In a simple bright blue cardigan and silky navy shorts, seemed to blend into the cool atmosphere of Golden Gate Park. Even the wind seemed choreographed, carrying her delicate vocals across the crowd.

The English singer-songwriter has spent the past decade building a distinctive body of folk-leaning music, marked by intimate songwriting and close observations of nature, literature, and life’s subtleties. In person, she exudes the same quiet strength, absorbing the world through the references she collects and translating them into thoughtful, strikingly wise lyrics.

CLASH caught up with the artist after her set at l to talk about touring, good reads, and her affinity for New York.

First, how does it feel performing at Outside Lands? How do you feel coming off your performance here?

I feel elated, um, exhausted, and surprised.

Can we talk about the surprise? What surprised you, something on stage, or the crowd?

Yeah, I think the crowd was just so completely lovely, and as is often the case with festivals, it’s a real risk; you never know who’s in the mood for what at which time, and the weather, and the temperature, and, you know, people have lots to do. It’s a full-time job when you attend a festival. And they have their schedule, and if I fit somewhere in there, that’s, that’s quite a nice treat. That’s lovely.

You’re coming off so many shows this summer. What keeps you grounded? And what’s been the most fun part of it?

I think it is perhaps exceeding your own physical and mental expectations. I remember reading a very early Joni Mitchell quote in which she says she considers herself a painter rather than a songwriter, which is obviously a very Joni thing to say. She said something like, we would never recreate an artwork thousands and thousands of times in front of different cities. You know, you wouldn’t see Mona Lisa done again. So I had that in my head quite early on, which I don’t think is very helpful or useful for any songwriter, because it’s a completely different craft, life versus

your insular process, and I think it has, yeah, surprised me in many ways, and there’s lots of room for freedom and interpretation, and you perform the songs considering, despite whatever mood you might be in, you know, it’s kind of a constant scene that keeps you centered.

Do you remember going to festivals when you were younger?

I used to watch a lot of Glastonbury on the telly. And there was also Cambridge Folk Festival, which is very much the sister to Newport.

You’ve been playing a lot from . Now that you’ve had more than a year to live with these songs and perform them for different audiences, has your relationship with the album changed at all?

Well, actually, this show marks exactly two years of touring. So, yeah, we’re touring records a year before they’re out, so I’ve definitely, you know, become very good friends with Crown. But you know what? I’m not bored. I’m certainly not bored. I think when you make a record that is as collaborative as it was, and I had, you know, there were 10 different players on there, and it’s as much them as me, so it doesn’t feel like a big ordeal to repeat it.

Literature has a strong presence in the world around – lyrically and aesthetically too. What were you reading while you were making the album?

I was reading Henry Thoreau. He has this small book of essays called On Man and Nature. I picked it up in this store in Brooklyn, and it gave me a lot of lessons for that time in my life.

You’ve called yourself a “pseudo-New Yorker,” and you recorded in New York. What is it about the city, and particularly New York in the summer, that creatively resonates with you?

I mean it’s a shit hole, obviously. So, it was a lesson in finding creativity wherever you can.
My heart rate feels very even and normal there; I can’t really describe it. It’s not really a sensory overload for me. I think it’s because I’m not from there; I have a sort of anonymity that I can float down the street in a Truman Show kind of way. It feels like everyone is performing and I find it

really freeing and exciting. The sheer honesty and sort of reckless character defense of New Yorkers is very addictive to me.

How did you take that into your most recent collaboration? Since “Wheels” sounds like such an American ballad.

Well, she’s a fellow management mate (Squirrel Flower). And she sent me this song, and I thought, this is old-fashioned songwriting. This is how to write a song. You know, no bells and whistles. I got the lyrics, and she had a rough mix of things, and we gave it a go, and it’s been beautiful.

Do you still have some of your goals musically and personally for the remaining half of the year?

I do an annual reading list. So that’s my personal goal for the end of the year is to share and write that up. Once I started doing that, it just kind of tripled my reading rate. Once you start writing things down, you know, there’s momentum, and that usually, you know, leads me into some songs.

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