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Photo by Joy Gansh

After releasing her latest EP, Bad Luck is Two Yellow Flowers, in May 2025, Scotland artist Theo Bleak is back with her new album Bargaining. Bleak has never been one to hide her emotions in her music and Bargaining is no exception. The 14-track project covers a transformative year of grief and the desire for connection. Bleak answered all our burning questions about her latest work. 

OnesToWatch: Where did the name Bargaining come from? 

Theo Bleak: Bargaining was something I struggled most with before my relationship ended. I spent so long reckoning with myself, with guilt, with loyalty, with suppression. I think it can be one of the most intense things one can go through - pleading with God for the answer, or direction. 

There are several songs on the mixtape that are very raw, stripped back, almost voice memos, which I think really adds to the overall intimacy of the mixtape. How did you decide to leave these songs in such a vulnerable state? 

I’d never be able to capture that essence again. If I had produced those songs out, time would have passed and I’d feel differently. There was never any intention behind those songs either, just sort of commentary, so I thought they were best left alone and preserved.

One of these songs is “End of Bargaining,” which funnily enough is the first song on the mixtape. Why does the first song of the mixtape have the word end in it? 

End of Bargaining was the last thing I wrote and added to the mixtape - by this point I was living in Glasgow and sort of living a new life. The feeling some of the songs evoke in me is sickeningly strong and I needed to tie everything up- ‘It ended up sad, but I’d do it again.’ 

Some of the other stripped-back songs are “(17)” and “(14),” where did these titles come from? 

These were literally just the number my phone assigned to them in my files folder, I liked the numerological aspect, as though my chaos was organised. 

There’s a lot of influence from your family in this mixtape. You had guidance from your Great Uncle’s cycling journals, and the artwork is your father at 17. Has your family always been a big influence on your music or was that something new that you explored this time around? 

My family fascinates me, there feels a real depth and heaviness to what I know of them. Originally Irish, musicians, political, loud, funny. I adore their passions- my Great Uncle was my favourite person and I adore the synchronicities between our adult lives. My grandad was more inclined to music, and I play his mandolin on the record a lot. They’re all gone now, but I felt a path to them through the music and sadness.

I’ve never been to Scotland but when I listen to your music, I find myself picturing a train journey through the Scottish Highlands. Do you find that you’re inspired by your environment? 

I am heavily influenced by my environment. ‘John’ for example, I can listen to that and feel the River Tay on my face, the sun through my closed eyes. I adore Scotland, I adore my connection to nature. A lot of this record was also written (at least in my subconscious) in New York too, where I was heavily infiltrated by the energy. 

There’s also a lot of acoustic guitar throughout the project. Is this where most of your songs start? 

Yes, I think it’s the fundamental instrument of my project. 

This mixtape covers a transformative year in your life. Was there a song that was particularly cathartic to write? 

Probably ‘Finest Work,’ I was in pieces when I wrote that. 

Is there anything specific you’re hoping for, or looking forward to, in the new year? 

I hope I can always find the means within myself to keep making music, I tend not to have any other expectations. 

Who are your OnesToWatch?

Dove Ellis and Lacuna.