - now I can move on.

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“This EP is the final part of me getting rid of all the demons from the past basically.”

Since its release on Friday, Reflections is featuring in numerous different charts and is currently number one in the UK iTunes store’s Singer / Songwriter Music Albums Charts and 19 in the UK iTunes Store’s Top Music Albums Charts.

Hundreds of fans have brought signed copies of Reflections and the EP is available to stream via regular streaming platforms.

The CD is available direct from Lockett but also major and independent retailers.

For more information, visit https://www.billylockett.com

Billy Lockett’s ‘track-by-track’ guide to his new EP.

Wasting Time

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“This is a breakup song. It was written at a time when things with me and Kirsten were going very wrong.

“Thankfully, we’re back together now, but it was a time when our lives were going in different directions.

“Mine was going down a pretty dark direction and I kind of just wanted to throw my life away.

“You know, when you go through those patches in your life and you think, ‘everything's brilliant - let's ruin it’, It was that.

“It's a heartbreak song and was the first single.

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“I don't want to say 'safe', but its' exactly what I do and I felt like I needed to open the EP on another piano ballad, because that's essentially my roots.”

Don't Mean A Thing

“This is about my dad and it’s the first song that I think I've written about him and released where I think I've said everything I want to say.

“It’s kind of about the idea that I don't know whether he can hear what I’m saying or whether he's watching over me anyway. It’s nice to think that he is.

“I think a lot of people are going to relate to it. Essentially again it is piano and vocal. These first two tracks I produced myself and it was me just sort of finding my feet with production in a way as well.”

Begging

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“Probably the best thing I've ever written in my life. It's produced by Lost Boy who is one of the biggest producers around at the moment.

“We wrote this about a year and a half ago and as soon as we wrote it, I sent it to the label and they were 'like this is incredible'.

“Everyone loved it, but obviously people listened to it so many times they ended up hating it.

“Begging is the standout track. I can't do anything better than that, I've put all my cards on the table there.”

In Between

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"If I'm honest, this is very much a song for me. It's not a single. It's not going to change the world in any way, but I just like it and it's a dark, cool ballad in quite a dark key.

“I wrote it with Blair MacKichan who is a huge songwriter. I went to his house for a few days and this is what came out from a hangover.

“It’s very slow and depressing, but also beautiful.

“The song is kind of saying, ‘you don't want to be stuck in between being with someone and not being with someone’. It’s kind of like all or nothing.”

Talk

“Talk is my first ever duet with Violet Skies. It’s not a collaboration, not a feature, it's a duet. It's very much both of our song.

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“We wrote it together. Initially it was supposed to just be for me but then she was singing it in the writing room, just singing the second verse to try something, and I was just like, 'God, that sounds amazing'. I put my vocal on and it just works perfectly.

“Her voice is amazing and we've been sitting on this song again for about a year and a half, it's another I wanted to release for a long time.

“It’s a really nice sentiment about being able to open up and not bottle things inside and I think that's a really important thing everyone needs to be thinking about at the moment, especially with lockdown.

“There's a lot of problems in people's minds and I think this song says, ‘it’s OK to talk’ about these things.”

Silence

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“This I wrote seven years ago with one of my mates Phil Clark who's a producer from Northampton.

“We wrote this when we were kids and it was the first song that got us a bit of label interest.

“It was written in the same cellar that we ended up going back to and remaking it in seven years later.

“It's definitely the most produced on the EP and it has a lot more of a ‘Weekend’ vibe to it.

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“I love it, but it's not so much ‘me’ if I'm being honest. I think people, if they're really into me, might think this isn’t for them, but this is me trying to get into a different world. It’s still really cool.”