Skip to main content
 
  • Recording Academy
  • GRAMMYs
  • Membership
  • Advocacy
  • MusiCares
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
GRAMMYs
  • Advocacy
  • GRAMMYs
  • GRAMMY Museum
  • Latin GRAMMYs
  • Membership
  • MusiCares
  • Login
  • Events
  • Governance
  • Jobs
  • Press Room
  • More
    • Advocacy
    • GRAMMYs
    • GRAMMY Museum
    • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Membership
    • MusiCares
    • Login
    • Events
    • Governance
    • Jobs
    • Press Room

The GRAMMYs

  • Awards
  • News
  • Videos
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Recording Academy

Latin GRAMMYs

MusiCares

  • About
  • Get Help
  • Give
  • News
  • Videos
  • Events
  • Person of the Year
  • More
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Person of the Year

Advocacy

  • About
  • News
  • Issues & Policy
  • Act
  • Recording Academy
  • More
    • About
    • News
    • Issues & Policy
    • Act
    • Recording Academy

Membership

  • Join
  • Events
  • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
  • GRAMMY U
  • GOVERNANCE
  • More
    • Join
    • Events
    • PRODUCERS & ENGINEERS WING
    • GRAMMY U
    • GOVERNANCE
Log In Join
  • SUBSCRIBE

  • Search
Modal Open
Subscribe Now

Subscribe to Newsletters

Be the first to find out about GRAMMY nominees, winners, important news, and events. Privacy Policy
GRAMMY Museum
Membership

Join us on Social

  • Recording Academy
    • The Recording Academy: Facebook
    • The Recording Academy: Twitter
    • The Recording Academy: Instagram
    • The Recording Academy: YouTube
  • GRAMMYs
    • GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Facebook
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Twitter
    • Latin GRAMMYs: Instagram
    • Latin GRAMMYs: YouTube
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • GRAMMY Museum: Facebook
    • GRAMMY Museum: Twitter
    • GRAMMY Museum: Instagram
    • GRAMMY Museum: YouTube
  • MusiCares
    • MusiCares: Facebook
    • MusiCares: Twitter
    • MusiCares: Instagram
  • Advocacy
    • Advocacy: Facebook
    • Advocacy: Twitter
  • Membership
    • Membership: Facebook
    • Membership: Twitter
    • Membership: Instagram
    • Membership: Youtube
LIVVIA

LIVVIA

Photo: Tiziano Lugli

Interview
LIVVIA Talks Quavo, Meghan Trainor & Girl Power livvia-quavo-harry-potter-meghan-trainor-secret-agents

LIVVIA On Quavo, Harry Potter, Meghan Trainor & Secret Agents

Facebook Twitter Email
Also find out what the singer/songwriter has coming up next musically, why an economics degree is vital for her as a musician and her love for Nifflers
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jun 22, 2018 - 9:29 am

She may just be one of the smartest artists out there. Meet LIVVIA, singer/songwriter/multi-instrumentalist and a recent graduate of the University of California, Berkeley with a degree in economics.

LIVVIA On Making "Catch A Body"

With a drive to pursue a degree in economics to learn the ins and outs of the music business while gaining hands-on knowledge about the industry as a working artist, LIVVIA has been busy making music since 2010 when she released her debut EP, Olivia Somerlyn.

Since then she's released a string of singles, including 2014's "Parachute," 2015's "Only" 2018's "Catch A Body," featuring Migos rapper Quavo, and her most recent song, "Gratitude." She's also opened on tour for artists such as the Jonas Brothers, Meghan Trainor, Jessie J, and Lindsey Stirling.

Now that's she's finished her undergraduate degree, we caught up with the Los Angeles-based artist to ask about recording and filming the music video for her secret agent-themed "Catch A Body," found out what new music we can expect soon, got info on her favorite tour moments over the years, and talked just a little about Harry Potter.

"Catch A Body," great single. So tell us a little more about the song. What was the inspiration behind it? How did Quavo come into the mix? Tell us all about it.

