Photo Credit: @lilyxhull

If you are a fan of UK Country Music then you may have heard of the all-female trio vocal group Houston. Having already gained a strong following and having released a few songs under the name Houston, the girls, Charlotte, Holly and Lauren have returned with a re-brand and a new band name Remember Monday. We caught up with Remember Monday to ask about the re-brand, the change of name, releasing new music and working with Tim from The Wandering Hearts, talking about old music and much much more.

Enjoy!

Photo Credit: @Shonolan

Hello girls – How are you?

Hi Hannah! We’re great thanks!

What have you been up to this week?

We’ve actually had such a fun week this week – we’ve been in the studio lots finishing up our new single, which we are SO excited for everyone to hear! We also had a great time with the guys over at Countryline, doing an acoustic session (where you may or may not hear a sneak peek of the same new single…) and interview! That should be out on the app later this week so keep an eye out!

Could you please introduce yourselves and tell us what you each do within the group?

Sure! There’s three of us in the band – Holly, Charlotte and Lauren. We all share vocals, and Lauren plays the guitar!

Do you all take a hand in songwriting?

Holly: Well usually Lauren brings in a song idea, and then we all work on the arrangement together!

Lauren: I honestly think the arranging is the best part of the songwriting process! When I bring a song to the girls, it’s quite nerve-wracking! But as soon as we start to work on it, we have so much fun, and it really takes all of us to get each song to the finished products that we perform!

Holly – Photo Credit: @lilyxhull

How would you describe yourselves as songwriters?

Lauren: So much of the music I grew up listening to is really based on storytelling; Alison Krauss, The Dixie Chicks, Taylor Swift etc. So when I started writing my own stuff, I naturally wanted to tell stories like the music I’d listened to. So really it was quite easy to fall into that country music category, because all of its best writers have that amazing ability to tell a story in three and a half minutes! A lot of the time the songs I write aren’t even from personal experiences – they could be from watching a friend go through something, or even just some fairytale I have in my head!

Charlotte: What’s great as well is that in the arranging process we all interpret the song slightly differently! We all love country music in general, but we listen to lots of different artists within that genre, so it’s cool that we can combine certain styles when we come together.

How would you describe the group’s sound?

We’re a country pop band, who focus on harmonies!

You recently changed the groups name, may I ask why?

It was long overdue! But we’d recently found out that there are a couple other artists out there called “Houston”, so we needed to change the name before anyone got too confused haha! It was actually a really great time for us to rebrand, as it’s right before we release some new music!

Also, why the name Remember Monday? Most of us want to forget

Mondays haha So true haha! Mondays have a bit of a bad rep. The story behind the name is that we have been best mates for about 7 years now and Monday has always been our day! Whether that means we go out, or just chill and jam – we have always prioritised Monday as being our day so we thought we had to incorporate it somehow! So it was kind of a joke between us, but we love that the name really means something to us as friends as well as bandmates! We’re also hoping it will give people a reason to love Mondays haha!

Charlotte – Photo Credit: @lilyxhull

Will you still be playing the music you released as Houston?

Absolutely! We love those songs so much! We are working on a tonne of new music but those classics will never leave us!

How do you figure out who sings which part, is it pretty easy?

We’ve been singing together for so long now we all know exactly what parts we will take and who’s suited best for what. Char brings those low, husky vibes, Lauren usually smashes out the tune, and Holly is way up in the rafters belting out the big notes!

Tell us about the song Fake.

Lauren: So this was one of those songs I wrote about something I watched a friend of mine go through. It’s about the time in a relationship where you’ve been making excuses for that person for WAY too long, and all they’ve ever done is let you down. So all the hurt basically builds up to a massive amount of ‘I-don’t-give-a-damn’ syndrome haha! It’s that final straw kinda thing, where nothing that person could do or say would ever be able to win you back, and you’ve finally realised your true worth.

Holly: This song is such a favourite of ours – we love how sassy we feel when we sing it!  Sometimes it takes something bigger than yourself to make you see that you should be being treated differently, so this song is to remind people to never settle for less than they deserve!

Tell us about some of the places you have played this year..

We’ve spent a lot of time this year writing new music! But our first gig as ‘Remember Monday’ was playing at FSA Festival, which was so much fun! The reception we had was absolutely fantastic, and we got to see so many incredible acts!

Tell us about the new single you’re about to release?

So the song is called ‘Drive’, and we’re SO excited that we’ve been working on it with the amazing Tim Prottey-Jones from The Wandering Hearts! It’s a feel good, whack the volume up kinda song, and Tim has done such an amazing job at producing it for us. The rebrand came at the perfect time really, because this song is definitely a lot more mature than our last EP, and so this song really encompasses the style of Remember Monday!

Are you working on an ep/album?

We’re definitely still working on lots of new music – after we release ‘Drive’ we’ll be heading straight back to the studio haha!

Lauren – Photo Credit: @lilyxhull

Who are you listening to in country music at the moment?

We’re obsessed with Cam. We also love Kacey Musgraves, Maren Morris, Chris Stapleton (obviously), and I guess we’re pretty into The Wandering Hearts too… Not that we’re biased or anything.

Greatest live show you have been too?

Lauren: I think for me it has to be a major throwback to 2009 with Taylor Swift’s Fearless tour. I mean that was honestly like going to the theatre! It was incredible showmanship, and as a 14 year old I have to say I was pretty awe-struck.

Holly: Mine would have to be Beyoncé’s Formation tour, because… well, Beyoncé. She is her own adjective haha!

Charlotte: For me I think it’s got to be the Ed Sheeran tour that I saw a few years ago. It was so simple and all about the music, the voice and the talent which I just loved!

Who is your dream collaboration?

Right now it’s gotta be Cam. We’re trying to keep it low-key, but we love her.

Dream co write?

John Mayer has gotta be up there with one of the most insane musicians of the century, right? He’d definitely be a dream. Either that or we join forces with The Dixie Chicks and create a huge super-girl-band.

What do you like to do in your spare time?

We all absolutely adore animals. We take our dogs on big walks – they’re best friends just like us!

What have you planned for the rest of the year?

Like we said, there’s definitely more studio life happening in the very near future! Other than that, we can’t wait to get out on the road and start gigging. We have Foxstock Festival next weekend (25th August) in Great Barrington, then a few other gigs up in London and up in the midlands in September, including The Round Up hosted by Two Ways Home on September 5th and The Wolverhampton Country night on September 28th! And then of course there will be our own single launch night, which will be announced soon, so keep an eye on our social media for that one!!

Thanks girls, appreciate it, hopefully see you on the road soon.

Photo Credit: @lilyxhull