On The Record: Sophie Lloyd on YouTube fame and Imposter Syndrome

The speaker emphasizes the importance of being authentic and finding one's own unique style in music. They discuss their experience with Ultimate Guitar and their transition from using tabs to learning music theory. They mention the basics of learning notes and scales on the guitar and how different scales interact with each other. The speaker also talks about their collaborative album and the process of working with different vocalists. They mention specific songs and solos that pushed them out of their comfort zone and the challenges they faced in recording them. The speaker expresses their excitement for the release of the album and the possibility of going on tour in the future. authentically yourself. Don't try and be like anyone else. Like, don't be like, oh, my favorite YouTuber does this, so I'm going to do that too. Like, find what makes you really unique, find your niche, and really try and use that as much as you can and enjoy what you're doing, because people can tell online when it's authentic and when it's not. Hello, I'm Sophie Lloyd, and this is On The Record with Ultimate Guitar. So, are you familiar with Ultimate Guitar? Are you a tab user? Oh, yeah. I think every guitarist on the planet is familiar with Ultimate Guitar, whether they admit it or not. I'm definitely, like, growing up, I was definitely a tab user, and then I tried to go a little bit more into learning by ear, but it's still always there as my backup. Well, that's great to hear. Well, I'm glad you're part of our community, so welcome. So, did you move on to learning music theory afterwards, and did you find that transition to be difficult, or was it an easy transition for you? Yeah, so I never really studied music, like, in school or anything, so it was definitely... I studied it at university. That was the first time I started studying it, so... But I've always quite enjoyed music theory. Like, I'm a little bit of a nerd in that sense, so I enjoyed when I started to actually understand what I was playing and be able to... It sort of made me a lot better player when I understood the kind of theory behind scales and stuff. It really opened up a lot of doorways for me. So, for those of us that grew up on tabs, is there maybe a good doorway into the world of music theory? Was there a concept that you found easier to access than others? I think we started just right from the basics, just learning the notes, where they are, where they live on the guitar. So, usually most people know, like, just the low E string, and that's kind of it, or the E and the A. But kind of learning where they live all over the guitar was really, really beneficial to me. And then just kind of learning how different scales interact with each other and learning how they relate to each other. So, a lot of people will know the major scale really well, or a lot of people will know the minor pentatonic scale really well. And just relating all the complicated stuff you learn, I kind of just relate it all back to either the major scale or the minor pentatonic. And it's all kind of the same shit. Like, you can all kind of combine it into one thing if you think about how it relates back to something you already know really well. So, when you're writing music, is that something that's in the forefront of your mind when you're composing new material, or do you kind of just go by feel? I think it depends, sort of, what I'm writing. I definitely try to think about it a little bit. And I think at one point I thought about it too much where it was just keeping me in this box, and I wasn't really exploring outside of it. I'd be like, well, I can't play that. No, that's not in this scale. So, I definitely had to kind of train myself to learn how to, like, bend and break the rules of music theory, and that's kind of where the fun of music comes in. So, although I do think about it, I don't let it kind of control my playing completely. I did get a chance to listen to the new record, which comes out in, like, a week or two. It's coming up. Yeah, 10th of November. What a wonderful record. For a guitar fan, it's a must-listen. Thank you so much. That means a lot. So, when did this process start? It was, as I understand it, a very collaborative record. I know sometimes those can take a while with logistics to kind of put those together, but when did you start working on it? Oh, yeah. It's been crazy. We started, like, pretty much the beginning of the pandemic. So, it's been in the works for, like, three, maybe nearly four years, like, a crazy amount of time. We started writing, and then we actually went into the studio. We were in the studio, I think, in 2020. So, three years ago was when we hit the studio and actually recorded all of, like, the main instrumental parts. And from then, it was sort of, you know, reaching out to vocalists. We wanted to have, like, a