Honey Gentry took some time to answer our questions about her music and your songwriting process. Let’s see what she has to say!
First off, What’s up with your name? Is there a story behind it?
I had actually already written all of the songs that would eventually form the Moonlight EP – and I noticed that the word “Honey” was a recurring theme in the lyrics which wasn’t conscious or intentional.
Once I had settled on it, I liked the way “Honey Gentry” sounded, sort of lyrical romantic words with a nod to the intriguing story of Bobbie Gentry, who achieved what looked like a dream life and then gave it all away never to be heard from again.
Tell us about your musical past, would you tell us about your early years?
When I was growing up I consumed music obsessively, my favourite bands and artists really shaped my identity when I was younger. I remember my first day in secondary school making my first friends based on which bands we liked.
I secretly had aspirations to make music, and I sort of knew on some level that I would even though I didn’t have a clue how to start. I had dreams of being in a band but I was too introverted about my aspirations that I didn’t even want to tell my musician friends!
My dad introduced me to a lot of the music he loved growing up as well – even taking me to see Rush (his pick) and Iron Maiden (mine) and, like a good sport, Good Charlotte (definitely my pick) a few times too. He bought me my tickets to see Nine Inch Nails but I took one of my good friends to that show.
I went to shows with my mum and sister too – we’d go to arena shows for artists like Taylor Swift or Lady Gaga (with whom I was obsessed for years and have seen probably 5 or 6 times at this point). I’m grateful to have grown up so close to London’s amazing stadiums and arenas because it meant this was accessible to me and I know that’s not the case for everyone. My all time favourite band were My Chemical Romance and I finally got to see them live last year which was so special to me. So really I spent my teen years thinking about music I loved, fantasising about making my own. I wasn’t really interested in much else in the same way.
How would you describe your sound?
Emotionally, I’d say it’s like laying in a lush green field on a warm summer’s day under the shade of a huge old oak tree. You’re looking up at the tree counting the leaves or wondering how many others have sat in the same spot. Maybe a bird flies by.
Or, you’re driving along a coastal road in the early morning with your best friend in the whole world and you’re wondering how you can freeze the moment in time. Your heart breaks when you realise you can’t but that’s the beauty of it.
Sonically, I’d say, swelling and sparkling synths, muted piano and orchestration define my sound. Introspection, nostalgia and being sort of amazed at and weirded out by life, define my lyrics.
Which artists have the biggest influence on your sound?
Lana Del Rey for sure – a big inspiration for me in regards to working from my heart first and foremost.
Kate Bush – especially in regards to having the bravery to own the production as well as the lyrics and melodies.
Nicole Dollanganger – especially when I started out I was hugely inspired by Nicole and what can be achieved by independent artists with what I thought was a similar approach to me, in the internet era. Again I think it comes back to doing what is true to you. The fact I’ve now connected with her is so special to me.
Joywave is a huge influence on me and really inspired me to push what I did with my music sonically. And honestly one of my favourite shows I’ve ever been to was Joywave at the Sebright Arms.
Tori Amos inspires me hugely lyrically – her vulnerability and honesty is a gift.
Weyes Blood for her mature and lush sound.
Sufjan Stevens is another huge influence for me as an independent artist. His work is transcendent.
What’s the last song you listened to?
Swerve City by Deftones – have been listening to a lot of my boyfriend’s playlists lately! We have a similar taste but where I tend to listen to the artists I know and love, and will dive into albums on repeat for years, he branches out a lot more than I do. I hear a lot of new-to-me artists through him.
What’s your source for hearing new music?
Usually friends and personal recommendations! I follow a lot of great journalists and industry folks on social media so I also check out the artists they are writing about or covering if I see them on my feed.
I also love hearing music in a movie and falling in love with an artist that way. Pretty sure that’s how I discovered Lykke Li back in the day!
Who is your dream producer?
I was going to say Kate Bush, because she’s my number one influence when it comes to producing my own work and shaping the world of my music.
But actually, I think it would be Bjork. The other day I watched an old interview with her on Twitter from the 90s, where she talked about how people were saying electronic music had no soul because it’s made with computers.
She said something like, “if it has no soul, it’s because nobody put it there”. And I sort of haven’t stopped thinking about that since, especially because everything I produce is done with Midi.
And I’m sort of intrigued about what the future of music production will look like as we develop new ways of working with tech; I feel like someone who has the attitude that it’s humans as artists who put soul into music – because of course it is! – will be great to take the lead on new tech in music production rather than try and fight or shy away from the change it may bring.
If you could collaborate with anyone, who would it be?
Probably Sufjan Stevens or Trent Reznor
What led you to music, and what motivates you to keep making it?
Music was a big part of my childhood, both of my parents had music on pretty constantly. When I was at home with my mum we had the radio on in the mornings when my sister and I would be getting ready for school and my mum ready for work.
Her radio station of choice was Heart 106.2 (still remember the little jingle!) and I remember a lot of disco and club classics and throwback hits.
When I’d spend time with my dad we’d be in the car a lot so it was more of a time to listen to albums; and he introduced us to No Doubt and Kate Bush; we had Madonna’s Music on repeat or Kylie’s Fever; as we got older we’d listen to bands like Led Zeppelin and Heart.
So music wasn’t something I had discovered on my own, it was very much a part of life.
With regards to what motivates me to keep making it, that’s actually a super interesting question and one I have reflected on a lot in recent years. I think the simple answer is that I have to. I took a year off from writing and producing in 2022 – I worked on a project here and there but really gave myself permission to explore other things for a bit, started a new job and allowed music not to be my sole focus.
As much as I love other aspects of my life, making music is such a core part of who I am that I really noticed its absence when I stopped.
Tell us about the songwriting process. How does it all come together?
It generally varies based on what the song calls for. I feel like my strongest songs come when they are lyrics first and maybe some very simple chords just to help the melody along.
Sometimes, I’ll sit at the keyboard with only a line or an image in mind, and something just flows, it forms in real time and then whole song is written – that’s how Different Water came to be.
Sometimes, it’ll be that I write the lyrics out first with barely a melody to match, only the rhythm; and I craft the music later – that’s how Nebula was born.
Other times I produce a whole song before it’s even got lyrics that work and then I’ll write lyrics and find they work perfectly for the piece I have. That’s how I wrote Under Taurus.
So without realising it, this EP was an exercise in exploring all of those approaches that I’ve used over the years and perhaps that’s because I had taken a break for a while so I was trying to remember what worked best for me.
There’s definitely not only one way to write a song and that’s freeing. There’s only one time that a song started life intended to be a poem and nothing more, and that was Aphrodite. I think there’s something kind of strange and special about that.
How do you connect with your audience? What is the easiest way for them to connect with you?
Generally the best way is Instagram (instagram.com/honey.gentry), and I can be found on most social media and I try to keep on top of messages and comments as best I can; but, I also write letters and notes when people purchase physical items from my bandcamp page – so that’s kind of a nice connection too. I like it when people write back!
💌 𝓱.𝓰. 🕊️ (@honey.gentry) • Instagram photos and videos
𝒽.𝑔. (@honey_gentry) / Twitter
Merch | Honey Gentry (bandcamp.com)
What’s next for you?
My new EP, Different Water is out 23 May – it’s my first release via AWAL and it’ll be out on all digital platforms. In the meantime I’m starting to work on the next!
Anything else you’d like to add or let us know about?
As well as the digital EP release I’m also running a Qrates campaign for the EP which is live until 1 June – so hopefully a physical pressing will follow! That can be found here: https://qrates.com/projects/28953-different-water-ep.
