Intricately crafting her signature sound with vintage Casio keyboards and over a decade of song-writing under her belt, Aimée Fatale is an artist you should have on your radar. Drawing inspiration from Leonard Cohen, sporting a beehive bonnet reminiscent of Priscilla Presley and the inevitable incoming comparisons to Lana Del Rey, Aimée is carving out a unique space of retro-inflected alt-pop in a modern world, blending nostalgic aesthetics with contemporary flair. Her dedication to world-building, both sonically and visually, reflects her meticulous approach to her craft, ensuring every song, performance, and project invites fans into her universe.
As she prepares for a busy end to 2024, including headline shows and festival appearances, Aimée’s commitment to connecting with her growing community of fans – whether through live gigs or a WhatsApp group filled with supportive listeners – shows that she’s not just making music; she’s creating a community. We caught up with her ahead of the release of her upcoming live videos recorded at The New Theatre, to find out more about her influences, songwriting style, and approach to performing live.
As I’m speaking to Aimée Fatale, she’s having a very chaotic week, following her tour van breaking down in Liverpool a few days prior. “We had a gig in Liverpool on Saturday and our bassist just bought a new van. He’s driven it around the country a lot but this time it decided to fully breakdown. It started overheating on the way there. We made it there, but it wasn’t drivable. It took us four hours to get home – it wasn’t ideal,” she explains. “But the show was really good. We hadn’t played since July so it had been a while, and we were all a little stressed, and perhaps a little rusty. But we got through it.”
They’re essentially children’s toys from the ’80s!
Aimée has been writing songs for 10 years, but had a transformative experience last August when she recorded an EP with a friend. “It was the first thing I’d done as part of this solo project. I took him this song I wrote in 2016 called ‘It Could Be Better’. It was a slow, early Leonard Cohen, folky type thing. I’d been listening to a lot of ’80s Leonard Cohen where he uses Casio keyboards. My friend had one, so he got it out and played a drum beat. It starts out in the first half in that old style and then the drums come in,” she says.
“The keyboard was out of tune, so we tuned all the instruments down to be out of tune with the keyboard. Maybe not the smartest idea, but I thought it was fun. We couldn’t use that keyboard for the rest of it, so I ended up buying my own, because they’re £40 on eBay – they’re essentially children’s toys from the ’80s. Now, I build everything on those, because they sound rubbish but if you record them nicely and use the drums, it makes a really unique sound and style, and it’s more interesting than standard piano.”
Anyone who pretends she hasn’t influenced music in a massive way in the past ten years is kidding themselves and discrediting her.
There are obvious similarities to Lana Del Rey, and a recent cover of ‘Video Games’ on Instagram only propelled these comparisons. To Aimée, these are nothing but a compliment. “I think anyone who pretends she hasn’t influenced music in a massive way in the past ten years is kidding themselves and discrediting her. I can only hope to have a career like hers. I was 12 when she first launched and it blew my mind. I’d already started exploring vintage music, through my Grandad listening to Frank Sinatra and Elvis, so it came at the right time to show you could do it in a modern way,” she says.
“[Lana Del Rey] was the first time there was a woman doing an interesting thing like that when I was conscious of it happening – I grew up listening to Amy Winehouse, Madonna, Debbie Harry, these strong female influences, but this was the first time I was conscious of it happening now. Obviously, if you were on Tumblr from 2012 until 2014 it was non-stop. We share a lot of the older influences and inspirations. I’m trying to make my own style of music and make my own path but it’s a huge compliment.”
Aimée co-directed her upcoming live performance videos released today on YouTube, to ensure that they matched her vision for the world she wanted to create. “The visuals of what I’m doing are almost as important as the sound because I sort of live in this world where I’ve made everything look like this,” she references her background on the call, which looked like it had come straight out of the same decades as her music. “It’s nice to have been able to create these in the way that I’ve seen them. For each song I write, I have a world it lives in, or I’ve planned out a music video, even if it won’t happen.”
For each song I write, I have a world it lives in, or I’ve planned out a music video, even if it won’t happen.
She continues: “It’s important for everything to be cohesive and a world you can enter. It was the first visual project we’ve done – we did a live session a while ago but it was just in a studio and it wasn’t going to cut it. So, I had the grand idea to do it in The New Theatre and we made it work. A friend came up from London with these old broadcast cameras that were used on Top of the Pops and we filmed it directly on these. We made all the boys dress up; it was great. It was the first step in creating this world. It was scary but cool.”
Aimée has always felt a strong identity, and this is the first time both the music and the visual have come out the way she intended. “It’s really important to get it right. There are so many inspirations coming from so many places so it could easily be ruined and I don’t want it to be. Careful steps, to make sure everything is done right,” she says.
When it comes to touring, she has grand plans, but is currently making the best of what she can produce in the venues she is visiting. “It’s nice to feel done-up, like you can step into that world. It helps other people to step into it as well – I’m not making a really specific sound and then getting on stage in a jumper and jeans. It’s fun as well. Getting dressed up, putting on a show. I’m extremely shy, I get very nervous, so it helps with that,” she says.
Aimée is emerging during an exciting time, when female artists are seeing mainstream success as a result of world-building: “It’s definitely a movement right now, of women in music which are killing it. Charli XCX’s whole BRAT thing is a perfect example of how I want to create a world. She’s serious but still silly, you can show all different sides of yourself. I’ve been doing this for 12 years and really committing to this style and sound since I was 17, but I’ve never really had the confidence to fully put myself out there. It’s nice to see that’s what people want now – just being completely yourself is very freeing and people want that, they don’t want people to be the same and doing the same stuff. It’s perfect timing,” she says.
Aimée has an array of upcoming shows, including Live at Leeds, a headline show in London, and a support slot at The Rodeo’s upcoming showcase at The Lions Den in Manchester, which she admits she is very nervous for. “As always, but you’ve got to get through that. I rely heavily on the band, and they’re all very supportive and calm me down. I have a little freak out before I go on, and then you realise you’ve got that far, you can’t do anything else, you’ve just got to do it. That’s how I get through it – get up there, pretend it’s not happening,” she says.
Her live shows thus far have gone down well with fans, who have even been singing along to unreleased material: “I was upset when I came off stage in Liverpool because I couldn’t hear them, but I watched clips back. One of the ones they were singing, I’ve never performed before and never put online, so they must have just learnt the chorus throughout the song. They must have just latched onto it well! They were a great crowd.”
Aimée’s fanbase are dedicated and enthusiastic, but none more than those who are on her WhatsApp group chat. “I’ve got a group chat of about 70 girls; they are the most supportive people. I send them private links to full songs, share my zines… it’s nice to have that connection before I’ve released anything, knowing that people are already interested and want to support it, want to listen. It pushes me to carry on,” she says.
“It’s a really cute community, really positive and kind. People underestimate teenage girls in terms of intelligence, emotional maturity, what they’ve got to give. They’re the most supportive people. They have so many emotions and it’s nice to really connect and feel like you’ve got a community of people.”
Going forward, Aimée plans to continue on the path she’s set out for herself in 2024. “I think the plan is to keep on as we’re doing, and try and gig as much as people. I’m nervous but I do still love it and it’s all I want to do. Just keep gigging and building communities and interest, and see what happens. And then win a Grammy!” she adds with a smile.
Aimée Fatale will be performing at The Lions Den on 12 December 2024. You can buy tickets here.
