Lucy Love exclusive interview on stereosonic.com.au
This is our first of many interviews with artists on the Stereosonic 2011 lineup
Interviewed by one of our fav music journalists Cyclone
Check out Lucy’s artist page @ http://stereosonic.com.au/artists/lucy-love/
Lucy Love
She has Janelle Monáe’s style, Santigold’s fervour for genre-clashing, and MIA’s attitude, but Lucy Love’s music, like her story, is all her own.
The Danish femcee (and singer) just dropped her first international album, Kilo, of bass-driven electro-hop with songs like the techno melodrama Poison and hooky, Robyn-esque Thunder. (It’s out locally through Other Tongues.) Now she’s bound for Stereosonic 2011 – and Lucy is as excited as us. “Oh, it’s gonna be amazing – I can’t wait. It’s just going to be insane. You can expect a powerful show… a lot of energy, a lot of bass, and a lot of power.” The sassy star rattles off the many acts she wants to catch, including Benny Benassi – she’s not caught him before.
Lucy, real name Lucy Siame, has a playful sense of humour – which is just as well since she shares her handle with a Czech porn star.
Lucy was born in Zambia – a former British colony in Southern Africa noted for its copper mines – to an African father and English mother, but grew up in Denmark. She was destined to pursue music, her Dad a DJ (‘Ronnie Bass’ or ‘Funky Ronnie’). (One of Lucy’s early songs? Daddy Was A DJ.) Young Lucy accompanied Mum on regular visits to her Grandmother in the London suburb of Croydon, Kate Moss’ old ‘hood. “It’s just something we did every summer – go to England and Scotland and drink tea,” she giggles. “Not much happened, really.” Later Lucy hung out in London independently – and went raving. Over time, she’d acquire a taste for drum ‘n’ bass, garage and grime – and pick up a Cockney inflection. Back in Copenhagen, Lucy freestyled over a DJ ally’s tracks at parties.
Though Lucy studied art, hoping to be a painter, as her music obsession grew, she switched to a course on multimedia art and costume design. (She graduated from the Funen Art Academy this year.) In 2009 Lucy, in collaboration with producer Yo Akim (aka Joakim Hjejle), unleashed her debut, Superbillion, home to the underground anthem No VIP. Oddly, she says Kilo was more “fun” to record – Lucy felt freer. There was “a lot of pressure” the first time around. “I just think in general there’s a lot of expectations with a debut album,” she explains. “People don’t know who you are and you’ve got to kind of create a sound that will last forever, I guess – but you can’t have too many rules, either, because then if you wanna have a different style on the second album, people will be like, Oh, what happened there? So the first album was a challenge.” Lucy was also relatively new to music-making – and the biz. “It was all very overwhelming.”
Lucy’s English and Zambian influences are apparent in her “urban-poppish sound,” but not the Danish. However, she insists that Scandinavian culture is her “foundation”. Lucy enjoys Denmark’s “very relaxed attitude.” “The biggest stars in Denmark can just cycle around town – no one will ever bother them or anything.” And, she reveals, Denmark is big on electronica – Trentemøller, who, coincidentally, headlined the inaugural Stereosonic with his band, is “king”.
Lucy has maintained her interest in the visual side, being known for her flamboyant attire, cutting-edge videos, and dynamic shows. The all-rounder, who admires countercultural icons from Grace Jones through to Lady Gaga, even sews her own costumes. “I love fashion,” she enthuses. “I love the whole energy that fashion can create.” Her ‘look’ is “progressive”.
But, more than anything, Lucy prides herself on delivering a live experience and no mere live PA. In Australia, she’ll be joined by Yo Akim, her “beat controller”, and dancers. “We’re not the typical MC/DJ act. We’re actually a band when we perform and we do it live in an electronic way – and then [we have] the dancers, so we’re a little team.”
Check out Lucy’s artist page @ http://stereosonic.com.au/artists/lucy-love/