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Introducing… Sunday Girl
Sunday Girl doesn’t just make seventh day sounds; she makes music for every day of the week. Far from a cookie-cutter created singer churned from the baking-machine of pop, she boasts music that is in turns enigmatic, individual and utterly epic.
A fan of Billie Holiday, Peggy Lee, 50’s Chanel tailoring, and Polly Morgan’s stuffed animal artistry, the 21 year-old Sidcup born Jade Williams earned her stagename thanks to forgetful customers of the pet shop she worked in every Sunday as a 14 year-old. “No one ever knew what I was called; they just used to call me 'Sunday Girl' and that sort of stuck.” As well as an animal lover and talented artist, Jade enjoyed singing, but strictly only at home; she so shy about singing in public that her mum took her to a hypnotherapist at the age of 17 to try to cure her of stage fright. “I tested it out at a group singing lesson, and thankfully the fear just went.” After completing an Art Foundation, she swapped Sidcup for Brixton, not only to study Set Design at Wimbledon but also to embark on a music career. Within a year, Williams was a veteran of a ska band, a jazz band and a teenage trio who did covers of ‘40s blues standards with a “Ukulele and double bass.”
Doing other people’s songs began to bore her, but thanks to a background in pre-teen poetry (“Well, having a moan on bits of paper”) Williams began writing her own lyrics. After being spotted singing in a Regents St. bar by her manager, Williams took the solo path and began working with other writers. Signing to Geffen late last year, Sunday Girl’s album has been written and produced entirely by herself and Jim Elliott (Ladyhawke, Kylie), apart from Four Floors, which was produced by Blair Mackichan (Paloma Faith). “It’s like a wall of beautiful noise,” decides Sunday Girl of her sound. “But also quite simple, cos I’ve got quite a girly voice. Some of the noises are quite harsh, so it’s finding that balance of pretty, but also quite scrappy and pop.”
Her music isn’t merely about boys and breaking up either; the lyrics delve into a friend’s coke addiction, her current hometown of Brixton and difficult family situations. “I write some of the verses in riddles; I know what it means, but everyone else can make their own assumptions. I don’t always want people to totally get what I’m singing about,” she says of tracks like All The Songs. “All of it has depth and is from a real idea, but we try and adapt it so they’re not too miserable. All the songs are from a real place; we just try and tart them up a bit!”
Despite only being signed three months ago, Sunday Girl’s sounds are spreading by word-of-mouth, with the Observer and Popjustice already firm fans. Currently impressing tastemakers with Four Floors and its remixes by Diplo, Russ Chimes and Sketch Iz Dead, Sunday Girl designed the artwork that accompanies the digital-only single. She also styles herself and has plans to be heavily involved with everything from the album art to the video shoots. “Everyone seems to be into glitter and fur capes, but I’m bored of that. I want to take it back to really masculine tailoring, like Coco Chanel; simplistic and a bit scruffy, but it says a lot more than glitter.”
The first official single will be the dreamy electronica of Stop, Hey. “That's the song that really sums it all up; that's the blueprint,” she points out. “It’s a really summery, bright song but it’s got undertones of longing and sadness. It’s pop music that you can sing along to, but really subtle.”
Beautiful, thoughtful, intelligent and credible, Sunday Girl is offering a whole new creative sensibility to the world of music. A true individual, this Sunday clearly has no plans to rest just yet…