Catching up with Fife songstress Cody Feechan on a Wednesday morning in May, her trademark husky voice sounds even more gravelly than usual.
“The voice is going a bit,” she laughs apologetically. “I think I’ve overdone it a little!”
She has been a busy woman, with a new single on the horizon and plenty of live performances on her schedule – so it’s no surprise that her voice is a little weary.
The musician reached No 2 in the iTunes singer-songwriter chart with previous release Breathe, and her rock-pop music has a country twang that appeals across all those genres.
Home girl
Friendly and down-to-earth, Cody happily describes herself as “a home girl”. She adds: “I was born in Methil in Fife, 10 minutes from where I stay now.”
It’s fitting, then, that her latest release is her new single Home, a tribute to “that one person in your life who feels familiar and safe, who feels like home”.
Home was released on May 26 and was quickly featured as single of the week on BBC Radio Scotland’s The Afternoon Show.
Cody’s country influences have also landed her a Ones to Watch pick on Absolute Radio Country.
An earlier release, Breathe reached number two in the iTunes Singer-Songwriter Chart in March 2021 and reached number 1 in the Amazon Music Best Sellers.
Musical roots
Life with her parents and brother always had a musical slant, as her father Paddy Feechan was a stalwart of the Fife music scene. “My dad plays guitar and it was him that taught me to play,” she says.
Paddy was in Fife punk bank Patrol but he and his daughter have broad musical tastes.
“My music varies so much,” says Cody. “I have just listened to so many genres over the years.”
She cites some of the great female voices as her biggest influences.
“I’ve always been drawn to a voice with a bit of an edge,” she points out. “Janis Joplin has always been at the top of my list, Stevie Nicks, The Cranberries.”
Edgy vocals
Those edgy vocals are also a signature sound for her favourite male artist, Kelly Jones of Stereophonics. Right now, she says: “I’m loving (American country star) Chris Stapleton. If I hear someone who has that wee bit of something different, a husky or edgy vocal, I’m hooked.”
Cody’s own career has been a bit of a slow burner. A shy teenager, she preferred to sing and play in front of family and friends to big public performances.
“I did my Higher music at school but I was a bit later to the music scene,” she says. “In the house I was always playing or with my close friends.”
Someone who has been instrumental in helping Cody to find her stage confidence is a man who has tasted some pretty impressive chart success himself recently.
Keeping it in the family
“One of my cousins, Cameron Barnes, is a musician,” she says, with a hint of understatement. “He got me to support him. He’s doing really well. I’m very proud of him.”
Cody writes all her own material, which she performs in her trademark husky vocals that make a feature of her Scottish accent.
She’s proud to sing with her own voice, something she partly attributes to her love for another Fife musical export, The Proclaimers.
“I’ve always loved them,” she enthuses. “I like how they sing in their own accent and they just put on a brilliant show.”
Home, like all of Cody’s songwriting, comes from a very personal place. Admitting that she likes to include “a wee bit of romance” in her writing, she explains: “I’ve got songs that are really personal that I haven’t put out there.
“But people say that music is therapy and I can relate to that. You pour your emotions into your songs.
“I go through stages, maybe a few months, when I’m writing constantly and I’m in the mindset where I’m writing lots at the minute.”
When it comes to making music, Cody describes herself as “pretty old school”. She explains: “I write the songs with my notepad and pen and then take them to the band to look at different arrangements.”
Album plans
The band includes more Fife-based musicians – Cody has been working with most of them since 2018 and counts them all as good friends. Keir Smith plays lead guitar with James McMurray on keyboard, James Martin on drums and Steven Smith on bass guitar.
So far, all her releases have been singles, but she says: “An album is at the top of my list now.”
Festival appearances will fill the summer months, including the Meadows Festival, Scottish Traditional Boat Festival, and Butefest. She will also be supporting well-known trad bands Skerryvore and Manran at some of their upcoming gigs.
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