good, really great-sounding kind of backing track, quote-unquote, to send them, so that they could really hear, you know, the potential in it and everything. Then they would sort of send it back, and it would be a... It's kind of like, I didn't realize how complicated the process is, because I guess this is my first album, and for it to be a collab album is kind of crazy, because it's just, you know, you have to work with so many different people, different deadlines, different labels, managers, everything like that, to sort of get it to all come to a head at the same time. And then just as we were sort of getting ready to release it, then all the MGK stuff happened, so we had to push it back a little bit further. So, it's been a lot of, like, kind of setbacks and stuff in that sense. So, I'm so excited that I can finally say it's, like, coming out soon, because I just want people to hear it. I think people are going to be really stoked about it. Is there a riff or a solo or a song that you're most proud of, or that you're most excited for? I think, like, all of them mean so much to me in different ways. This was always, like, an album, I said, that I wrote for my, like, 15-year-old self, so it's quite like a retrospective album. And it's one that I kind of wrote for that girl who, you know, was a bit of an outcast and stuff. She just knew she loved music, and she loved all of these artists, and I had so many posters on my wall of people that are on this album. Like, Lizzie Hale, I was the biggest Hale song fan. Me and my mum would, like, sing Hale song in the car on the way to school. And, you know, Chris Robertson from Blacks and Cherry, Michael Starr, all of these people were, like, I had their albums on my wall. So, every, you know, hearing their voices that were, like, the voices of my childhood kind of on the tracks that they're on has just been such, like, a surreal experience. And I'd say, you know, especially the Lizzie Hale, like, Imposter Syndrome, like, the title album, that song, like, the lyrics of that song mean a lot to me. Me and Lizzie got together, and we had, like, this really, like, kind of deep, really healing, actually, this really healing chat for me that kind of validated, you know, my feelings about everything. And it was just really cool to have, like, one of your heroes kind of talk to you about that, and then she wrote that beautiful song, which kind of put everything I thought into words. So, that song is very special to my heart. Was that a pretty common theme throughout the record, as far as the writing of the lyrics? Was that a collaborative process, or did you kind of put that in the hands of some of the singers? It kind of was a song-by-song basis. Generally, we sort of, like I said, we created sort of this, you know, glorified backing track with the guitar solo, and then I sent them that, and I wanted to give them as much freedom as they wanted to have, if you know what I mean. So, I was like, you can write whatever you want on this. This is what the album is about. This is my kind of thoughts and feelings. This is what the album's going to be called. This is, you know, and I explained to them a little bit about that, and yeah, I pretty much gave them freedom. Then they'd send, like, a demo back to me if I wanted any changes or anything, and I'd let them know, and then they'd record the final version and send it over to me. So, it was kind of, it was a collaborative process, but I definitely tried to give them, yeah, as much freedom as they would like to have with it. As far as the writing on this song, was there any particular song that pushed you out of your comfort zone, or pushed you in, like, a technical aspect, as far as the guitar playing on this record? There was definitely, like, some of the guitar solos, which really kind of, I tried to use, like, be a bit more creative and use some, like, different scales that I didn't usually use. Like, Judge and Jury with Tyler Connolly, that solo has a lot of, like, diminished stuff in it. It's kind of avenge them, boldy, and that was something that I hadn't, you know, I'm a bit of a pentasonic girl kind of growing up, so that was like, that sort of made me think outside the box in that sense, and using notes that I was saying, like, weren't from the scale where I had to break the rules a little bit. And same with Avalanche with Trevor McNevin, that was one where the solo, the solo on that song was pretty long, and that was so, so challenging for me to get, like, because a lot of the solos I actually wrote, I find I work quite well under pressure, so a lot of the solos I actually wrote, like, the night before we were, like, recording in the studio, and those were, like, some of them where I would just stay up all night and kind of write the solo, and I feel like sometimes that's just how I work best, with that pressure deadline. So, yeah, that was fun. A lot of