ARTIST SPOTLIGHT – LAZYGIRL
Lazygirl is a dreamy alt-pop artist and music producer, crafting songs that touch on mental health, womanhood and queer identity and much much more. Sitting on over 1 million Spotify streams and co-signs from BBC Radio 1, BBC Music Introducing and CLOUT, she is fully in stride.
We thought it was time to find out more so we don’t get left behind.
Tell us how you got into making music?
I was always writing and coming up with my own songs as a kid, and as soon as I knew how to play piano or guitar I was writing up chord charts and my own lyrics. My whole family is really into music and we each have played instruments and sang! As far as Lazygirl goes, it was born out of something different – when I began to suffer badly with depression, anxiety and OCD at 16, I lost interest in songwriting and didn’t pick up my guitar for months. The only way I found I had the energy to create something musical was by making very curated Spotify playlists. Through the algorithm, I found lo-fi and bedroom pop music, and I was specifically inspired by artists like Clairo and Sophie Meiers in 2017. I felt this was something I could finally do – a completely new way to make music where I could make a whole song from my bed! Lazygirl kind of snowballed from that.
How would you describe your sound and what you are bringing to the table musically?
Someone once said my music was, in the most complimentary way possible, music to fall asleep to – and I really love that. I’m trying to make “lullaby pop” a thing…
Sonically, Lazygirl is a dreamy alt-pop soundscape. While I’ve got upbeat songs and ones that pack a bit more of a punch, I think the dreamy, woozy identity of my music is baked in regardless, just because the way I sing is pretty soft. Lyrically, I think I’ll go with “honest but occasionally cryptic”. I speak about mental health and my lived experiences in a very frank way sometimes, but I also like to leave things open to interpretation so that listeners can take whatever feels poignant to them from my songs.
I think what I bring to the table is a very ‘authentic’ artist (whatever that means!!) – I love to create, but I think I’m also very honest and sometimes I love to bed-rot and do nothing.
How has Liverpool influenced your music and music career?
Although Lazygirl first started when I was living in my hometown in Northamptonshire, when I moved to the city for uni 6 years ago I realised what a music scene could be and how I could thrive in a creative space with likeminded people. I feel like Liverpool has done nothing but help to nurture my music career, and I’ve felt very supported. I’ve met some of my closest friends through the music scene here, and it’s been a pleasure to be a part of events especially curated by gender minorities. I want to give a big shoutout to Where Are The Girlbands? Because they’ve been instrumental in creating a safe, supportive community of gender minority artists. Big ups to MusicSeen, LIMF Academy and of course the insanely-missed Melodic Distraction as well <3
You are one of the most exciting emerging music creators in the city and your work breaks a lot of convention for what many may think of as a young female artist. Can you talk more about that and how important it is to create a new narrative?
Thank you! I think first and foremost, there’s not really a convention for being an artist – though nowadays that’s difficult to remember with how the industry currently is. The whole meaning of being an artist is to do whatever the hell you want! A lot of being in the music industry right now is about working with ‘the algorithms’ of streaming and social media, wearing a lot of different hats, not showing vulnerability and always showing the best of your art – but at the same time, also always be creating. It’s so easy to get caught up in those aspects of being an artist that have very little to do with making music. That kind of hustle culture I think turns out to be quite inaccessible, and I know myself and other artists have burnt out time and time again. The nature of being an artist these days is quite hard – and at the end of the day, you have to do it because you love it, because unless you’re really lucky, there’s a slim chance you’re going to make a living out of doing it. (Ever the pessimist!)
I think my new narrative is I want to not get caught up in all the industry noise as much – obviously that stuff is all good to be mindful of, but I’ve recently found it’s hindered my creativity quite a lot too. Lazygirl was created out of a hard time in my life when I was just so glad I finally had my creative ‘spark’ back. I used to just make music every day without worrying too much about releasing it or how it would ‘perform’. But recently, I’ve become daunted by the idea of what will do well on streaming, what content can I make out of this, how could I make this a viral sound, etc…
After releasing my most recent single ‘Withdrawals’, I hit a bit of a slump with music. Since then, I’ve made a slow return to gigging and creating with my band, and am remembering that yes, I actually do love doing this! I can feel that spark creeping back. At the end of the day, music should be a release – it should be an outlet to talk about whatever you want to, create whatever you want to create, throw things at the wall and see what sticks. Making crappy beats on Ableton was what stuck for me 7 years ago, and now it’s time to throw things at the wall again!
I think what I would love to see as an artist, from other artists, is a more open narrative. I’d love to see the ‘warts and all’ of creating. You never know, maybe a demo you think is awful will turn into someone’s favourite song of yours.
If you had to pick your favourite song (by yourself) what would it be and why?
Right now, it’s ‘Withdrawals’. The song was definitely a labour of love, and it took two years to finish – but it’s my most polished song to date and even after listening to it for 3 years I’m still not tired of it!
I think it also shows my journey as an artist, both sonically and emotionally. If I think back to one of my first songs I released, ‘Lava Lamp’, there’s not much mixing or production there at all, but it’s a raw song about being in a pit of depression. My dreamy musical identity kind of started from that song. Now with ‘Withdrawals’, that musical identity is still there – but it’s an intricate, professionally mixed and mastered poppy love song. ‘Withdrawals’ deals with the unstable instability that comes from needing medication to function. The subject matter at its core is still the same, still very honest, but it’s me 7 years on – generally happier and healthier and collaborating with my loved ones on music – which I think is really sweet.
What’s next?
Takin it breezy dude! I’ve got some gigs coming up and have been in the studio recently recording and cooking some lovely things up with my band. I recently re-recorded a song I wrote at 17 with my band at SAE Institute, and that was so wholesome. It’s all been super positive and has felt really nice without the pressure of the “hustle”, so I’ve been just enjoying things as they come. Sometimes doing things slowly and surely is the best.
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