Amy Louise – Urban Rebel Interview
Amy Louise is a Glasgow-based singer and songwriter with an empowering voice which she masterfully channels into her genre-blending, heart-on-sleeve original works.
Debut EP Picture on the Wall resonated amongst Glasgow’s bustling grassroots scene and ignited interest in Amy from Scottish promoters who soon filled her diary with bookings, including a breakout performance at King Tuts Summer Nights Festival. Soon after in 2024, Amy Louise was shortlisted for ‘Young Artist of the Year’ by the Scottish Live Music Awards.
Fired up on pure passion for her craft, Amy Louise now prepares to launch her debut UK tour in September 2025, and today releases new single ‘If I Was Her.’ Between tour prep mayhem and new music promo, we caught up with Amy to send her UR10Qs.
1. As an artist, how would you describe your sound? What or what inspires your music?
I’d describe my sound as dance/pop. I write pop ballads right up to EDM and house tracks, so you can cry and dance to my music! I have always listened to different genres of music growing up, especially with my Grandad, which influenced me to write in different styles. My biggest music inspirations at the moment are Becky Hill, Dua Lipa, Ben Hemsley and Camelphat.
2. ‘If I Was Her’ is your new single. Tell us about how this track came to be? What do you hope listeners gain/or feel when they hear it?
My new single ‘If I Was Her’ is an upbeat, edgy pop song which I originally wrote on keys from my bedroom. I sent a recording to my producer, Jamie DuGin, and we worked on it in Jamie’s studio in the Barrowlands in Glasgow! It was one of the most fun songs to work on, and I took a lot of inspiration from Tate McRae for this one. The story behind the lyrics is about being overlooked for another girl, which people may relate to, either from being in a relationship or friendship that has had rivalry or jealousy involved, a song that hopefully listeners can get their emotions out to and feel heard.
3. Do you ever face the dreaded writer’s block? If so, what do you do to overcome it?
I face writer’s block a lot! Some days I can write 2 or 3 songs in a day and other times I find I can’t write anything for weeks. It can be quite a draining feeling, but I try to not let it get to me too much as I now know it will pass and it’s just a temporary thing, so not focusing on it too much and taking myself away from it for a bit definitely helps.
4. You’re soon heading out on tour across the UK in September with some amazing stops in Edinburgh, Glasgow, London and our hometown Manchester! What is the idea behind the tour? What can we expect from the shows?
It still feels quite surreal that I’m going on a UK Tour this September! I’ve been writing a lot and have new unreleased music that I’ll be performing on tour, which I hope will attract new listeners and fans in Scotland, and outwith Scotland, to my music. I have also been working with a dancer Amy Espie, who has been doing choreography for my own music, which will be a completely new thing to add to my live performances and has been something I’ve wanted to do for a while! The shows will definitely be high energy but will also showcase the raw emotional songs and personal stories through my lyrics, which will showcase my own journey.
5. You’ve planned and coordinated the tour yourself, which is an impressive feat. What have been your biggest learnings from the experience so far?
Organising the tour completely by myself as an independent artist has been so much fun, and although it has been months and months of work, I’ve learned so much by contacting all the venues and support acts myself and have built personal relationships. I had my first venue confirmed in December last year, so I’ve learnt a lot about how much work goes into a tour and the work that goes into being a booker and promoter, as I’m seeing first-hand all the stuff that has to happen to make a tour possible. From contracts, deadlines, making tickets, etc. I think the most challenging thing about organising the tour is the fact that I just finished doing a full-time music degree course in June, so all the tour prep was happening while being a full-time student! So, it has been easier now that the tour is my full focus.
6. What’s your overall outlook on Scotland’s music scene at the moment? Particularly from a Pop/Dance perspective. Are there any fellow artists you recommend we check out?
I think Scotland’s music scene has grown and developed a lot over the last few years. It helps a lot to have independent promoters and radio stations that support up-and-coming artists and play their music on their show, or give an artist their first live opportunity. I’m very grateful for the independent promoters and local radio stations that have given me an opportunity, as it really makes a difference!
Especially being a young girl in the music industry, it’s always great to see promoters or other artists being inclusive and making it a safe environment for female artists. Just recently, Riley, who’s a country-pop artist from Glasgow, hosted a ‘Girls Girls Girls’ event at the iconic venue King Tuts in Glasgow and had an all-female panel of music industry professionals, it was such a lovely event, and the music industry definitely needs more people like her.
7. Who would be your dream artist (s) to collaborate with and why?
My dream artist to collaborate with is Ben Hemsley. It would be an absolute dream come true to make a song with him or do vocals for one of his. I saw him at SWG3 in Glasgow a couple of years ago, and he was amazing! I’ve been listening to his music long before I was able to actually go to one of his shows, as I wasn’t 18 yet! I’m experimenting more in the dance genre, and it would be so cool to write/sing on a trance or EDM track with Ben Hemsley.
8. Is there one song/album or artist from your teenage years which stands out? And why?
An artist that stands out from my teenage years is Camelphat. I would listen to tracks like ‘Be Someone’ and ‘Breathe’ on Soundcloud when I was walking to school and couldn’t wait until I turned 18 so I could see them live! I’m finally getting the chance to see them this year, now I’m 20, at SWG3 Galvanizers in August, and I can’t wait!!
9. It’s the last party on earth; the crowd are shouting, “One more tune”. What track do you play as your encore finale?
If it were the last party on earth, I’d perform my song ‘Change the Ending’ as the encore finale song, as it’s a fun EDM track that would get everyone dancing and is my favourite song to perform live.
10.Finally, where do you hope to see your music career in five years time? Aim for the stars on this one!
I hope to see my music career grow in the next five years and have a fan base of people who like and can relate to my music and see me perform live! I hope to have performed at TRNSMT Festival as that would be the dream festival to perform at and have sold-out shows!
Follow Amy Louise on Instagram, Spotify, Apple Music.
Previious UR 10 Qs: Yves v