Get To Know... Vanity Fairy • Neu • DIY Magazine

Hello and welcome back to DIY’s introducing feature, Get To Know… which aims to get you a little bit closer to the buzziest acts that have been catching our eye as of late, and working out what makes them tick.

Having spent the past few years blazing a trail across the capital’s grassroots circuit, instilling a sense of infectious joy de vivre via support slots with The Last Dinner Party, Getdown Services, and Warmduscher, Vanity Fairy is the epitome of escapism. To listen to a track or to watch her live is like stepping into a sequinned time machine: from the off, you’re transported to some indeterminate locale between a ’70s dancefloor and a Madonna music video, all funk-flecked instrumentals and crystalline falsetto. As she readies her incoming next EP ‘Queen Of Queens’ - the follow up to 2024’s ‘Top Of The Pops’ - we catch up with the woman herself to talk Shania, moussaka, and her inimitable USP…

What’s your earliest musical memory?
I was four years old on a family holiday in Portugal, and some Portuguese musicians were playing in Albufeira old town square.

What’s the first song/album you bought with your own money (and why)?
Come On Over - Shania Twain. The lady who gave me a lift to school played it every day in her car for five years straight - she never changed the tape. Luckily I loved it. Banger after banger!

Everything about Vanity Fairy - from the music to the costumes to the live show - is an adrenaline shot of unself-conscious joy. When you started out (or even now!), is this something you felt was lacking in London’s music scene?
Tysm. I didn’t think about it when I started Vanity Fairy, but since playing loads of shows and being told by lots of people that exact thing, I totally see it! I’m filling that hole?! It’s my USP?!

“I love that combination [of sincerity and fun] and it comes naturally to me.”

That being said, your second EP ‘Queen Of Queens’ doesn’t shy away from lyrically exploring quite complicated, multi-faceted feelings of insecurity and anxiety. How do you go about marrying these emotionally dissonant elements together? Do you ever find it challenging to strike that balance between sincerity and fun?
Mmm, no actually - I love that combination and it comes naturally to me, ‘cos I’m an emotionally dissonant, anxious, insecure person who’s also very sincere and sometimes fun, haha.

Who would be your dream festival headliner?
Well, me of course! And my friend’s band - Mumbletide - ‘cos they’re amazing and deserve to be very successful.

If people could take away one thing from your music, what would it be?
Joy!

Finally, DIY are coming around for dinner - what are you making?
I’ve just been to Greece and I love their food so much, so we’d have stuffed vine leaves, peppers and tomatoes for starter; veggie moussaka with greek salad for main; and honey and nut baklava with homemade pistachio ice cream for dessert.

‘Queen Of Queens’ is out on 15th November.

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