After two albums with Columbia Records, it was time for a change for Lucy Rose. Her third album 'Something's Changing' will be released this month on Communion records. In the end it all came down to the direction she was going in as an artist.
"They're very, very different record labels. I think over time with Columbia it was like a relationship. It was perfect to start with but we were just growing apart in many ways."
"I was very much changing as an artist and their direction was very different to the direction I thought I should be going in as an artist."
For the new album, Communion seemed to come out of the blue. "When it came to Communion I wasn't really looking for anybody, again just like relationships [laughs], it kind of just happened."
"They just got me and I feel like that's really, really rare. They understood what I wanted to do. They understood the artist that I am and the record I wanted to make."
She also had some collaborators on the new album, working with the likes of The Staves and Elena Tonra from Daughter. Despite being friends with them for years, she still wasn't sure if they would actually agree to recording a song with her.
"I was kind of just winging it wondering if they would say yes, so I sent the songs and to my astonishment they did. I was absolutely thrilled about it."
For her it was about staying true to the spirit of the record, instead of just layering her own vocals. "I felt like I really wanted some backing vocals and some harmonies, and then I didn't want to layer up my own vocals. The vibe of the record is very much a live record, the band playing in a room and recording in one take. To layer up my vocals felt like the wrong thing and I really wanted a different texture to the songs."
In terms of the inspiration for the new album, it all started with a trip to South America. It's not so much that the trip inspired the sound of the album, but more that it reminded her of why music is important.
"My writing process was still the same but my mindset I think was very different. Lyrically, the things that I was writing about felt like they were inspired from that trip. I felt like I understood what was important again about music and about life, and the message I wanted to put out through this record."
Not only was it a realisation of what was important about music, but it was also the fact that she had a much deeper connection with her fans than she thought.
"I realised the connection that my fans had with my music was with those deeper, more emotional songs. I felt like "wow, this is what really matters" and those songs are what have really changed people's lives or helped them through a certain thing, that's the sort of music that I want to make."
The trip she took with her husband to South America was recorded as part of a short documentary which accompanies the new album. The plan initially was just to visit her fans in Latin America but as someone told her, "you really should film this, just film bits of it because it's really crazy!"
It all came together then when they got back home. "We came back and we were like "wow, this was actually one really, really amazing experience," like nothing like we expected - so much more than we could have ever dreamed of.
"Luckily, we had all this footage and then our friend just pieced it together. It's only when we got back that we decided we should make a documentary out of it."
During the trip she stayed with her fans in places like Argentina, Ecuador, Mexico and Brazil. There was one visit in particular though, to Uruguay, which really had an impact on her.
"There was one young girl who I played with. I learned one of her songs in Spanish in Montevideo. That was really lovely this one evening - she was so shy and unconfident when it came to her music and she was so talented.
"We spent the evening - her teaching me how to play one of her songs and playing it through together. Then we performed it in front of her parents and it was really lovely."
When it came to recording the new album, it was a bit of a challenge for Rose since it was recorded live and done in one take. It forced her to step outside her comfort zone.
"It was the first time that I did something like that. I had to be braver with everything and I had to remind myself that people like Nico, whose voice isn't perfect but I love it, and people like Neil Young did it as well. It was really about being brave with what we were doing."
For Rose, it was about staying true to the record and producing something that felt authentic and not over-produced.
"It was committing to the thing that everyone always says, which is nowadays records are so polished and perfect that no human could sing it or play it that good."
"It's difficult when you're there recording to be like, "oh, should we not just tidy that up slightly?" It was hard to keep reminding myself that this is the sort of record that I wanted to make and I had to keep committing every time I doubted myself - just in my head I would say, "commit, Lucy, commit to this." [Laughs]
Despite what the album may sound like, what matters most are the songs themselves. The lead single Floral Dresses has a beautiful message behind it about not conforming to traditional standards of beauty.
As Rose put it, "with Floral Dresses I did have something to say and I think for many girls that I've met around the world, and boys as well...people that had felt like they don't fit the mould, or they don't fit what society sometimes makes them feel like they should be.
"It was the first time I've ever expressed that about me, because I think for so much of us it's human instinct to want to fit in. I think I realised that I do fit in but I fit in in a different way, and that's kind of what the song is about."
You get the sense with Lucy Rose that she really appreciates her fans and doesn't take them for granted. There was one quote in particular though that epitomised how she feels about them.
"I decided that actually I wasn't going to think about getting more and more fans, I actually wanted to say hello to the fans that I did have and say thank you to the fans that I did have for supporting me."
Although playing more intimate venues may suit her style a bit better, she does still enjoy being part of the festival season.
"At Glastonbury I had the most amazing time and I felt unbelievably grateful for the fans that were there. I felt like they really understood me and what I was trying to do and they were behind me on that."
This month she will be playing in Dublin at Longitude which she says she's really excited about. There is one particular reason though why she loves coming to Ireland.
"I don't think I've been anywhere in the world with that many gingers, it's great! I feel like everyone else is the odd one out when I'm in Ireland. So yeah, I'm excited to go definitely."
She also seems to enjoy the crowds over here as well... even if they are a bit rowdier. "I think they give it a bit more in Ireland, I think they've got slightly less inhibitions maybe and they just go for it which I like. The grog probably helps [laughs], but I like that too, it's different."
'Something's Changing' is out on Communion Records on July the 7th. Lucy Rose will play Longitude in Marlay Park on Sunday the 16th of July.