At first it started with me and the producers that I've been working with a lot lately, Rock Mafia. So we're in the studio and we're writing in my what's my favorite way to write, at the moment at least, which is where we'll start with some sort of instrumental, even if it's rough. We'll all take turns going into the booth and actually just recording whatever comes to mind first and doing improv takes and then splicing those together to create a song. In one of those improv takes, somebody said, "Hold a body," and somebody else misheard and thought that she said, "Catch a body." And then I love puns, like I really love play on words, so I thought, "Oh, you know, you look so good it's killing me," and we turned the song into a concept based on that play on words, which has been so much fun. And then the music video as well plays on the themes of the song, and we did a whole secret agent concept, which was so cool to do.

Speaking of the video, I know from what I've read it's gotten a lot of positive reception for its themes of female empowerment. What was it like filming the video, and did you consider that element of girl power going into it?

Absolutely. That was definitely one of the main reasons why I wanted to do that concept, because of the girl power aspect. And for me a lot of the time I feel music to be a very visual experience as well. Whenever I listen to even other people's music I love to imagine what a music video would be for the song, and so for my songs too of course I do that as well. And so for "Catch A Body," every time I would hear the song I would picture a scene from a James Bond movie or something like that, like John Wick or Mr. & Mrs. Smith. It would obviously be a  really ambitious concept so I almost didn't want to even share the idea because I thought, "This is crazy, how could we ever pull this off?"

But in passing one day I was like, "You know, in my dreams I would do a secret agent video." And so they were like, "Well maybe we can make that work." We found the perfect location, this club, which used to be an old bank vault, so it has the circular bank vault door and really cool details. It was the perfect location. And then also doing all my own stunts was really, really, really cool. And I think also since it was about girl power I was like, "No I don't want to chicken out, I want to do this," and it was super fun. Except I got so bruised. Because we're rolling in rehearsal, we have mats and everything, but then in the actual filming of the video, it's like, "No, this is a concrete floor of a club and we're rolling." He actually kicks me when he kicks me in the fight scene too, so it was crazy. But it was definitely worth it and super, super fun.

What can fans expect coming from you next musically?

I'm always working on new music. I also was in school, I just graduated from Berkeley, so I'm way more focused too now on recording new music, which has been so great to get back to the studio. I have a new song called "Gratitude," which I really, really love and it means so much to me as well. I always want to make sure that I have — as we were talking about, empowerment — an empowering and positive message in music I release, and "Gratitude" really embodies that as well. So there's that song and there's also a lot more in the works and also some collaborations that I'm really excited about. Obviously the collaboration with Quavo was a dream. He's amazing. And I'm super excited about what's to come as well.

Congratulations on graduating! I know that your degree was in economics. How did you get into that and how are you hoping it will support your music career?

A lot of people, when they hear that I'm an econ major, they're like, "Why would you do that, why didn't you study music?" But I feel like I was getting so much practical experience in the music industry being an artist myself and then being really hands-on in all aspects of my career. Econ I just think is a great base for really any career, any business, and the music industry is a business, it's not just creative. So it's already been helpful, I think, just to have that knowledge. And I think any kind of educational pursuit is helpful in writing as well, just opening your mind to different ideas and history, economic history. I just think it all relates and it's just a good exercise for your brain in general. But you know, I wrote a paper one time on the economics behind Spotify and stuff like that, so I've been trying to mix the two a little bit. But I guess I chose econ initially because I know I do want to get my MBA one day, and econ is a really great base to have for that as well. So that'll be the next academic goal.

Looking back at the best May of all time and looking forward to an incredible birthday month ahead! May have some surprises in store... #GRADitude #berkeleypov

A post shared by LIVVIA (@livvia) on May 31, 2018 at 1:25pm PDT

We've also read that you've toured with Jessie J, Meghan Trainor, the Jonas Brothers. Is there a favorite tour moment that you want to share or is it too hard to pick?

