In a world of increasingly narrow entries into the music industry, Naomi Kelly is breaking boundaries and hearts with their gorgeous melodies and intricate fingerpicking. With a style described by NARC. Magazine as something that “wouldn’t go amiss in a playlist with names like Grace Petrie and Lucy Spraggan”, it’s safe to say this is an artist on the rise. I sat down to chat with Naomi ahead of the release of their brand-new EP Ghost Light, discussing all things Kelly.
What does your creative process look like? Is it a tried
and tested formula or different every time?
I wish I had a set process; it would make my life a whole
lot easier! My songs come to me randomly, and they’ll often be inspired by
something a friend said or an everyday experience, and somehow it’ll just
become a finished song within an hour or two. That being said, I’m quite bad at
coming back to drafts, so if I don’t get the verses right away, the song might
sit in drafts for a long time - recently I’ve been getting better at revisiting
songs though, and I’m really excited to see what that does for my process.
Having grown up in Yorkshire/Lancashire and moved to the
North East, what’s it like to build a career in the North, and what are some of
the pros and cons?
I’m a northerner through and through, I’ve lived in
Lancashire, Yorkshire and now the North East (as well as technically
being a Scouser) and have been growing as a musician in Leeds and Newcastle.
It’s an amazing region to be making music in, and there’s a bit of a perception
that you have to be London-centric to “make it” but it’s just not true. There’s
definitely something to be said for how much there is in somewhere like London,
in terms of labels and gig opportunities, but the community up North is just
incredible, especially with independent artists like myself. I’ve never felt
more supported than when I’m playing gigs to a room full of other musicians who
are all breaking through in the same scene as me, and I love to go to those
gigs too, you’ll always find a great musician at a local gig (and the tickets
are much better value than in London too!)
You’ve spoken a lot about the absurdity of artists having
to cater to an algorithm to get their music out there, how do you feel this is
impacting the modern music industry?
The current atmosphere for getting your music “out there”
can be incredibly daunting - between traditional streaming platforms and social
media, it can really feel like you’re shouting into a void sometimes, and it
can be difficult to balance who you are as an artist and a person with what you
think an algorithm “wants” to see. It’s not all doom and gloom though, I think
social media can be a brilliant place to find a community, and increasingly I’m
finding ways of connecting with the musicians and listeners I’ve found
there, outside of those “typical” ways - my music comes out on Bandcamp
now as well as everywhere else, which is a much better platform in terms of
financially supporting its artists, and I love connecting with music lovers
through things like local radio - I’ve had some absolutely wonderful support
from BBC Introducing, but also the lovely team at Radio Tyneside, who’ve been
so great about my music and always support my new stuff!
With your second EP Ghost Light coming out on the 17th of
April, how have you found the making of this record? Was it easier than your
first or do you feel it’s been harder?
I think I’d say easier? It was my first time properly
working with a producer for the recording process - with my debut EP, I
recorded everything at home and had it mixed and mastered by Rich Huxley. This
time, I was able to work with Rich through the whole process, recording in his
home studio and getting another creative input through the whole record was
something I’m very glad of! I think it’s easier in that respect because you
have someone to bounce off, but it’s also very different because you’re actually
working to a schedule rather than just messing around on GarageBand. Rich is
incredibly fun to work with and always seems to know what a track’s missing or
what we can do to take it to the next level, I had an absolute blast making it,
and I really want to record some more music soon…
You’re supporting Isabel Maria at Hyde Park Book Club
later this month, what are you most looking forward to?
I can’t wait to be back in Leeds, especially at Hyde Park
Book Club. Some of my favourite gigs I’ve seen have been there, and we’re also
playing in the Snug, which is the room where I had my first ever headline! It’s
a really lovely moment to be able to come back, now supporting one of my
favourite North East musicians and a great friend of mine, and it’s super
exciting that the gig also gets to be a celebration of both of our new EPs!
We’re going to be playing music from the new releases, and I’m very excited to
share my newest songs with a Leeds audience for the first time…
What’s your advice to young musicians trying to get some
traction in the industry?
Just get out there! Do as much as you possibly can and
especially seek out those artsy open mics wherever you are. When I was just
getting started in Leeds, I used to go to an open mic at the Editor’s Draught
pub, and my first ever support gig came directly out of that. Now I’m mostly in
the North East, I’ve been going to the Freshly Squeezed open mics at Cobalt
Studios and it’s such a lovely atmosphere to try out new material or just
improve your confidence if you’re new to performing. The other thing I would
say is just talk to people and make as many friends as you can - I’ve had so
many opportunities come out of conversations I’ve had at gigs or open mics, and
the community I’ve found in the independent music scene. It’s also a really
great idea to check out what support you can get along the way - I started out
in a community of women and non-binary musicians in Leeds and that’s how I
found so many of my music friends, and there’s been some really lovely
collaborations that have come out of that, and in Newcastle the team at
Generator have been really supportive too! They’re amazing at supporting
independent artists and being involved with their programmes has been a huge
help to me as well.
What does the rest of 2026 hold in store for you and your
music?
My EP “Ghost Light” comes out on April 17th, and then I have
a really exciting period of gigs coming up! I wish I could tell you about all
of them now, but the ones that have been announced and I won’t get into trouble
for saying are my support act for Isabel Maria in Leeds on April 28th, and then
my guest performance with the Gay Abandon choir on June 13th. I’m so excited to
be performing alongside an LGBTQ+ choir, and we get to perform in the Howard
Assembly Rooms in Leeds, which is just an immensely cool venue, and I am so
excited for that. I’d also really like to get some more recording done, I’m
eager to get more music out!! I’m hoping it’s going to be really big year for
my music…
Written by Charlotte Atkinson
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