times I'll write things that I can't play, and then I'm like, now I've got to learn how to play this and play it well and consistently. So that was, yeah, those solos were definitely a challenge. Have there been conversations yet about how do you play these songs in a live setting? Are you going to go on tour, a solo tour at some point? Yeah, we'd love to, like, we haven't booked one in yet because we're not sure what next year looks like with all the other commitments, so we definitely want to be touring this. We're sort of exploring what that looks like now. We're not sure whether to, you know, do similar things like what Nisa's done, what a lot of people have done, which is getting a vocalist so they can sing all of the songs and maybe having guests come out, like, if we're in their city, a guest will come out, or whether to maybe do something that's a little bit more, kind of, futuristic, in a sense, where I love the way, like, if you know Lindsay Stirling, she's, like, a violinist, and she does these incredible tours which are, she'll have, like, crazy costume changes, dances, kind of like Cirque du Soleil meets, you know, a musician, like a violinist, and I think that element is really cool of, like, bringing in this, kind of, like, show aspect to it somehow, whether it's through, you know, like, big screens at the back and having, like, the artists sing over a green screen and then, like, they're, like, there, but obviously that's a lot higher budget, so that maybe won't be the first tour, this is me just dreaming big, but, yeah, we're not sure, we'd love to tour, also, like, maybe do some clinics around the country as well where it's a bit of a Q&A and then we play a few songs too, so there's a lot of different options, we're kind of exploring which one is the best. So when you started writing for this record during the pandemic, I would imagine there was, like, a wish list of singers that you wanted to work with. Did you get all those? Are there some singers that you'd like to work with, maybe on volume two or the next record that's coming out? I know it's way too early to talk about that. Yeah, definitely, like, this was, I definitely had a wish list and all of these people that were on the album were on that wish list and, like, everyone is incredible, everyone's someone I'm such a big fan of and I've loved their voice for so, so long, which is, I also would have loved to have, maybe in the future, I would like to work with Olly Sykes, he's an incredible vocalist, someone I love, also I'd like to work with, like, a few more people that push me out of my comfort zone a little bit, whether it's, like, maybe a rapper, I think would be quite cool to sort of explore that combination of music, of, like, the shred guitar and the kind of rap, and a lot of bands are kind of doing that. We do that a little bit in some of the MGK live shows, a lot of these rap songs, we kind of turn into metal songs, which is really interesting, and I love the idea of doing something like that in the future. So, you know, like I said, this album is quite retrospective for the next one, I'd like to be a bit more forward-thinking of it and work with people that you wouldn't expect. And sonically, what were you using for gear on this record? I would imagine your signature guitar, which I love that guitar, by the way. Yeah, ah, thank you, it's so pretty. Yeah, so we were using, so yeah, I used the signature Kiesel guitar for all of the solos. For a lot of the rhythm stuff, we also actually used an EST, just because it had an Evertune, so it saved a lot of time with tuning and stuff, so that was quite helpful. We have a whole, like, behind-the-scenes kind of playlist over on my YouTube, which you can scan the QR code in the physical album and you can see everything we used and stuff. And then we used an EVH 5150 for the majority of stuff, often double-tracking or even quadruple-tracking, and then running in parallel with a Marshall JCM800. For a lot of the solo stuff, we also used my Diesel VH4, which I absolutely love the sound of. And that was mostly it, like, in terms of pedals and stuff, most of it was done via software and stuff by our producer, but yeah, those are the amps we used, running through a Mesa Boogie cab as well. Are you a fan of using modelers at all, not just in a live setting but in the studio? What do you get out of those two amps that you don't necessarily get out of a modeler? I'd say, well, I use modelers a lot with, like, my YouTube stuff, so we use, like, Neural DSP all the time, like, Archetype Noise, like, what I would class as, like, my sound, if you know what I mean. And then on stage, I use a Kemper a lot of the time, or I use a Quad Cortex, so I'm a big fan of modelers, I think they sound great, they're so convenient. I'm very weak, I have little arms, so I can't carry a big amp around, so it's helpful for me. But I do think when you're