It's so hard to pick because they were just obviously all amazing, and I just had the absolute time of my life on all of those tours. Meghan actually brought me out onstage. It was my birthday and it was our last show and we were actually in Milan, and it was amazing. So she brought me onstage and sang happy birthday to me, which was just obviously the most memorable birthday moment of all time. But everything, also the Jonas Brothers. I was a huge Jonas Brothers fan, so opening for them at the Gibson Amphitheater [in Los Angeles] back when it wasn't torn down for Hogwarts. As a Harry Potter fan, if it's going to be torn down and you're going to build Hogwarts over it, that's probably the only thing I would approve of. But I had seen them perform there with all my friends only a few years before that and then my friends came and saw me opening for them on the same stage and that's a surreal moment. Jessie J as well, she's just so incredible. Just watching her perform every night, she improvs so much. Being able to see her live every night was incredible. They're all great. There's just too many moments to count.

O X O + @meghan_trainor + @ryan.trainor =  ... #OliviaSomerlynOXO 8.27.15!

A post shared by LIVVIA (@livvia) on Aug 26, 2015 at 1:11pm PDT

Harry Potter. We're going there. What's your favorite magical creature from the series and why?

Oh my gosh, it's so hard. I love them all. Off the top of my head I'm going to say Nifflers, which actually are the little furry creatures that love shiny things. If they were here they would probably be attacking me because of my rings, which are, speaking of which, Gryffindor rings, the lions. But I really would pick Nifflers because they came to fame a little bit more because of the Fantastic Beast movies and they got their moment in the sun. But I love them. I always love them because I always call my dog a Niffler 'cause he's a Yorkie. He's a little furry creature.

Now that I'm finally home I don't want to spend a second without him  He definitely needs to come on tour next time! #Lukie #YorkiesOfInstagram

A post shared by LIVVIA (@livvia) on Jun 30, 2015 at 9:21am PDT

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Ocean Park Standoff

Ocean Park Standoff

Photo: Kerry Henderson

Interview
Ocean Park Standoff Deliver "Good News" ocean-park-standoff-talk-good-news-childish-gambino-more

Ocean Park Standoff Talk "Good News," Childish Gambino & More

Facebook Twitter Email
We caught up with the pop trio to learn about their new single, their thoughts on melding genres and what we can expect next
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 13, 2018 - 3:24 pm

If you're ever in need of some "Good News," you can always call on the pop trio Ocean Park Standoff. Comprising guitarist Samantha Ronson, drummer Pete Nappi and lead singer Ethan Thompson, the band made headlines with their 2016 hit "Good News."

Ocean Park Standoff On Making "If You Were Mine"

Since their 2017 debut self-titled EP, Ocean Park Standoff released a collaboration with Seeb titled "Lost Boys" in February, followed by a new single in April, "If You Were Mine," featuring Lil Yachty. But what's in store next for the trio of multitalented musicians?

We caught up with the band to learn about making "If You Were Mine," their thoughts on blending genres, some of their musical inspirations, what we can expect to hear from them next, and more.

The first thing I wanted to ask you about is your latest single, which is really cool. "If You Were Mine." How did the song come together and how did Lil Yachty get brought into the fold?

Ronson: Unicorns and rainbows. The song is actually a song that I had started years ago that I unearthed in a bored afternoon just going through old music and I played it for Pete, and Pete liked it. At least, he said he did. And then we kind of messed around with it. We redid it. And then we played it for Ethan and he was like, "Awesome, let's do it." And then it was only the first half of the song and so then we finished it altogether. And then, I think as a placeholder for a bridge we had put …

Nappi: Migos

Ronson: Quavo. And we put the "Congratulations" verse on it, and it fit so well. It was beautiful. And our guy was like, "Oh, why can't we just use this?" We're like, "Well, because it's Quavo. It's a huge record right now."

Thompson: It's a song that's Top 10 right now.

