Where are you currently based?
I’m recently moved to Enmore NSW
How did you first start playing music?
I played piano from about 6 but never fully fell in love with it until I first picked up the guitar. I started hiding in the music rooms at school during lunch & the music teacher would do group guitar lessons. I eventually got more interested in classical guitar & played in a bunch of school bands. I then went on to do a bachelor in guitar. I’ve been writing songs since I picked up the guitar.
What’s been happening recently and how has your Covid experience been so far?
I’ve been living in Bowral for a chunk of this year since we got evicted. I used the time to work on my skills as a producer. Before covid struck everyones plans out the window like many people I’d planned to spend most of the year traveling to work with new collaborators overseas. I’ve done a few zoom writing sessions with some people I’d planned on meeting. I’ve been working on finishing
my EP & always working on writing more songs. The start of the year had a lot of ups & downs with feeling fairly isolated in Bowral but I’m making up for my lack of socialising now that i’m back in Sydney.
Your new single The Eviction Song, is out now, what influenced the sound and song writing?
I’ve always had a broad taste in music & find it hard to narrow down my influences. Some of my favourite artists are Wolf Alice, The Japanese House & Rex Orange County. I’ve also made a playlist of artists that i’ve been listening to this year> https://open.spotify.com/playlist/ 1AtMA91E9cX4GtyA6rVmoZ?si=-NPsDB3bTr2TzDHMx96pTw
How did you go about writing The Eviction Song?
I do a lot of writing with one of my close friends Oscar Sharah. We wrote The Eviction Song in the studio in Coogee where we wrote a lot of the EP. We started out with the opening riff & it was originally going to be a vocal melody & had completely different lyrics. We then went back to writing with just an acoustic guitar until we had come up with the main melodies & lyrics. I always prefer stripping back the session to just guitar to make sure I like the song as an acoustic before we dive into the production elements.
Where and when did you record and who with?
I’m pretty sure started writing the song late December last year after I’d received the first eviction notice. We recorded most of the track in Coogee in the same session that we wrote it.
What programs/instruments did you use?
The main guitar is recorded on a nylon guitar through an iPhone. The opening riff was recorded on Juno. A lot of the soundscape elements are fuzzy guitarmonies. I can never help myself with chucking harmony stacks on the guitars & BV arrangements. Oscar plays live drums on majority of the EP. We are going to film us pulling apart the stems & chatting about the production in more detail in a couple weeks so keep an eye out.
How did the concept for the music video come about?
I wanted to include my old housemates and my friends who’d experienced our parties before the eviction so I just got some old ass video cameras & started taking them out everywhere. I’ve got a shit tonne of left over footage that will probably come out sometime soon also (but some of it will never see the light of day lol). I knew I wanted to shoot one of the scenes in my bedroom because we just moved into a new place & I was excited that I could fit a couch in my room. Lewis Clark (director) & I went to a party store the day before & got excited by all the balloons & streamers so that’s how the backdrop came about. Lewis & I brainstormed over coffee to come with the aesthetic and locations that we thought would best suit the song.
Where and when did you film and who did you work with?
A lot of the filming was unplanned so I think that’s how we captured so many heartfelt moments with my friends & housemates. Maybe I just think the dadcam footage of my friends is adorable because I know them but I’m going to treasure the shots in this video & it will remind me of this
stage of my life forever. Most of the footage in shot walking around Enmore & in my bedroom. The video was directed by a close friend Lewis Clark (Mel Blue) & we had another close friend Jimmy Heathwood (Bronte Public Housing) assisting on handy cam & everything else that he could assist with on the day. I think it made it a lot easier to show my real personality with only two friends behind the camera having a laugh.
What did you find most challenging and rewarding during the creation of the music video?
This was definitely the least challenging video I’ve shot to date. Lewis had a super clear plan for the day so the whole shoot was pretty chill. We had a few drinks when Georgia arrived to ‘sleep’ on the couch & then went out to trivia afterwards to look through the footage. We came so far last that they forgot to call our name in the rankings & gave us free sympathy beer.
Who are you listening to at the moment?
I’ve been delving into Dominic Fike’s new album. I can’t stop listening to Caroline Polachek. I’m always going back to the old Gorillaz albums & love some 90s grunge.
What do you like to do away from music?
I love a long walk & eating a whole cabbage to try and heal my body after the house parties. I don’t do a lot away from music but it doesn’t sound super musical when I try to practise trumpet & drums which are my newest hobbies.
You have some upcoming shows, how do you prepare for live shows and what can we expect?
I’ve had a couple prep sessions to organise stems with my guitarist & MD Ryan. After that I brought in my band & backing vocalists for a rehearsal & hope the songs all come back to them. It’s been a while since we’ve done a full band show & we’ve never done the band with live backing vocals but I think it’s sounding pretty sick.
We’ll be playing duo at The Hard Rock Cafe on the 12th of Nov & full band at Kelly’s on the 26th of Nov.
What’s planned for the remainder of 2020 going into 2021?
I’ll be working on some vids for the rest of the EP & doing the final touches on mixing & getting it mastered. I’m also working on the next 2 EPs after that & producing/ writing for some other artists.
Favourite food and place to hang out?
I recently 3rd wheeled a date at Emma’s Snack Bar with my pal’s Pat & Leah. The food was next level & the company was also OK. I do love to hang out at Vic on the Park & haven’t joked about how it feels like I live there.
https://www.instagram.com/lolascottmusic/
