The Lottery Winners’ Katie Lloyd on making indie collaborations officially a thing, bass heroes, and why the stage is in her blood

Having had a busy two years, releasing their debut album, an EP and a series of hilarious TV programs over lockdown called LWTV, Manchester-based quartet Lottery Winners have also recorded their second album this winter, and collaborated with a whole host of famous faces. We ask their bassist Katie Lloyd how they’ve remained so prolific through these troubled times.

“My mother is a singer and my dad is a bass player, so as a kid I just grew up sitting side of stage or in the crowd, watching them playing in bands, thinking that was the normal thing that happened!” she chuckles. “Like that’s the job you do – you go onstage and play for people. 

“There were always basses and guitars in the house, and when I was 11 they got me a short-scale bass and that was it. It just felt right. These days I have an American Standard and two Deluxe J-Basses. I’m using Blackstar amps on stage and a Valeton pedal which literally fits in my handbag!” 

Asked about her main influences, she explains: “My dad – he was always playing, and I was always watching in awe of him. When we’d drive anywhere, he’d always play virtuoso jazz players like Stanley Clarke and Jaco Pastorius. That’s what I grew up listening to. He also used to play bands like the Who and Nirvana, so players that were melodic and virtuosic influenced my playing.” 

Lottery Winners - Times Are Changing (Official Video) - YouTube

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For those who don’t know, how would she describe the Lottery Winners? “Someone once said that we were like ‘smile music’!” she laughs. “We’re pretty much straight-up indie-pop, but come and see us live to get what we’re about. We’ve always said we’d love to do an arena-sized gig, but it feels like we’re sitting in a living room together, having a laugh.” 

Over the pandemic, Katie’s band collaborated with musicians such as Frank Turner, Sleeper, KT Tunstall, and the Wonder Stuff, highlighting one of the positives of the global lockdowns.

“In the jazz and pop worlds, everyone does collabs – but it’s not really a done thing in the indie world,” she reflects. “During lockdown, though, everyone had the time to work on music – so we asked people that we liked to work with us. It was sad that we never got to go into the studio with them as it was all recorded remotely, but I don’t think we’d ever have had the opportunity to do that if we hadn’t all been at home.”  

• Something to Leave the House For is out now via Modern Sky.