Ronson: It was kind of perfect because it got it in the collective conscious that there was going to be, hopefully, a collaborator, a rapper, on it. So, we kind of sent it out and we gave our wish list, and we were like pretty shocked that Yachty said yes. And then, not only did he say yes, but he did it. Because there's a long road between yes and actually getting the verse. So we're pretty stoked.

Going back in history a little bit. "Good News" was a huge hit when it came out. How did that change your dynamic as a band? How did it change the way you approach music, if at all?

Thompson: Well, that song actually kind of started our whole band.  You know back in … 2016, maybe even late 2015, is when we wrote that song. It didn't really change how we approach what we do. The only thing it changed is that we actually felt like we were a band because we started off just writing songs together and hanging out 24/7. And then once that song got accepted into reality as a song that everyone was going to get behind and push for us, that was when we stepped into the shoes of, "Alright, we're going to go out, and we're going to tour and we're going to play live." And I think that's when we really fell in love with being on the road together and being in a band together.

I've read that you believe that the future of music is a lot of crossover between genres. Tell me a little bit more about that. How does that play out into your own creative process, and are there any artists that you look to for inspiration?

Nappi: I mean everyone pretty much likes everything at this point. If you go on the Top 40, it's a mix of everything, it's not just pop. So, I guess that pretty much shows you where the music is going. Like the No. 1 song is pretty much at this point Drake. So, that goes to show you just gotta make a good pop song and it doesn't matter really what the production is as long as it's catchy or whatever.

Ronson: I think streaming services gave way for an open format listening experience. I feel like, as a DJ forever, I always played everything from the Beatles to Biggie to Madonna to whatever it was. It used to be terrestrial radio was so formatted that this was pop, and pop was this, and urban was over here, and country was over here, and rock and alternative and dance and indie. Indie meant indie rock, I guess. [Now] indie can be hip-hop, it can be anything. We love so many different kinds of music that we're thankful that we get to infuse as much as we can from all our different influences into our music now and not really have to worry about, "Oh, well this is leaning too much in this direction or that direction." It's pretty cool when you look at the top records and you've got Jason Mraz to Drake to Sam Hunt to that song just keeps playing in the car. (laughter) I'm obsessed with it. We're just lucky that we get to make music in a time where people are pretty accepting of different styles from different types of people.

Thompson: Hip-hop is one of the main genres that started that whole idea of take this and take this and slam it together and see what you get. I mean obviously they've been doing it for years. That's how new genres have been invented, [how] blues turned into rock. And country fell off obviously old-time stuff. But we're definitely inspired by Chance [The Rapper]'s new record that he put out. All that stuff where it was gospel mixed with hip-hop mixed with his kind of light singing. Obviously Kendrick [Lamar] is doing a great job of slamming different things together, even in one song. And also the latest stuff that J. Cole put out, definitely has cool stuff. And "This Is America" I'm obsessed with because it's got two genres just straight-up slammed together and no one even bats an eye because it's done so well.

Ronson: I think there's a lot of room for people, for what people are saying is just as important as how they're saying it. So you have records like J. Cole who is crushing it more on content than bells and whistles. Childish Gambino, that song is massive because of what he's saying, and the visual that goes with it. And we're pretty lucky to get to be making music in this time.

So what's next? What can fans expect to hear from you soon or upcoming?

Thompson: We have tours coming up. We're going to be on the road. We're actually leaving in four or five days to do a two-week tour that's around just the Midwest. We're doing more on the road after that, and we got new music coming out. We already have our next single picked out. We're actually going to the studio right after this to fix a piano part in it, which we're really excited about. Just keep your ears and eyes peeled for new music and us on the road.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Le Butcherettes

Le Butcherettes

Photo: Lindsey Byrnes

Interview
Le Butcherettes On Iggy Pop, The Color Red & More le-butcherettes-color-red-iggy-pop-their-struggle

Le Butcherettes On The Color Red, Iggy Pop & Their "Struggle"

Facebook Twitter Email
The alt-rock band break down the meaning behind their most recent music, let us in on what we can expect next and shed some light on the color red
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jun 19, 2018 - 1:23 pm

With a band name like Le Butcherettes, it should be no surprise that the alt-rock band that defies genre conventions cuts straight to the heart of the matter. They take listeners on a dynamic, nuanced tour through provocative songs and imagery that ask you to look deeper, think harder and challenge all your preconceived notions. In this way, the band fulfills art's greatest promise — "to explore the nature of perception."

