Straight from the Hooksmith's Mouth

Hear first-hand how a pro songwriter gets her results

To deliver some insights into the world of the professional hitmaker, we grabbed some downtime with one of the UK’s most versatile and prolific songwriters, Karen Poole. Beginning as one half of Brit and Ivor Novello-nominated, platinum selling pop duo Alisha’s Attic, Karen has had over 25 Top 10 hits and has worked with artists including Kylie Minogue, Will Young, Sugababes, Annie Lennox, David Guetta, Lily Allen and many others. Her latest collaboration is the new Galantis single Rich Boy, out on January 27th.

cm: Has your method / approach to songwriting changed over the last 15 years?

KP: “Yes. I do more dance stuff than I’ve ever done, and we write just hooks a lot these days. I very rarely sit down with somebody on an instrument and jam a song. It’s very rare, sadly – I miss it! I generally also do less stuff with artists now, as albums are actually much less common these days. It’s a singles-based market taking over, which means there’s more pitching songs, and more focus on having ‘the single’, but I guess the pressure of writing a single is a good one.”

cm: What’s your favourite method of working when you write?

KP: “I’m quite an over thinker with toplines, and I always have been – I can be infuriating to work with! I think the dance stuff I do (with people like Becky Hill, etc), seems to come quicker, and I feel a little more free to just be a little more ‘off the cuff’. It’s a new way of writing but I enjoy it.