Kat Harlton
Peyton Stilling is carving out a niche as a must-see pop singer-songwriter in the vein of Maggie Rogers, Lianne La Havas and John Mayer. Her seamless blend of soulful vocals, heartrending lyrics and polished pop production results in an infectious sound that’ll keep you coming back for more.
Following the release of her debut single “Forest Through the Trees,” which has gained over 200k streams on Spotify alone, Stilling recently released “Healing”, and we had the opportunity to chat with her about the new single, working with a Grammy nominated production team, and what’s next.
Kat: For those new to your music, how would you describe it?
Peyton: I would say my music is singer/songwriter with pop elements. I am not bubble gum pop, but I am not sit around a campfire music.
Kat: Can you talk about the inspiration behind your single “Healing”?
Peyton: The song all came together during quarantine. I had recently broken up with my boyfriend and had also just moved back in with my parents (double whammy). I was writing a lot of music. It is always very therapeutic for me, and Healing was born.
Kat: You worked with Grammy-nominated, RIAA-certified, multi-platinum production team locknkey, which consists of Moses Elias and Robert Sewell, what did you learn from collaborating with them?
Peyton: I loved working with them. It was the first time being in the studio with someone different, (since I recorded my last five singles with the same producer.) It was so fun working with them though. We had a writing camp where I turned up with my guitar and a ton of voice notes I had recorded in my bedroom, and we cut about 6 or 7 demos. One of those demos turned out to be Healing.
Kat: Can you talk about some of your musical role models or inspirations, and how if any they have influenced your music or style?
Peyton: Growing up, I listened to a lot of Norah Jones. My dad was forever playing her music at home, then a lot of Amy Winehouse. Recently I have been listening to H.E.R and Audrey Mika. They have all influenced me in different ways. I love the raw emotion in all of their music though. I try to be as open as possible when writing and really try to convey what I am thinking/going through at that moment.
Kat: What’s next?
Peyton: Release more music!! Going to be releasing a few more singles at the start of 2021, then work on an E.P.
For more on Peyton Stilling visit: https://peytonstilling.com