Illinois Entertainer May 2021 | Page 12

FOXES of creativity that I had in the beginning , and it was produced in the same way .

— what are you on about ?” So I really resonate with that , and I think lots of women do . And it ’ s a real shame . So I ’ m finally speaking out now , too , about my experiences , just to make people aware of the kind of treatment women go through . It ’ s just not right .
IE : It must be tough to not only retain your sense of identity in showbiz but your spirituality , as well . Foxes : Yeah . I think if you ’ re creative and sensitive and all these things , it ’ s like they

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Foxes , 2017
IE : Hannah Reid from London Grammar has recently revealed all the sexist ‘ Mansplaining ’ she ’ s been forced to hear whenever she voiced a technical opinion in the studio or at soundcheck . Condescension never suffered by her male bandmates . Does your song “ Woman ” touch on that ? Foxes : Totally , It does , yeah . And it ’ s interesting what Hannah experienced because it was always weird for me because I ’ m not in a group — I don ’ t have anyone else , I ’ m not in a band . So definitely , experiencing that kind of treatment is really bizarre when you ’ re the artist , and it ’ s just you , and there ’ s no one else there . And ( studio ) people are going , “ So this is what we ’ re going to do ,” and you ’ re like , “ Hang on a minute
actually don ’ t go very well with the music industry , which is such a strange thing to consider . Because there ’ s actually a lot of vulnerability in a lot of artists , and it can be quite damaging in the music industry . To be able to put art out into the world and have people listen to it ? That ’ s totally vulnerable . And I ’ m someone who ’ s actually quite an introvert , and I used to have social anxiety . I ’ d get quite nervous about situations , so it ’ s quite interesting that that kind of personality that I am is kind of able to expose myself so massively and still be able to deal with it .
IE : My motto is , Everybody has an agenda , and it rarely includes you . Get used to it . Foxes : Yeah , yeah . And it ’ s a shame that you have to kind of learn that the hard way in
this industry . I definitely went in very naive and made friends with as many people as possible , and I thought these were real friendships and that everyone had my back . But no — it ’ s very much a jungle out there , and you see a lot of strange things . And a lot of these people , they PRETEND they ’ re your friends , but they ’ re keeping you on their side so they think they can get away with anything . And at the end of 2016 , I just realized that a lot of these people weren ’ t listening to me , and I didn ’ t have a voice , and it wasn ’ t about me as an artist anymore or the music . It was about trying to create this OTHER thing that could make them money , and it ’ s just totally soulless . So you definitely have to get away from that kind of bullshit .
IE : And there went the idea for Foxes promotional glow-in-the-dark yo-yo ’ s . Foxes : Ha ! And you ’ re like , “ What the fuck ?” And before you know it , you ’ re selling yo-yo ’ s , and you ’ re not knowing what ’ s going on , and you ’ re not even in control of it . So it was for me all about taking back control . And I didn ’ t care in the end about how famous or successful I could be — I had to get back to why I ’ m doing this and feel the love for it again .
IE : Is there a real “ Kathleen ”? And what advice did she give you ? Foxes : Yeah — that ’ s my grandma . And advice ? Well , everything in the song , really . Iwas going through a breakup … well , actually , going through anything , I ’ d use her as
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