Le Butcherettes Break Down Their Band Name

Le Butcherettes formed in 2007 under the helm of lead singer Teri Gender Bender with drummer Alejandra Robles Luna, guitarist Rikardo Rodriguez-Lopez and bassist Marfred Rodriguez-Lopez rounding out the band's lineup. They released their debut EP Kiss & Kill in 2008. In 2015 the band released their debut full-length album, A Raw Youth, which featured a collaboration with punk great Iggy Pop.

Most recently the band unveiled the single "spider/WAVES" and an EP that reimagines three versions of the same song, struggle/STRUGGLE, which was produced by former Talking Heads member Jerry Harrison. Fans can also expect some new music from Le Butcherettes coming this year if all goes according to plan.

We recently caught up with Le Butcherettes to dig a little deeper into their most recent releases, find out where their band name comes from, what the color red means to them, what we can expect to hear next, and more.

We've read that you once said your band was born out of "a desire to do something with all the unused cathartic energy stocked inside [your] blood." How much cathartic energy do you have left?

Gender Bender: Some days I feel like I have none left. But when we're together I feel like anything is possible so that's definitely very cathartic.

You recently dropped an EP, struggle/STRUGGLE that features three versions of the title track. Can you break it down for us, what are the themes between those three tracks?

Gender Bender: Essentially, the first one, "struggle/STRUGGLE (bi)," that was taken with a vision to go in a very dark place, very dark, in a production style sense. Given the lyrics it was fun to explore that even though they're kind of dark in a way, or moody, it could also be experimented in an uplifting song, like the second one, which is "struggle/STRUGGLE (/MEN)," which is more of an acoustic, uplifting song. You're at the beach and you're just having a nice beer or something, and we don't even drink. … It's the kind of song that took me out of, at least for me, that, "only one song can be played one way" kind of mindset. There's so many ways that you could explore just one simple song and change it production-wise, so that was really cool. Same with the third one ["struggle/STRUGGLE (TAL)"]. We took it to a whole prog-rock/pop direction, and again it's all based off of the melody and you can just take it from there. It was a nice learning experience.

Robles Luna: And that's also organically how it happened. We just happened to have three songs of the same.

The video for your recent single "spider/WAVES" features very vivid imagery. Who did you work with and who devised the treatment for the video?

Gender Bender: The director is basically this very interesting character from Paris, France. And it was very interesting to see because we're all from different cultures. Even [with] the break of the English language it was still great to be able to collaborate and make something pretty insane. In the sense of the overall concept, [it] was, "You're trapped inside the layers of your own mind, let me get out of here." And you realize that maybe it's the world that's trying to get in and you don't understand why they want to get in if there's nothing to offer. So we put that on the table and the director interpreted it through his fingerprint, that vision of, "Well this is what speaks to me," so it was a true collaboration in that sense. And you pick up on one another's cultures and before you know it you're in his world or he's in yours.

So what's next, what's the status of your new album, the follow-up to 2015's A Raw Youth?

Gender Bender: Hopefully that little seed that that album has, if there's any seed, it'll grow inside someone that listens to it, leaving a mark. Maybe it's very ambitious — I must admit saying it out loud it sounds pretty crazy — but that would be a great honor to have someone listen to it and say, "OK I don't feel alone anymore." And so hopefully that will be by the end of this year. There's really no date set, maybe around October hopefully.

