Photography by Shelby Griffiths L.A. Synth wave duo LUCKYandLOVE are a prime example of what happens when you make music that you believe in. Of that camp of those who do it because they can and those who do it because they have to, LUCKYandLOVE undoubtedly belong to the latter. They are madly in love with sounds, picking them apart, recombining them anew, gossamer electronic shimmers rearranging the air one breathes, making magic of all that is at hand. Original, but also deeply inspired by the trail blazers of another age, they both manage to put their own unique signature into the heart of things, creating, ephemeral, spooky, groovy, dance inducing, and also dreamy introspective songs that are well worth the trip. So, ride along with us for a while as we talk with lead singer April Love about the bands origins and what drives the engine of this strange, beautiful musical beast known as LUCKYandLOVE. AHC: What has this journey in music, so far, been like for you, the highs and the lows, and what life lessons do you feel you've picked up along the way? April: Wow, our journey in music I think we have learned to try and not to let the lows get the bet of us, and to not go a day without utilizing the healing energy of music. Healing gets on much faster with music because the healing highs of music are there to discover. AHC: What first drew you to music and what was your early musical environment like growing up? Were there pivotal songs for you then that just floored you the moment you heard them? April: I think Loren and I both grew up spending a lot of time alone, and instruments were there to be our friend. Loren’s dad bought him his first drum set, later on played guitar and piano. I know he had an extensive music collection of his own early on. I had my piano and organ at Grandma’s house, a classical guitar was around, and I bought my own guitar and synth at 16. For me, pivotal songs were always played on our old, but very decent record player while cleaning the house. We had a nice record selection, and I just liked the way they sounded filling the room while polishing the piano. I think songs that floored me would be for example Serge Gainsborg Je t'aime... moi non plus, I don’t think I was actually allowed to listen to it, but it was pretty wild. AHC: Do you remember the first song that you ever wrote or played? Or that first moment when you picked up a pen and realized that you could create whole worlds just by putting it to paper? April: I wrote my first song on Hello Kitty music paper. It was an instrumental piece written for piano, I was in first grade at the time. As a kid, Loren wrote a song through drums, and recorded over and over on tape to make rhythms. Loren was primarily a drummer, but in 2002 Loren wrote a 4 song EP using synths and samples. Loren bought a piano for his home and wrote a song that he left for me at my doorstep. AHC: Which musicians have you learned the most from? Or writers, artists, filmmakers, teachers/mentors etc? April: I have gained a lot from amazing music teachers I have had in my life, more recently, singing lessons from Marta Woodhull, she took time to work with specific tricky notes on my demo tracks prepping me for recording, for example, on a song we have on the LP called “Full Moon”, she taught me about how to approach an “eeee” vowel sound in the word “breathe” to avoid the struggle of a flat note. The trick to singing it is by adding a German umlaut sound not available in English, the umlaut we used is written ü and sounds more like “blur” she gave me encouragement when she heard the recording of it. I love surrealist visual artists like director like Jean Cocteau and photographer Man Ray. Surrealism always reminds me to be silly and let go of trying to make sense of things. Yoko Ono’s Acorn which is a collection of instruction poems & art really inspired me with how playful, profound and conscious she can be at the same time. There are a million things we’ve learned from online videos of course. Loren’s a fan of Cuckoo’s YouTube as well! Another artist that inspire us are Reggie Watts. We got a chance to meet Reggie Watts at Moog Fest 2016 we chatted with him over coffee, and let him know how much we are inspired by his live looping technique. Loren and I also admire Peter Murphy’s lyrics. AHC: What do you think makes for a good song, as you're writing and composing, is there a sudden moment when you know you've found the right mix, that perfect angle of light, so to speak? April: I think my favorite is a unique variety of arrangement which is key to a good song, the modulation of keys and balance of dynamic parts. I find spontaneity helps. For Loren, he’s really into melodies, hooks and lyrics; it doesn’t matter if it’s electronic, acoustic, banging on sticks. AHC: What are your fondest musical memories? In your house? In your neighborhood or town? On-tour, on-the-road? April: We have so many as a band, before and after we met each other. One our many favorite shows, on tour last year, was when we performed the Love Craft Bar in Seattle. The opening band, The Secret Light complimented us well and we eventually got placed on a limited edition Love Craft Compilation on vinyl distributed by the bar owner Jon Horrid available on our website luckyandlove.com. AHC: Do you have any words of advice or encouragement for other musicians and singer-songwriters out there who are just starting out and trying to find their voice and their way in this world? What are the kinds of things that you tell yourself when you begin to have doubts or are struggling with the creative process? Or what kinds of things have others told you that have helped push you past moments of self doubt/creative blocks? April: My advice and I’d still give it to myself too, is to keep going, no body ever said this was easy and it’s just as hard when you don’t keep trying so why not keep going. Loren’s advice is, DON’T QUESTION YOURSELF. AHC: Can you talk a bit about LUCKYandLOVE, how your collaboration with Loren Luck first came to be and about the debut album you've created together? April: Sure, our collaboration came about through a purchase of some key instruments, and wanting a creative outlet that was away from the computer, and being completely excited about the songs/sounds we were writing, and we just kept going because we fully believed in the music’s potential. By the way, we have our LP on vinyl and CD is available on our site and in a ton of local and national record stores, and if it’s not there, just ask them to order it through Forced Exposure in the US or Southern Record Distributors elsewhere. We have three shows coming up, Echo Park Rising on Friday, August 18, 2017 at 8:30 on the Trencher stage, next to The Little Joy Bar, and August 26th, a live streaming from our website luckyandlove.com (check for times) and then HM157 on September 30th. Keep up with LUCKYandLOVE Website | Facebook | Store | Soundcloud | YouTube | Instagram | Twitter | Spotify | Bandcamp Comments are closed.
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December 2023
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