Page 46 - ION Indie Magazine JanFeb 2021 Issue

Rhiannon was about 14 when she got her mitts on her first guitar. Whereas most wannabe musicians might
pick up an instrument and take ages to learn a few chords or get any sort of half recognizable sound out of
it, Rhiannon never seemed to have that problem as she has a really strange musical brain full of crotchets,
semiquavers, and little squiggly things that I can't quite remember the name of. Her brain seems to be wired
up in such a way that as soon as she picks up a guitar, it regards the instrument as an extension of her body.
She can play it almost without thinking, in the same way that people don't think about breathing. It's as if
Apollo was mooching about in the heavens a few years ago thinking, “I'm bored,” then decided to liven up his
day by granting the gift of exceptional music cognizance to some lucky newborn individual…that individual
being the aforementioned. Or it could be pure luck, if you believe in that sort of thing. Anyway, with this
extraordinary musical brain power, she can mess around on a guitar for a few minutes and not only come up
with a melodic masterpiece, but also introduce a new chord not previously known to mankind.

In the early days, Rhiannon used to sneak into her brother's room on tippy toes and fool about with his bass
guitar. And as her dad was a bit of a rocker, she'd work out all the old rock basslines which she'd been
subjected to from an early age. Ah yes, “Smoke On The Water.” I hear you, sister. We've all been there.

But, as it happens, guitar wasn't even Rhiannon's first instrument. Neither was bass. Her first instrument was
saxophone, which she learned for a couple of years before being swept off her feet by the guitar. She gave
her sax the old “It's not you, it's me” routine before giving it the elbow in favour of her new six-stringed
paramour. These days, it just sits there skulking in the corner and is “home sweet home” to a couple of spiders
called Eric and Ernie. Rhiannon still plays alto and tenor on people's records occasionally but has to get into
the “sax zone” first by literally blowing out the cobwebs as she doesn't practice as regularly on that instrument
these days.

Oh, the things you learn when you buy someone a beer.

Anyway, enough of all that twaddle. Let's just cut to the questions and see where it takes us…

Mal Whichelow: What originally drew you to Sheffield?

Rhiannon Scutt: I used to live just a few miles from the city, but came to Sheffield for love, and instead fell in
love with the Steel City. I quickly realised there's nowhere else I can see myself living at this point in my life
and made the move in 2015. There's a rich and varied music scene if you dig a little beneath the surface of
what we all know as the famous Sheffield exports. I've been particularly fortunate to meet and work with some
of the most talented players I've ever worked with here, and because this city is just one big village, those
players have since become some of my nearest and dearest.

MW: How did you get to meet your regular band players?

RS: I met drummer Sarah Heneghan at one of Sheffield's few queer nights some years ago. We realised the
Venn diagram of our musical heroes overlapped with The Be Good Tanyas, Kaki King, and general
melancholia. From the way she spoke about music alone, I got the feeling she was a good musician. I had
no idea just how good. As for bassist Philippe Clegg, he was recommended to me at a session with producer
Keith Angel, and bizarrely, that very night, our paths crossed -- one of those perfectly serendipitous moments
that has resulted in a wonderful musical relationship and subsequent friendship.

MW: You seem to employ all sorts of sounds in your music. Is there a particular sound you are going
for or does anything go?

RS: I try to let the song dictate what's needed. Generally, I write on acoustic guitar, which naturally lends itself
to certain accompaniment. But lately, I'm resisting traditional palettes and am happy to mix drum machines
with live strings, then maybe stick some jazz trumpet in the mix. This sometimes comes down to the session
musicians I love playing with. They each bring their own background and style to the songs, something I
much prefer than writing parts for them. I love the collaborative feel! And they always bring something I would
have never written myself.