LCM Song Of The Day: ‘Ups and Downs’ - Hattie Whitehead

Our LCM featured track today is the wonderful reflective and personal new single from London based singer-songwriter and friend Hattie Whitehead. It’s taken from Hattie’s second EP ‘Old Soul’ released on May 10th.

The video stars Fionn Whitehead & Jack Riddiford with Hattie Whitehead, Damien O'Doherty, Faunsia Tucker, Marta Linkmeyer Gabino, Laura-Jayne Hunter and Jacob Bailey

Hattie comments 'I wrote Ups and Downs when my life felt very unsettled. I had been neglecting songwriting and music making. Life was about getting by in a tough time, and in turn putting up a wall up to the inner workings of my mind and creativity. I was in the habit of keeping up appearances around others, and falling apart on my own. I was in a vicious cycle of loneliness and I’ve had so many conversations with others since who have been in a similar place.

In the music video I wanted to portray the inner battles we sometimes face in a style that is easily relatable. Someone can be numb to emotion in one instance, and falling apart in the next. I wanted it to highlight the loneliness we can feel when we have lost someone dear to us, yet also show the positivity and catharsis in remembering them and not shutting them out completely. In remembering our loved ones we can find peace as well. My brother Fionn was perfect for this role. We are very close, we have a good understanding of each other, we have been through the same loss together and Fionn has an incredibly subtle but genuine and honest style to his acting that was perfect for conveying the themes of the song.

Everyone will be faced with loss at some point in their life, yet we still don’t really talk about it as a society. We are so often suffering in silence and behind closed doors. I have found comfort in reading and listening to other peoples stories around grief. It reminds me that it’s not just me going through it on my own. Working with Ben Roe who directed and produced the video, we set out to create a video that was digestible and relatable to the viewer. I wanted it to challenge the idea that we’re alone in grieving. We’re all going through our individual hurts of course, but we often don’t realise the wider picture. We are part of a much bigger group of human beings going through similar motions alongside each other, and there’s comfort in that. By discussing grief and getting it out in the open, we can begin to realise that we’re not quite as alone as my lyrics suggest.'

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