Artist Of The Week #139 - LORYN
This week’s Artist of the Week is alt-pop newcomer LORYN, who has just released her stunning debut EP ‘Less Is More’ via Black Butter. The EP sees LORYN going multidimensional to create her own brand of pop by mixing genres effortlessly - making a breathtaking experience for all that listen to it. She took a moment to talk to us about the release in more depth.
Hey LORYN, so your debut EP is out now - how does it feel to have it out there in the world during such a struggling time for the creative industry?
My heart is literally breaking for all the artists, musicians, crews and amazing teams that had the rug yanked out from under them this year, and also all the music, videos and creativity that has been put on hold for a lot of people. I think it’s really important to support each other in whatever way we can to get to the other side of all this. Music has gone a long way in comforting people in this time and is an immensely important part of the community and culture in the UK so we need to keep making it and getting it out there.
Getting my EP out, honestly, it feels damn good. It’s been a minute in the making so I’m excited to see what people think. We don’t really know too much about how or in what way we will be able to experience music artists in the coming months / years but I hope that in some small way, my EP can help people escape, feel something and connect like so many artists and records have done for me.
It is titled ‘Less Is More’ - does that hold a certain meaning for you?
It connects to a few things for me. Within the music on the EP we let the voice and song do the talking keeping the production out of the way. And lyrically, I like to be to the point. Also, a big one is that throughout lockdown when we were finishing up the EP, it really focused me on the important things and that there was a lot of stuff in my life that I didn’t actually need to be happy. The meaning behind the song itself is about wanting someone more if they give me less, emotionally and materialistically. I think we all have a little of that in us? I guess underneath it comes from being drawn to the chase and when there’s no chase and it’s all there on a plate, I don’t want it as much. But I also really do love security and the comfy feel of someone being really into me so…sign up here for a fucking rollercoaster!
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from the recording process?
The EP was mainly written and recorded at a studio in West London with my main collaborator and songwriter friend Lee. It’s where we hangout, talk shit, and blurt ideas into songs. We collaborated with some other amazing producers and writers on some of the songs, Two Inch Punch and Jae 5 were amazing to work with, but then we’d always bring the songs back to the west London studio and hone them there. The songs were written mostly in a very organic way on just a guitar or piano then produced up after so that we knew the songs worked in their most basic form. Funny thing with the vocals on this EP is when we’d finish writing a song, I'd throw down a rough demo vocal so we could listen fresh the next day to see what we thought. We’d tweak the songs if needed and then do more takes heading for the final vocal but there seemed to always be something special in those first demo takes that felt right. Most of the finished vocals on the EP are from those first demo takes.
What are the key themes and influences on the EP?
I think the main theme running through the EP is acknowledgment in the part I play in the outcome of situations and also recognising patterns in my behaviour. I think it’s easy to blame others when shit doesn’t turn out how I want or for behaving badly but I feel like taking responsibility for those things and either accepting or moving on from it is a really interesting place. I still get it wrong a lot but hopefully I’m better than I used to be. As far as influences, there are a lot. Growing up I listened to a lot of Carole King and Joni Mitchell; My dad was a lyric freak. He would explain to the three-year old me what these songs meant and the stories behind them. Now, I got a lot of love for Julia Michaels because she paved the way for writing very straight to the point lyrics which I feel gave me licence to have a very direct mouth.
Your childhood was spent growing up in the rural parts of Canada - surrounded by trees and water. Do you feel this has influenced your musical style in any way? What are your early musical memories?
I grew up in a stupidly beautiful, serene part of the world (not biased just a fact) but I had a loud, crazy, over the top childhood. I think the juxtaposition of those two things smashed me into the person I am today. My earliest musical memories involve long car journeys to my grandparents farm in the North of British Columbia with the music blaring and us all singing along like a bunch of weirdos. My brother is tone deaf, mom thinks she can sing but she can’t, and me and dad were just there like “How are we related to these two?”
You then moved to London, what led to that and how did you find that experience?
UK music played such a huge part of the soundtrack to my young life that when I decided that I was going to make music seriously, the UK felt like the place I had to be. My Dad always had a big thing for the Beatles when I was growing up and as the Beatles were from Liverpool, that’s where I headed. I was nineteen and had never been on a plane before which was terrifying and electric all at once. I don’t think I really thought too much about the repercussions of things at that age. “Hey mum, I’m just leaving everything here and heading across the world to hopefully make some music…cool”? Seemed to make sense to me at the time.
What is your favorite lyric on the EP and why?
I love the first line of the whole EP. “Maybe it’s just in my blood, and I just don’t know how to love” from the song Sirens. I think pretty much all our relationship behaviours are learned from what we experience when we are growing up. But for this one moment after exhausting all other avenues in a situation I pray to the idea of nature over nurture. I love how it gets straight to the point right from the off.
Now the EP is out there, what next for LORYN?
For me performing is king. Singing and performing in front of an audience is top of the list on why I wanted to be an artist in the first place. Releasing this EP at a time when that isn’t so easy or possible is difficult but over the past few weeks there have been some super interesting and exciting conversations on being able to do that again in other ways. I’m excited to perform these songs for people in whatever way connects. So that will be the focus in the coming months as well as making new music and trying to figure out how the fuck tiktok works.