Bess Atwell Is Sleeping Light

English indie-folk artist Bess Atwell broke through in 2024 with the release of her acclaimed third album Light Sleeper. Performing at WOMADeliade this weekend as part of her Australian tour, we chatted with Atwell about her creative process, relationship with honesty and performing in Australia.

Words by Zara Richards

Image supplied

Going back to the beginning, what artists inspired you to get into songwriting growing up?

I was very inspired by folk-leaning artists, such as Johnny Flynn and Fleet Foxes. I loved the transportive nature of that lush, organic sound.

Congratulations on the release of Light Sleeper! It’s a wonderful record. Walk us through the building process – how have you evolved as an artist between the release of this record and your previous work? What inspires you as an artist now?

Thanks! It was a very organic process. After the previous record, I began writing again fairly quickly, just about what was going on in my life during that time, and eventually I realised I had another album on my hands. I was playing around with guitar tunings which really helped boost my creativity and keep things feeling fresh. Comparing the process to the last record I guess I’ve become more accepting of my songs/creative output and less judgemental.

Tell us more about your relationship with songwriting – is that a part of your brain you are able to shut off or do you find you’re always collecting inspiration? When do you feel most motivated to write?

These days I find it harder to open up that part of my brain than to shut it off. I always have one ear out for a nice lyric or turn of phrase, but I’m not always writing music. My songwriting brain does seem to have an on/off switch. I’m just unable to control it. I’m only really a songwriter for a couple months out of the year and in those months I’ll write a lot, but the rest of the time I just don’t. I’m definitely not a disciplined songwriter and I can’t force myself to write, my brain just doesn’t work like that unfortunately. My songs are mostly autobiographical so I feel most motivated to write when I’ve been through something significant and had time to process it.

Light Sleeper captures your experience coming off antidepressants, embracing life in its complexity and allowing yourself space to feel. It’s incredibly poignant and goes to great lengths to help people who’ve experienced similar pathways feel less alone. In retrospect, almost a year from its release, what are you most proud about on this album?

That means a lot, thank you. That’s all I wanted it to do, so I suppose I’m proud that it’s come across and been recognised. I feel extremely strongly about helping people feel less alone. I was very honest and vulnerable on this record and during the promo for it, so I suppose that was something brave that I’m proud of.

Talk to us about your relationship with honesty – how does it fuel your music practice? How does it shape you as a creative? How does it help you heal? I’m assuming the cathartic energy captured in songs must be restorative in a sense (as it is for the listener!).

Honesty in music, it’s really important to me. Mostly for the aforementioned reasons - I spent a lot of time when I was younger believing that something was wrong with me and I don’t want anyone to feel that way. Being honest about difficult, personal things helps others realise they’re not alone and that is so fulfilling to me. I find the music that I’m drawn to isn’t confined to certain genres but rather the level of authenticity I feel from the songwriter. That’s the whole point, in my opinion - to connect.

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Is there a song on the record you feel proudest to have created (and why)?

To be totally honest, and a bit pedantic, not really. But that’s because I really see the record as a body of work. Each song is strongest in the context of the others. Having said that, I am proud of ‘The Weeping’ as it’s a song I’d tried to write for years.

The National's Aaron Dessner reached out to you to produce Light Sleeper. That must have been a surreal moment – tell us more.

It was extremely surreal as he is one of my favourite producers and I’m a huge fan of The National. He posted an Instagram story about a song on my last record and we got chatting on there. I sent him my home demos and he was so excited about the songs that he offered to have me fly to New York to record with him. It really was a huge moment for me and I’ll always be very grateful to him for that experience.

What did Aaron bring to the table as a producer and how did he help shape the album?

Because of his busy schedule, I spent less than a week at his studio and the rest we had to do remotely. I knew that meant I would have to relinquish quite a lot of control but it didn’t phase me at all because I trusted his creative decisions completely. As we did it this way, Aaron’s foot print is all over the record and I’d say he shaped 80% of the sonic world. He also has the most ridiculous phonebook of musicians to call upon and essentially assembled an all-star band around my little songs.

You’re about to head off on your debut Australian tour – why was Australia a country you wanted to tour and travel?

I like to think I have an inexplicable affinity with Australia. I’ve made several deep friendships with Australians over the years and Spotify tells me you guys stream me quite a bit! I’m so excited to finally visit my friends and family over there and play some shows, although I’m a bit worried I won’t want to come home.

You’re also performing at WOMAD. You must be excited to be part of such an eclectic bill of incredible artists from across the world. What have you heard of the festival? What should we expect from your set?

I am! I actually played the UK’s WOMAD a few years back so I’m excited to see how it compares. I love how varied and welcoming the festival is. I’m touring Australia solo so my set will just be me and a guitar and a bit of atmospheric stuff… nice and intimate!

What’s next for you musically? What energy are you bringing to 2025?

I’ve been writing and demoing some new songs and beginning to think about what I want t o do with them. I’d like to make another record this year ideally, I just need to assemble the right team around the project. I’m doing some European festivals and then heading on a small Canadian tour in the summer. The energy I’m bringing into 2025 is brave with a now-or-never attitude.

Catch Bess Atwell at WOMADelaide on Friday, March 7. Tickets on sale now via womadelaide.com.au.

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