Name: Sally Herbert
Nationality: British
Occupation: Composer, orchestral arranger, producer
Current release: Sally Herbert's new album Imprints is out September 11th 2026 via Bidwell.

If you enjoyed this Sally Herbert interview and would like to stay up to date with her music, visit her on Instagram, Facebook, and tiktok.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

I am nearly always inspired by hearing other music. Something I hear on the radio, tv or in a film can spark an idea or feeling.

I won’t go back to that piece but try and recall how it made me feel or what it made me think of.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

I started the album with my ‘Swann’ co-writer Richard Northen. We initially had an EP of 4 songs that we wanted to be dark, cinematic and electronic but keeping the orchestral element which is a crucial part of our sound.

When I decided to release them myself, I had the idea of bringing together songwriting and string writing which have both been part of my musical life.

I knew I wanted the whole album to feel cinematic but after that I let the composition develop organically without overthinking the process.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

I don’t think too much before I start writing but it’s usually best when I’ve heard something to inspire me.

I was listening to Barber’s ‘Adagio for Strings’ ...



... before I wrote ‘The Garden’.



Like his Adagio, I wanted the music to reach a peak before crashing down to its foundations again. Also inspired by his seamless, breathless legato, the orchestra in ‘The Garden’ glide between every chord without ever losing contact with the string.

On this album I often began with the electronic elements, then added the vocal or strings afterwards. I started ‘Mako’ by putting a cello through loop pedals and creating a groove that way.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I am very disciplined with my writing and making music in general. It’s probably my classical training but also as an orchestral arranger I am usually working to a deadline.

I like working early, so usually a coffee and exercise then I start. I find working in the evening almost impossible!

For Imprints, what did you start with? If there were conceptual considerations, what were they?

As I said before the initial EP laid the foundations for the sound of the album, but as someone who has spent years unlearning a lot of my classical training I try to just let the creative juices flow and see where it leads me.

Initially I am very unprecious and simply lay down my immediate ideas but I spend a lot of time reviewing and cutting later in the process.

Tell me a bit about the way the new material developed and gradually took its final form, please.

I have always collaborated throughout my career and have always enjoyed that process. At quite an early point in writing I became obsessed about doing this album on my own and facing my fear of flying solo.

I realised that I now had the conviction of knowing what represented me musically. I also knew that I could produce and mix most of the album myself, although still working with some of the amazing musicians I have met throughout my career.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

I am not a lyricist and would never attempt to be, to be honest quite often in songs it’s the least interesting part for me. However, I definitely know when I don’t like a lyric and that would have stopped me including a song on the album.

Caroline Buckley, who co-wrote ‘Cathy’s Gone Home’, and with whom I have written countless songs, often has a story that she’s heard or made up. I love discussing that story before starting, as it often influences the music.

The lyrics of ‘Cathy’s Gone Home’ were based on dedications she found written on benches in her home town of Broadstairs.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

I have to let go, and lead with my gut instinct. I’m not afraid if that’s not what I had planned.

It has taken me a long time to get to this place and for years I would have given up on a piece of music I was writing if it didn‘t instantly work. I have learnt to trust myself.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece?

I have always given myself space once finishing a composition, I do this with arranging as well. I think coming back at a later date really helps me see the bigger picture.

I listened to the album over and over again whilst walking until I was completely happy with the structure and mixes. Many of the tracks needed to be cut down into a better form which was really hard.

In particular ‘Darkest before Dawn’ and ‘Beauty lies’ started as much longer tracks.

How do you think the meaning, or effect of an individual piece is enhanced, clarified or possibly contrasted by the EPs, or albums it is part of? Does each piece, for example, need to be consistent with the larger whole?

As this album was to be a mix of songs and instrumentals I wanted to match a song with an instrumental B-side so the two would be released at the same time. I felt that this would help the album feel cohesive and not an album of two parts.

That being said, the tracks all felt like they fitted together with their fusion of electronic, orchestral and cinematic sound.

In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (including production, mixing and mastering)?

With the songs, the singers were given free reign with their contribution. They were given the tracks and then recorded their own vocals.

When Jimmy Somerville sent me his vocal for ‘Bade’ I wanted to add an effect that would distort the first half of the song so it felt claustrophobic and tense, when his recognisable high falsetto comes in it gives the song a sense of total release.



Arrangement is of course crucial to me in all the compositions but it was just as important to get the mixes perfectly balanced with the other elements.

Music and the accompanying artwork are often closely related. Can you talk about this a little bit for your current project and the relationship that images and sounds have for you in general?

This album is meant to be a reflection of my life in music and the people who have helped shape it. I have a pin board in my studio with pictures of family, friends, and many of the musicians, singers and producers that I have worked with.

I asked my great friend, collage artist Melanie Barnes, if she could replicate that with other parts of my life. Nature had inspired a lot of the instrumental tracks and I wanted her to incorporate this into the artwork.

We also included these natural graphics and images throughout the single artwork and videos The album title is Imprints; a mark made or a lasting impression, reflecting the influence of the people and places that have shaped my life and the album.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

I have always felt a need to move on so I’m already thinking about what comes next.

It was partly why I wanted to do this album on my own terms so I could decide when it was time to let this chapter go.

I would love to know a little about the feedback you've received from listeners or critics about what they thought some of your songs are about or the impact it had on them – have there been “misunderstandings” or did you perhaps even gain new “insights?”

I’ve been surprised at how kind people have been, it’s also interesting some of the influences people hear and I’ve been told by some that the music feels like a score to an imaginary movie.

As my album hasn’t been released at the time of writing, I’m sure there will be plenty more feedback - good and bad - to come!

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

Music has been part of my everyday life since I started playing the violin aged seven. I don’t know any different so in some ways it is as natural to me as making a cup of coffee. I can’t imagine my life without it.

Luckily after all these years of composing and arranging I can still get a feeling of elation and excitement that nothing else in life can give me.