recording, there's just something special when you're recording an album to get that, like, kind of proper amp feel to it, and that big sound. It's just kind of that natural, raw thing to it. I don't know what it is, whether it's, like, a little bit of a hit of the amp, I'm not sure what it is, but it's just something that just feels a bit more magical, I guess, when you're using, you know, actual amps in the studio. And you mentioned your YouTube channel, which, of course, we'll link to, and there's always exciting stuff coming out. The Enter Sandman song sounded great, awesome video. Oh, thank you. Do you have some tips to guitar players that are trying to make a dent in that YouTube world? It's difficult at the moment because it's, like, easier than ever, but it's also harder than ever, because there's so much opportunity for you to post, like, on TikTok, so many more people are going viral, but also it's so oversaturated now that it's difficult to make a dent. I'd say things which are important is try and find, firstly, be authentically yourself, don't try and be like anyone else. Like, don't be like, oh, my favourite YouTuber does this, so I'm going to do that too. Like, find what makes you really unique, find your niche, and really try and use that as much as you can and enjoy what you're doing, because people can tell online when it's authentic and when it's not. And that's, like, really, really important with online content is being yourself. The next thing is just post consistently as much as you can, especially if you're doing short form stuff like TikTok, Instagram, and all of that. And also, like, rinse what you've got. If you do one, like, long horizontal video, and it's maybe, like, two minutes long, then cut that into, like, five or six 15-second vertical videos and use that on TikTok and Instagram. Like, you can reuse content in that way and, like, cross-post to different accounts and stuff. And just kind of just, yeah, post as much as you can. You've got to work hard, you've got to try and come up with something new and creative that's authentic to yourself. Well, we appreciate all the work that you put in. I know it's not as easy as people think it is, and you put a lot of work in. How many viewers do you have now? Well, I've just hit just over a million on YouTube, which I'm so, so excited about. We still have our balloon from the million. The cat's destroyed the M, but we're still on. And I'm almost at a million on Instagram as well. TikTok, I don't know. I don't check TikTok. I'm not very good at that. Probably most of them are just my mum re-watching the videos again and again. Through the process of making a record, I know that's a big learning process. So what's the difference between Sophie today and Sophie from before you started writing that first record? I think, well, this whole record has this overarching theme of, you know, imposter syndrome. And basically, when I started writing this record, I was this, you know, girl who was scared to play live at all. I'd grown up on the internet. Everything was always behind a screen where you can edit, where you can, you know, do as many takes as you want. Like, I'd never kind of really put myself out there in a sense. And starting writing this album throughout the process was me thinking, like, I want to try and overcome this. Like, this album is going to be telling a story of me overcoming this. And like, I've gone from that, you know, when I first started writing the album to now where I've played on some of, like, the biggest stages. Like, I played in stadiums and stuff. And that whole process there of just the confidence, I guess, growing of knowing I can play in front of so many people as well as behind a screen has just been really cool. So this whole album has just been so healing for me. And I've, you know, it's just changed my mindset a lot of music and to actually have fun with it, rather than be so overly concerned about playing exactly what you've written, playing exactly the right notes. Just go out, have fun, put on a show and, you know, learn to laugh at yourself, learn to have fun and accept the mistakes and they help you grow. So I think it's just been a mindset shift over everything. And you've been so gracious with your time. And I really appreciate you taking the time to chat with us. Is there anything else you'd like to say to the Ultimate Guitar community? Thank you so much for having me. I love Ultimate Guitar. You guys are incredible and you guys have an amazing community and I'm honored to be a part of it. But yeah, get our new album, Imposter Syndrome, this is the vinyl, comes out 10th of November. And I hope you guys love it. I hope you guys can relate to some of the lyrics and stuff. I hope you like the solos. Hopefully the tabs will be on Ultimate Guitar Results and you can learn it. Thank you guys so, so much for having me. It's been so great to chat to you.