Electroniq is a showcase of the best up-and-coming names in electronica. With a focus on live vocals and immersive visuals, the event puts female artists front and centre, highlighting the talent shaping the future of the scene. We caught up with the force of nature that is Laurie Black
Laurie Black is an award-winning synthpunk artist and classically trained pianist, blending razor-sharp satire with politically charged lyrics and explosive electronic music. Armed with synths, sequencers and a wicked sense of humour, she turns every live performance into something theatrical, confrontational and brilliantly unpredictable.
How did you get into making music?
It was a natural progression for me, the electric piano I learnt to play classically on also had a rudimentary inbuilt multi-track recorder built into it (that saved your tunes onto a floppy disk!), so I used to make electronic-sounding tracks on there, probably aged 10 or 11, way before I knew how much I loved electronic music or really what a synthesiser was. The signs were there though – my CD collection was all Finnish metal artists, and Goldfrapp ha! At college I learnt how to use a DAW, and it was a compulsion from then on, really.
You teach electronic music, host cabaret nights and now run EMOM, how do you find the time?
As you can tell from how long it’s taken me to write this reply and get it back to you – I do some stuff fast, and some stuff slow hahaha. I’m a weird breed of artistic that is also pretty organised and loves a spreadsheet or calendar, so that really helps finding and making the time for everything I want to do, but at the same time I would say I’m a recovering workaholic who is trying very hard to be a bit less busy and have time to smell the roses!
You ooze confidence onstage, have you always been such a cool cat?
Not always – I remember back in the cabaret kid days I would seriously worry about what happened when I inevitably had my first heckler… I worried about it so much, and gigged so much that when it did happen, I didn’t really realise it happened until after the show – and somehow I just handled it so chill. For me, the amount of stage time I’ve had from around 10 Edinburgh Festival Fringes playing 1-6 shows a day for 30 days in a row, and all the other gigs I’ve done in my life, have cultivated the cool cat. There were some absolute clangers of shows in there, of course, but in an Edinburgh basement to 5 people, there’s not so much at stake and you can really learn who you are and how to perform to the best of your ability.
Who are your influences?
I’ve slowly morphed over the years into electronic music, but as above started off as a heavy metal girl. I obviously don’t write metal but do feel there are alternative/metal/goth/punk sensibilities in my music for sure that listeners pick up on. My listening list at the minute includes Haute & Freddy, Pixelgrip and TOMORA – so some fun, new, femme-fronted electronic stuff! Which makes sense I guess 😉
Apart from playing Electroniq, what has been a career highlight so far?
I’ve had a couple – supporting Adam Ant on his UK ANTICS tour; a tour with my good pal Professor Elemental last year; recently being featured in Blitzed Mag, and Electronic Sound Magazine with Camden EMOM! But each day is a gem, being able to play with incredible instruments and gig as a solo, independent female artist – it’s a cliched answer, but it’s all a big highlight. I saw a brilliant show at Edinburgh Fringe 2025 called The Other Mozart about Mozart’s sister who, when the time came, had her creativity and talents quashed because she had to be a lady and get married and have children – until then I’d never properly considered how lucky I am to be able to be an artist, and make my own decisions, and write my own music. It’s then also very cool that people like it, and want to see me do it live.
Which artist would you most love to support?
Someone unexpected – I think people quite regularly will label your gender or genre, or whatever about you, and group you in on lineups with similar people where it’s likely that you’ll have similar audiences already. That’s what was so good about the Adam Ant tour, I was an unexpected support act who the audience were like “WHO THE HELL IS THIS?!” And then by the end loved it – especially the ladies who loved me singing about vaginas and feminism in space. Some of the blokes hated it, and that was fun too. But I like being a black cat and surprising people, and winning them over. Having said that though, a Laurie Anderson/Spiegel/Black tour would be sick and I’m proud to be another female Laurie in the electronic music sphere 😉
You’ve played Electroniq in 2024, what can we expect this time around?
Since 2024, I’ve upgraded to a modular rig that runs a couple of sequencers and the drums for my set – so there’s even more twiddling and plugging and unplugging things before – incredible scenes! I’ve released a new album Noisebleed, and am currently writing some new things, so there will be new songs too. Expect bleeps and bloops, and some screaming into the void. See you there!
Electroniq November 27th also features Leg Puppy 2.0, & The Last DJ & Holy Braille
Tickets on sale
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Article by Mr Laurence
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