Is there anything you can share about the sound of the new album, the style, some of the tracks that are really speaking to you right now?

Gender Bender: We all wanted it to be a little bit from the past but with some futuristic elements, like it has some electronic beats to it. Also, [we] experimented with it with something for example, like a Mellotron, which is something from the past but to use it in a different way with layering in the music, very constructed. I think it's the most constructed record we have. But with that being said, it was an adventure being able to be in the studio and learn from ourselves. And it was great also to have Jerry Harrison produce it and understand our vision of what we wanted to go for. He gave us that freedom.

Can you explain the deeper meaning behind your band name?

Gender Bender: This is going to sound pretentious, very pretentious, but you know what, that's the freedom of being in the art world, that you can be pretentious. And the more pretentious even the better I guess. Le Butcherettes, it came from my desire to find like-minded butchers that felt butchered — their spirit, in the metaphorical sense, pulled into pieces — and to fill one another up. And before I would take very literal metaphors like pieces of meat and I'd decorate the stage with it or an apron with blood, like more literal, in your face, on-the-nose corny elements. But this is how I feel, like a piece of meat or like a woman that's defined by her gender role of a housewife and an apron. … So that was basically what the name and the meaning behind Le Butcherettes was. Empowered species, empowered people.

Manchester Foto por @aaaannndddyyy

A post shared by Le Butcherettes (@lebutcherettes) on May 30, 2018 at 8:05pm PDT

Can you talk a little bit about why the red is so important to the band?

Gender Bender: Lately I've been asking myself, "What is this meaning to me?" Because you believe it's one meaning and then it starts transforming into another when your moods start changing and morphing. So what we've been doing, we have one of our closest friends on the road, he's directing this on-the-road movie, or we don't even know what it is, with us. Basically we're going around asking people what the color red means to them. … You ask them out of the blue, which is interesting to see when there's a camera and someone freaks out. You guys know when there's a camera and the person's personality changes and everything and so it's interesting to see … what they say when they think of the word red.

It's funny there's this one clip that [he] got where he's asking them, "Oh what does red mean?" Some guards for a venue, they were talking to each other, saying, "Oh, well red, I don't like that color. Red is a color for women." And then at that same moment, a man that works at the club also had some red tennis shoes on, and then he's like, "Yo, what do you think of the color red?" And he's like, "I find it empowering. As a matter of fact, these are my lucky red shoes." And then the other was like, "OK, alright, I can get behind that." So it's nice to see the dialogue and how one was closed off to the color red, make him flip around. … But for me the color red is kind of in question now because I think we're about to close that chapter where we're not going to use red any more. It's just kind of poisoned my mind a little bit if you obsess over one color too much.

Robles Luna: I think it's the question if it's going to be the color of the band in the future. And we're going through another stage where maybe we're representing something else right now. … Ironically, I've never liked red. OK, I see it, because it does make you feel something, but it was always a color that made me feel very intimidated.

I know you've worked with Iggy Pop in the past. Is there an anecdote you'd want to share?

Gender Bender: He's amazing. He's super punctual. When the time [came] to get in the studio together to track together he got right there on time. I had the lyric sheet printed out for him, didn't even need it, and the song's in Spanish. And he had it all memorized to the notch. Actually, it was embarrassing for me because I put in an older version of it where the lyric was a little different and he had the most up-to-date one, so I messed up. … He really supported us.

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Hiss Golden Messenger

Hiss Golden Messenger

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview
Hiss Golden Messenger Talk 'Hallelujah Anyhow' hiss-golden-messenger-hallelujah-anyhow-relationships-more

Hiss Golden Messenger On 'Hallelujah Anyhow,' Relationships & More

Facebook Twitter Email
MC Taylor tells us how his latest album gelled and how being a dad changed everything in his music career
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2018 - 7:47 pm

Folk band Hiss Golden Messenger — helmed by MC Taylor — has been cranking out music that taps into not only folk but also country, jazz, R&B, soul, gospel, blues, and rock since 2008 with their debut album, Country Hai East Cotton. Nearly 10 years on, in 2017 Taylor and crew released their latest project, Hallelujah Anyhow.

