Introducing #150 - Lazy Queen
Let us introduce you to the latest new punk-indie rockers Lazy Queen, who have just released their new single ‘Sober’ - we took a moment to talk to them about the track and their involvement with Pride events in the home city of Oslo.
Hey there, so who is Lazy Queen?
Lazy Queen is Jon, Jonas, Peter, Petter and me, Henrik. As you can see we only have variations off of three names in Norway.
Where are you based? What are your favorite things to do there?
We’re living in Oslo, Norway. Favorite thing to do here.. backflips?
How would you describe your sound to someone who has never listened to you before? Dance music with a lot of guitars and sad boi lyrics :(
How did the band start? Who are your key influences musically?
It’s a long story spanning two continents and 14 members, but the semi short version is that I started Lazy Queen together with our original guitarist Reyson Morales and bassist Julian Saenz Deliz while living in New York. We released our first EP “Drift” on Seattle label Pacific Trash Records and played a lot of shows - highlights include a tour of Puerto Rico where I got my teeth knocked out of position during a house show on a mountain in the rainforest. When I eventually moved back to Norway, I continued the band with an all new line-up. It’s been a stable line-up for about 3 years now, with Petter being the newest addition. We weren’t really looking for a third guitarist, but we fell in love with him (and Peter needed a name-sibling) so we simply needed to have him in the band. Now we’re all one big dysfunctional family with way too many guitars <3
We’ve never really been able to pinpoint a whole lot of key influences. We all listen to a lot of different music, and I think that contributes to our sound being varied. We’re not too concerned with having to sound a certain way, but rather feel confident that what we make will always sound like us, as long as we stick to making what we want.
Your new single ‘Sober’ is out now - which deals with the topic of addiction, can you tell us a bit more about the track and it’s deeper meaning?
Well, I always have a bunch of these unfinished songs floating around, and ‘Sober’ was one of them. We recorded a bunch of new music last year that’s yet to be released, because we have a very specific plan for it, but we still wanted to release something on this side of the summer, so we kind of spontaneously got in the studio with our producer Morten Øby, and recorded ‘Throwaway’ and ‘Sober’. Both songs kind of just poured out of us, and all the pieces instantly fit. We finished recording just a couple of days before the whole country started shutting down as a result of COVID-19.
I started the lyrics a couple of years ago, but finished them for the recording of the song in March this year. I think the fact that the lyrics were written over a long period of time, and yet feels coherent, reflects what I’m trying to express within the song; recovery is a never ending process. I’ve found that to be the case for me at least. It’s also my own personal reminder that I’m not a failure just ‘cause I fuck up from time to time.
You are regular performers at Pride events in Oslo, what would be your ideal Pride event or line up?
Since this year’s Pride is set against the backdrop of the protests that’s taking place in the US, I’d would like to see a Pride celebration that focuses on intersectionality and solidarity. The first Pride was a riot, a revolution, and integral to it actually happening were black trans women, and people of color to our movement as a whole. I would like Pride full of reminders of this fact, so that we do not forget that it’s now our job to stand up for each other again. Refocus away from the commercial aspects of the celebration and re-acquaint ourselves as a whole with the roots of our movement and how closely it’s related to the struggles of other marginalized, disenfranchised and oppressed groups. I think it’s high time we talk collectively about how we can aid the BLM-movement as a community.