The Rise and Reign of Litany

Let’s take you back to a simpler time. A time when the jeans were boot cut and tops were cropped, when snake on your Nokia 8110 was the height of gamer software, and Johnny Depp and Winona Ryder were oh so in love. If you let yourself fall into the wormhole of the nineties, that’s where you’ll find Litany, who ‘grew up on a diet of 90’s pop, computer games and youthful romance’. Born and raised in Harrogate, Yorkshire, Litany, also known as Beth Cornell, had humble sparks of creating her relationship with music, starting out making jams and morphing them into EP’s that began that all important buzz, most notably at this time early releases such as ‘Work This Out’, the type of summertime ‘chill with a cider and a lover’ bop, that artists such as Troye Sivan and Charlie XCX would certainly treasure for their own catalogs.

Since then, Litany has clearly established her brand as a feel good, indie pop princess with an aesthetically pleasing edge- already catching the attention of well- known stars such as Joe Lycett, which Litany can now put down on her list of collaborators. With a Wrigley’s Extra Chewing Gum sound feature on one of their ads too checked off her list, Litany is building a strong foundation for stairs that will only be going upwards, and if you see double denim, cute crop tops, and fluffy hair scrunchies making a GLORIOUS return, it’s because of artists such as Litany are emerging and making it happen.

So are you ready to binge watch Sex and the City and Fresh Prince of Bel Air on repeat? Ready for Naomi Campbell and Kate Moss to dominate the runways, ready to dust the lava lamps that you’ve kept in your attic for this long? If so, Litany’s nostalgic, feel good groove sound is for you.

Hey Litany! So 2021 lockdown is easing, are you excited for things to be opening up? Potential outside gigs, maybe a cheeky beer at a pub garden?

Hey! First of all, a big YES to pub garden, already pubbed in many a garden and look forward to pubbing indoors in the not so distant future whatever that even feels like… It’s been soooooo long! But by far the most exciting thing is gonna be waiting in line for a show, handing over a ticket and getting sweaty whilst watching one of my favourite bands, oh how I’ve missed that.

What have been the highlights and lowlights of the effects of the pandemic for you?

Highlights: Moving in with my boyfriend and getting a puppy called Lemmy who is my whole world.

Lowlights: Breaking up with said boyfriend and developing a mild fear of leaving the house (unless to walk Lemmy).

What are the things that have kept you sane during covid, food, TV shows, binge worthy things?

I got really into cooking. I’ve always been a die hard pesto pasta kinda girl but I challenged myself to actually cook up some complex culinary concoctions and I realised I’m actually pretty good at it!?! Aside from that I think I watched most of Netflix’s offerings then subsequently moved onto Disney+. The Mandalorian stands out as something I got particularly obsessed with – big sci-fi fan.

You give me a very modern vibe of Stevie Nicks who time travelled back to the 90’s, who would you say are the biggest influences for your style and sound?

That’s a massive compliment and there’s no doubt she will be one of my many influences, especially vocally. Recently I’ve been influenced mainly by other female artists such as Caroline Polachek, Christine and The Queens and Robyn to name but a few. They manage to serve pop music with just enough quirk and whimsy for me to keep on coming back to their eclectic discographies for inspiration.

The ‘Uh Huh’ music video you released late last year was directed by the hilarious and talented Joe Lycett, how did this collaboration come about?

True story: I was in bed reading his book when I received a DM from the man himself congratulating me on ‘Bedroom’ going through 20 million streams. Naturally I lost my proverbial shit and replied right away. A few more DMs were exchanged and Joe threw his hat in the ring to direct a music video with the disclaimer that he’d never done one before. I didn’t hesitate as I had just finished writing Uh-huh and knew it was the perfect song for a comedic video. He loved the song and a couple months later we had the team all ready to go complete with an star-studded cast and the rest is history they say!

Let’s chat about your new single ‘Playlist’. It’s an indie pop dream queen track, perfect for the upcoming summer. Tell us the process of creating the song and bringing it to life.

Oscar and I had worked together a couple of times prior to writing this tune and we had an amazing chemistry going into the session. I had received a playlist from a guy I was in to at the time and was riffing on whether there was any hidden meaning to it – Oscar had just sent a playlist to a girl which did have a hidden meaning which was serendipitous enough to warrant writing a song about that concept. It came together really quickly potentially aided by the crate of blue WKD he had bought earlier that day and when he sung a harmony in the chorus, I knew he had to feature on it. Our voices are a dream together and it just evolved from there, writing each other’s verses for one another.

What have been the moments for you in this career so far which made you feel like ‘yes, I’m about to make it to the big time’?

I think you could ask any artist and they’d say that there’s multiple moments. Some amount to sweet fa but other times, it can be a genuine level up. I’ve had a very slow, organic rise which I’m grateful for but a couple of stand out milestones would be ‘Bedroom’ scoring a worldwide Extra chewing gum advert and of course the aforementioned; working with Joe Lycett.

Random question time! Tell us

The current book you’re reading–

The Body Keeps The Score by Bessel Van Der Kolk

Your current celeb crush

Sebastian Stan

The artist of your own playlist that you currently have on repeat

Flyte have recently released their second album ‘This Is Really Going To Hurt’ and it’s nothing short of a masterpiece. I adore them.

And finally, tell us what’s next for you. Can we expect a new single, EP or perhaps an album from you this year? Any live shows in the works?

Lots more new music to come this year yes, thankfully. I’m gonna release another EP in the summer which I am so so proud of. I think that lyrically, it’s my best yet. Show wise, I have a sold out socially distant show at The Jazz Cafe in June and will follow with some more dates once it is deemed fully safe to do so!