KBPS Interview: Binky

Binky is a happy go lucky, wild and bubbly singer from London. Her unique, raspy and captivating tone makes her one of a kind, driven by relentless amounts of determination. Fusing her love of urban pop and country music, Binky is a unique sonic force in the British country music scene. While her sound reflects the marriage of the two sounds with the current US industry, her distinctively British take adds a striking new dimension that sets her apart from all her contemporaries.

Having established herself as a presenter on Sky TV’s The Smith & Rogers Country show, Binky is a well-known face within the British Country scene. With each show featuring a performance by its presenter, Binky’s strength as a performer was immediately evident to all viewers, while the diversity of material performed showed she was a talent on the brink of bigger successes.

We spoke to Binky and began by asking her to describe her new single ‘Fireflies’.

It’s a great interpretation of a new sound within the UK. I’ve taken the Nashville country sound and tried to meld it with a London urban sound to create a new sound of country. A lot of people are unsure about it; a lot of people love it; but everyone’s loving it as happy-go-lucky song that everyone can sing along to. It’s anyone’s interpretation of what they think it is.

What do you think it is about country music that’s proving really popular at the moment?

I think the main core of country music that everyone loves is the story. Every country song generally has a story behind it that everyone has experienced at some point in their life. They’re always very heartfelt and I feel that people can relate to them and find some comfort in them when listening to a country song. Especially with Taylor Swift who has done that for the younger generation. She was inspired by Dolly Parton and Johnny Cash, who were for the older generation, within the country scene. That’s what I would say draws people to country music these days.

You mix urban pop and country; does that reflect your actual music tastes?

I love all different London sounds, from pop music to RNB to house, but I found a real comfort in country music. I fell in love with it when I was seventeen. I spent a year learning all different things about it. I just felt there was something there that was missing in the UK that so many people have been missing out on. I thought, let’s bring it over to a more mainstream aspect. There are so many wonderful followers for country music in the UK but it’s sort of lost its way. It’s not been given the right credit in the UK yet and that’s what I’m trying to do.

The video is about to drop; could you tell us anything about it?

The official video is very Hallowe’en inspired, which is why we’ve brought it out at this time of year. It’s a little bit different. It’s not what you’d expect, [if you’re expecting] a generic country video. I think a lot of people will be unsure as to how it links to country, but I think people will love it. It’s very fun, very exciting and great for this time of year. I think it’s not too serious; it’s similar to the song. It’s playful, it’s a sing-a-long, and the video is very intriguing.

How was it to record?

It was actually filmed over in Epping Forest down in Essex and we didn’t finish filming until around 3am. As you can imagine it was pitch black and there was lots of fun and laughter, people falling over! It was very interesting! A few of us nearly fell in the lake, put it that way!

You've also done a bit of TV presenting too?

I was a TV presenter on a country show, [which was] on Sky TV. It was a great experience; I really, really enjoyed it. We had a real family feel with the cast. We were very much in touch with the viewers who came to [the shows] and we used to interact with them. They would get involved with the filming and it was a really, really great two years. I do miss it actually; I’d love to get the opportunity to go back onto something that they’re doing. It’s coming up soon. Unfortunately I don’t know if I can talk about it but I’d love the opportunity to work with them all again!

Have you got any live dates coming up?

We haven’t at the moment. However they are in the pipeline. [We’re going] to cover that base a little bit [as] the release went so well – it was a bit unexpected, we didn’t realise how well it would take so quickly; we were planning on building a release, getting it out there, getting people warmed up, and putting on some live events. However, when we released the track on Friday and it went very well, better than unexpected, the live dates will be put in sooner than we expected. I’m sure you’ll hear about them soon [and] they’ll be up on my website and social media.

How would you describe your live sound?

I would say it’s going to be an intimate event. I’d like to stick to smaller venues to start with, somewhere that I can get to really know my fans, find out what they want, and if they want to hear anything new, or anything specific they’d like to hear from me. Really sort of learning what my fans want as well as what I want to make sure I’m covering everything that they want, as obviously that’s the most important. So it’s very intimate, with a full live band – that’s my love; I love singing with a live band as opposed to anything else. I’m getting excited for a very fun, intimate evening.

If you could duet with a country musician, who would you pick?

Gosh, that’s a hard one! I’d love to work with Miranda Lambert or Carrie Underwood. They’re a massive inspiration to me, and to other country singers on the scene. I love what they’re doing; I love their material, so it would be great to team up with one of them, but there are so many people I could choose! It’s very hard to narrow it down. I love Dolly Parton, and even working with someone like Stevie Nicks even though she isn’t necessarily country to a lot of people. I’d love to work with her. There are so many fantastic artists out there it’s hard to just pick one.

Finally what are your ambitions for the next six months?

I think my main goal is to push the country aspect into the mainstream UK. I feel like there’s a huge credit that country music is missing in the mainstream UK music scene at the moment and I’d love to fill that. I’d love to focus on getting that to a few more ears and getting more listeners to fall in love with country music like I did. I’d love to do some live tours, even if it’s just a small one for about four weeks which is my goal. I think just getting out there and meeting the fans of ‘Fireflies’ and hearing what they’d love to hear; just finding what I want to do next and put into the album.

What is your album plan?

We haven’t [got a release date in mind] yet. I’d say next year, maybe summer next year is my goal. However that is dependent on getting things done in time!

Find out more about Binky at https://www.facebook.com/binkyofficial, twitter.com/binkyofficial, instragram.com/binkyofficial or www.binkyofficial.com.