The storied friendship of Prima Queen

When asking the delightful indie duo behind the Prima Queen moniker, Louise Macphail and Kristin McFadden, if they had a vision for their debut album when they first started writing it, Macphail hesitates before answering. “I don't think we did. A lot of the stories—” she laughs, catching her own slip, “a lot of the songs, they were written over such a long period that with this album, I feel like we got the idea of what it all meant together afterwards if that makes sense.”

The slip between story and song was a telling moment, revealing more than just the creative process behind the band’s debut album. In many ways, The Prize is the culmination of this very ethos. For Prima Queen, songwriting isn’t about meticulous planning or forcing a theme, instead it comes naturally and with time as they reflect on their experiences and draw connections they might not have seen in the moment. The result is an album that is as genuine as it is fun, a true reflection of the stories they’ve lived through side by side.

The duo first crossed paths when McFadden, originally from Chicago, enrolled in a songwriting course in London. Macphail, upon seeing a video of McFadden playing guitar, had a gut feeling: “I said to my friends, ‘She's gonna be in the band with me. She's the one.’ And they were like, ‘Okay, but be chill. Be chill’.” It’s the kind of meet-cute that belongs in a movie, with a serendipitous energy that continues to fuel their music today.

When they finally met, Macphail’s immediate enthusiasm might have been daunting for anyone else, but for McFadden it was the beginning of something special. “It made me like her more,” she shares, reminiscing on one of the pair’s first ever conversations: “she was like, ‘do you want to be in a band with me’?” It may have been the beginning of a band but more importantly, it was the beginning of a friendship. Their connection, felt in every song the group release together, is a reminder of how powerful an instinct can be – how recognising a kindred spirit can set a life-changing path in motion.

Since that fateful meeting nearly a decade ago, the pair have been on an unstoppable rise. With a string of critically acclaimed singles, captivating EPs, gigs at intimate local venues and festivals, and tours alongside notable acts like Wet Leg and Dream Wife, Prima Queen have built a project that thrives on always finding joy in the chaos of the climb. “We have that all the time at any small win. Like any win,” says Macphail on the marvel of their rise. “Especially because we often think about how hard it must be doing something like this on your own, because when we get to go on tour and stuff, it’s just like we get to go away together and do all this fun stuff.” It’s clear that their bond is what makes this all feel manageable – it's not just about the growth, but about being in it together which makes every step of the journey feel a little more extraordinary. It’s a feeling shared by McFadden, who recognises the boon in working with your best friend: “It’s such a competitive industry, so you have to remember ‘oh, wait, this is really cool’. And if one of us is feeling down, the other can bring you back up.”

As they approach the release of their debut album, it’s clear The Prize is an extension of that friendship. With their typical rock-tinged reflections on their real life experiences and kaleidoscopic adventures in love, heartbreak, and self-discovery evolving, Prima Queen’s debut takes more space within pop than their prior work. When asked about the pair’s evolving style, it comes back again to the personal – to what sits right with them. “Going to shows and feeling what was exciting us at that moment,” offers McFadden in response, “[it’s us] asking ‘what was feeling good?’”

Unlike the duo’s previous work, the new record allowed them to take risks and explore more facets of themselves. “I think sometimes when you're just releasing an EP or a single, you have to think, ‘this is our shot. We have to put everything into this one song,’” Macphail notes. “Whereas with an album, there's so many different parts of us – quieter moments, more exciting ones.” It’s a freedom that has allowed them to present a fuller picture of their artistry, capturing not only the high-energy tracks but also the quieter, introspective moments that round out their sound.

As the pair explain, the debut album is a patchwork of their shared experiences. Some tracks were written years ago, while others are more recent, offering a dialogue between their past and present selves. “There's a lot of our younger selves in it,” McFadden muses, “and then some of the newer songs, it's almost like they go quite well with them because it's like lessons you've learnt on those songs.” This interplay between old and new gives the album a timeless appeal, transforming from not only a debut, but into a living, breathing document of who they were before and who they are becoming. “It's about empowering each other. It's about telling our stories together.” It’s a collaboration that goes further than creating music.

As the duo discuss their approach to songwriting, they touch on the ways in which one person will come with an idea, a feeling, or a lived experience to explore, and the other will help to tell that story. “We’re there for all of the stories,” Macphail says succinctly. Partnership is the very cornerstone of their music, affording them the delicate introspection that feels like a quiet moment of clarity, and it’s noticeably audible in the sound they create. Whether subdued or groove-driven, the honesty in their lyrics is a facet that radiates. In “Mexico”, one of the first songs they ever wrote and a fan favourite at gigs, reworked and remastered for the record, this is especially clear.

The track starts softly, its restrained melody simmering beneath the surface, before gradually building momentum. By the end, the guitars kick up and everything boils over, spilling with emotion and reflecting the inevitable explosion of feelings when trying to push everything down. Title track “The Prize” leans into Prima-Queen-pop, its uplifting nature inviting the listener to indulge in a sense of personal connection. Co-written with producer Steph Marziano, the track was the final song created for the indie outfit’s debut but it became an anchor, grounding the album’s theme of growth and perseverance. “When ‘The Prize’ came together, it felt like it tied everything up perfectly,” recounts Macphail. “It’s like writing a song that you think you’re gonna need at some point or someone else might need.” That sentiment, of creating for themselves as much as for their audience, perfectly encapsulates the balance the pair continue to strike – an honest reflection of themselves yet something that reaches beyond, as if to say: ‘Hey, we’ve been there too.’

Looking at their journey so far, both McFadden and Macphail remain humble about how far they’ve come. Their mistaking of ‘songs’ as ‘stories’ isn’t just a charming quirk – it’s the heart of Prima Queen. Each track on The Prize is more than a catchy melody that might get stuck in a listener’s head or invite them to reminisce on relationships past; it’s a snapshot of their friendship, capturing both the moments that shaped them and the stories they haven’t yet had. The album reflects the experiences, the risks, and the bonds they’ve built, with every song a reminder of what’s been learnt along the way.

At its core, The Prize is an unfiltered reflection on their path, a record woven with vulnerability and humor. Their friendship, shaped by small, shared moments, feels big simply because they’re together. It’s in the way they laugh over an inside joke or how one’s voice breaks into laughter as the other picks up a familiar thought. No overthinking – just the effortless joy of being in sync, even when they’re sitting squished together on a couch, diving into the details of their upcoming headline tour as we chat. For them, music is just another way to navigate life in tandem, and we get to listen.