We caught up with songstress extraordinaire Gabby Young ahead of her homecoming gig at Koko.

photo by Gemma Hall, hair and make-up by Jennifer Nash

RR: Since we last spoke to you, you've been touring all over the world- Europe, Japan, Australia and America-what have been your most memorable experiences?Do audiences receive you differently abroad?

GY: I always expect them too but no, not really – in Japan they are very well behaved but are still rapturous at the end of the songs – which spoils me for playing anywhere else where people like to talk – a lot! But honestly I have had an amazing response most places and always feel at home during and after a gig mainly because of the energy the audience have been giving us. Most memorable experiences have to be ‘rapping’ with Canada’s finest hiphop artists at CMW, Toronto, leading the Texas State University Marching Band down Main Street to our gig at SXSW and having a cupcake made for me by a famous dutch chef at a festival in Holland! This year has been full of amazing experiences and I have loved it all!

Gabby at SXSW, Texas-photo by Olivia Brown

Your 2nd album is due out in 2012-can you tell us a bit about how it was written?Your previous material has been quite autobiographical;is this still the case with the new album?

I think it is impossible for me to not be autobiographical because when I start to write I just press record on my iphone and sing whatever comes into my head and most of the time it is something that effected me in some way, a past experience or an opinion about a loved one, this new album is no exception – there are songs about my boyfriend, my dad and a crazy man I once met. The others are stories- I can never tell if I made them up or if they are subconsciously a metaphor for something that happened to me. Songwriting is a way for me to get my emotions and feelings out and they come out in surprising ways for me sometimes, others a bit more literal but they are always something I feel strongly about at the time.

Your boyfriend is also a member of your band (as well as fronting his own band,Revere) whilst your parents co-run your record label with you- is it hard working with family?Do you ever really switch off or do you discuss work all the time?

I consider myself really lucky to be working with my loved ones because trust has never been an issue but I actually have the opposite problem- I enjoy spending time with them so much we find it hard to talk about work! My manager, who is an extended family member really, comes round to talk ‘business’ for Sunday lunch sometimes and we get to 5pm and all we have discussed is childhood memories and the cinema until someone puts their foot down to get back to work! It’s really lovely and rare to be part of a label with people you want to be around and let you have control too. Stephen is a huge part of my music and my life and although we have days of friction when things aren’t going so well with either of our projects we are very supportive of each other and I think we’ve finally found the right balance this year working on the new album – as he is producing too – between work and play. I still think Revere is the best band I have ever heard so I am always helping wherever I can to push that too.

Photo by Gemma Hall

You've been working with a lot of great up and coming designers-can you tell us about some of them?

I am so happy to support and promote the up and coming designers I work with because I truly believe they are doing something vital and meaningful. As a performer I am always searching (with the help of my stylist Katie Antoniou) for designers who capture the largeness of what I want to wear on stage with lots of theatricality and originality and we’ve tracked down some stunners- Inbar Spector seems to make my imagination into dresses with her fairytale glamour and I was so excited and actually quite over emotional to see her showing for the first time at LFW a few weeks ago and she blew everyone away – soon everyone will know her name! I also love to support Beautiful Soul for her stunning garments and personal, eco friendly ethos, Lee Klabin for her shapes and totally getting how a girl likes to feel in clothes, Elizabeth Lau who has been so generous to me and is always bringing out adorable clothes that are comfortable and striking and David Longshaw for his originality. There are so many great designers out there and I love collaborating with them to show them off on stage so that maybe someone in the audience thinks ‘maybe they can design my wedding dress’ that is when it comes full circle for me! I am really excited to be championing a very new, exciting designer Darkest Star at Koko – the dress is mindblowing!

Gabby in a dress by Inbar Spector

What would your London shopping tips be?

I’m not getting much chance to shop these days – but that’s probably a good thing because I am a total shopaholic- I’m the kind of person who will spend all my money in Covent Garden and not save any for my rent!! Anyway my biggest weakness is vintage shops and my favourite is Beyond Retro –they now have 3 shops in London and they are all huge and full of affordable vintage gems. I often wear their dresses for my shows as they have a huge selection of outlandish ones and I am obsessed with their hats! Otherwise I’m at markets, car boot sales (Battersea is best) and charity shops. I do spend a lot of time eyeing up the shoes at Irregular Choice – I’m not a huge shoe collector normally but one day I will walk in and ask for ‘one of each pair’!

As well as your style blog,you've now also started a DIY blog about projects in your house and garden.What inspires you to get creative at home rather than just going to Ikea?

The house itself inspired me- I have always been into home improvements and my idea of a fun day when I was younger was moving all the furniture to a different place in my bedroom and decorating the walls etc. Sad I know! So now I have this flat that is rough around the edges but has so much potential – especially the garden, and it was just a case of time and finding freebies to do it up with. We have been lucky enough to turn an overgrown patch into a fine looking landscaped garden mainly with freecycle and our local tip, oh and a lot of sharp sand and hard work! But I have to admit- I still love going to Ikea (more for the experience and Swedish meatballs)… I am only human!

photo by Saul

It's been a while since you played a London gig,what can we expect at Koko on the 13th?

Everything AND the kitchen sink- I have been organising this show since February so it’s going to be epic… we have guests galore and amazing support acts. There are things I want to keep a surprise but I will say that if you have seen us before and think we put on a show- you ain’t seen nothing yet! It will all be bigger and better and we’re playing new songs which is so exciting for us all. We haven’t played in London since the Barbican in January so we won’t be holding anything back for this homecoming gig… actually it’s not a gig this time… it’s an event!

Will you be buying into Halloween or will you already be preparing for Christmas? Haha! You’ve been talking to my boyfriend… contrary to popular belief I start preparing for Christmas a little later these days – I get excited about it in July but that’s beside the point. I think I am on tour in Holland and Germany during Halloween (when is it? I can never remember!) but if I get a chance to get dressed up and eat sweets- I’m there!

Gabberdashery

What would you like to be doing in 5 years time?

More of the same but on a grander scale – a lot more touring around the world, a lot more collaborating and maybe Gabberdashery will have it’s very own shop! I would love be on the property market by then and maybe have another dog to keep Hobbes company but who knows… as long as I'm working and busy I’ll be happy.

Book tickets for Koko here.

'Ask you a question' music video- styled by Run-Riot's editor Katie Antoniou!

........................................................................................................................

COMPETITION:

Win 1x Pair of tickets Gabby Young and Other Animals at Koko on the 13th of October at 19.30pm. To claim your tickets, send an email to Katie@run-riot.com with the correct answer in the ‘subject’ box. The winner will be randomly selected. Q: One of Gabby's songs is named after one of her favourite animals, what is it called?

A: 1)Mole 2)Dog 3)Dragon 4)Snail