Hiss Golden Messenger On 'Hallelujah Anyhow'

We sat down with Taylor at Newport Folk Festival to find out how his 2017 album, Hallelujah Anyhow, came together in only four or five days as a collection that captured the importance of relationships.

"That collection of songs is a snapshot of myself and my friends and family," Taylor tells us. "It's an important chapter in my life but I didn't want it to feel precious. I wanted it to feel loose. That's a quality a lot of my favorite records share regardless of genre, is there's a sort of loose camaraderie that I really like that values the relationships between the people on the record over technique."

And though the music certainly still speaks to him, it's being a dad that truly transformed Taylor's life in new and unexpected ways, which makes his celebration of relationships on Hallelujah Anyhow make complete sense.

"My whole world was changed in a really profound way when I had kids," says Taylor, whose children are 5 and 9 years old. "When I'm home I like to be with my family. I'm definitely not going out."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

GRAMMYs

Lucius

Photo: Daniel Mendoza/Recording Academy

Interview
2018 Newport Fest: Lucius Strip Back For 'Nudes' lucius-stripping-back-nudes-making-something-about-you

Lucius On Stripping Back For 'Nudes' & Making "Something About You"

Facebook Twitter Email
The New York-based indie pop band take it back to basics on their latest acoustic album
Renée Fabian
GRAMMYs
Jul 29, 2018 - 7:16 pm

In the fast-paced world of music, often artists go from one project to the next — the frenetic pace of keeping your name in the public conscious just doesn't allow much time for reflection. However, pop group Lucius, led by joint lead singers Jess Wolfe and Holly Laessig, have taken the time to slow down and strip right back to their very essence on their 2018 album, Nudes.

Exclusive: Lucius On Making 'Nudes'

We caught up with Wolfe and Laessig at Newport Folk Festival 2018 to find out just went into the making of their acoustic masterpiece Nudes, which includes covers, reimagined stripped back versions of previous material and new songs recorded at New York's famed Electric Lady Studios.

They break it down even further for us, and we get a little insight into how standout tracks such as "Something About You," which original appeared on the band's 2016 album Good Grief, got a new coat of paint for Nudes.

"'Something About You,' the recording on Nudes is a lot different than the recording on Good Grief," Lucius reveal. "It's a lot more similar to our original demo of the song. So we were going for this doo-wop, throw back thing and so we felt like that would have fit really naturally in a broken down, bare bones setting. So we took the original arrangement of the song and also complimented it with the aesthetic of the record."

Catching Up On Music News Powered By The Recording Academy Just Got Easier. Have A Google Home Device? "Talk To GRAMMYs"

Top
Logo
  • Recording Academy
    • About
    • Governance
    • Press Room
    • Jobs
    • Events
  • GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
    • Store
    • FAQ
  • Latin GRAMMYs
    • Awards
    • News
    • Photos
    • Videos
    • Cultural Foundation
    • Members
    • Press
  • GRAMMY Museum
    • Explore
    • Exhibits
    • Education
    • Support
    • Programs
    • Donate
  • MusiCares
    • About
    • Get Help
    • Give
    • News
    • Videos
    • Events
  • Advocacy
    • About
    • News
    • Learn
    • Act
  • Membership
    • Chapters
    • Producers & Engineers Wing
    • GRAMMY U
    • Join
Logo

© 2019 - Recording Academy. All rights reserved.

  • Terms of Service
  • Privacy Policy
  • Cookie Policy
  • Copyright Notice
  • Contact Us

Some of the content on this site expresses viewpoints and opinions that are not those of the Recording Academy. Responsibility for the accuracy of information provided in stories not written by or specifically prepared for the Academy lies with the story's original source or writer. Content on this site does not reflect an endorsement or recommendation of any artist or music by the Recording Academy.