Our first interview with emerging artist laye digs into how her debut album "lonesome" originated as well as what went into her new music video "sicker".
You may have noticed over the past decade the music industry has unlocked a new generation of lyrical pop singers. We now have diverse flavors of pop that blend into genres like hip hop (Doja Cat), alternative (Lorde), fast techno laced hits (Billie Eilish), and so much more. Every artist is tasked with bringing something new and beautiful to the table and laye has done just that. Having recently released her first album "lonesome", the singer is now on her newest adventure and took some time to discuss the journey thus far.
Be sure to stream her latest work on any music platform and check out her dazzling music video for "sicker", which I promise - will hold you over until the next season of Euphoria comes back.
Okay, before we get into the nitty-gritty - I need to know what your all-time favorite Halloween movie is and why. That is right around the corner and I feel like this is an important question. Mine is Corpse Bride hehe.
Ah, I love Corpse Bride, I think I dressed up as that one year in elementary school hehe. I don’t know that I have a favourite- this one isn’t a Halloween movie, more so a Christmas movie, but Edward Scissorhands is a good Halloween inspo one and I enjoy it a lot. Send me lists of Halloween movies to watch!!
I listened to lonesome. It is deep and seems so much more elevated than one would expect from an emerging artist. When did you see the pieces really start coming together for this album?
Thank you! This album was one that began before I even had an album in mind. Each song was done with a different producer and so I was worried about it coming together as a cohesive piece but as I went through all of the songs I’ve recorded over the past few years I tried to really choose ones that belonged together and the ones I ended up with all had this overlapping theme of ‘loneliness’ and that was when I finally felt good about it all.
Montréal is very far from Los Angeles. What is it like to be a kid coming up there?
It was good, I guess I don’t feel too attached to any specific place so I’m happy going where people send me (as of now) but Montreal is beautiful and I have yet to fully experience the city of Montreal as I grew up in a suburb.
Growing up, what kind of music did you listen to?
Avril Lavigne some Kelly Clarkson, Coldplay, The Killers... music my parents and cousins had playing...
Where do you find your taste in music now?
I love listening to 50s playlists on Spotify, and singer-songwriter music. Music that’s not in the same lane as what I’m doing. Love me some Leon Bridges. I hardly ever listen to pop music. I find I need to stay clear of current pop music because in general I feel like you’re inspired by whatever you listen to and I don’t want that to be where I’m unconsciously pulling from if that makes sense... I always feel like I want to be creating something new. It’s odd because I’ll get into a session and have a producer ask me what I’m listening to currently, or they’ll bring up newly released songs and I don't know what they’re talking about and I can tell they’re confused by that but I like it that way.
The song “goldfinger” is something a lot of young people can relate to. Tell me a little bit about how this power anthem came about.
I came off of writing ‘milk n honey’ with Lauren Christy and at the end of our sessions she played me some tunes - the last one being ‘goldfinger’. I feel strongly about only wanting to sing songs that I’ve written and am personally attached to and so I was really hesitant about it. I went back and forth on it for a while, to be honest. The meaning of the song is exactly what you said, a power anthem and it was something I’ve personally gone through with dating in the past. I connected with the feeling of the song and so I cut a demo version of it. In the end, it just fit the project well and were words that I felt and wanted to share with others. Middle fingers up to the ones that string you along !!
How did it feel to get your first billboard with Spotify? Especially in such a poppin' place like Toronto.
So gooooood! Luv luv luv !
Your song “no love lost” feels like the pinnacle of the album. What was the one thing going through your mind when you wrote that song?
Relationships are messy as fuck even when they’re the most beautiful. I kind of wanted to capture that, a balance of the typical lust and love aspect you have with someone.
What was it like making the music video for “sicker” and how did you want it to resonate with your fans?
I think visuals are so important and I’m continuing to grow in them and expressing myself and my songs through them. For ‘sicker I had my makeup artist and friend direct it, the lovely Summer O’Grady, and she pulled a lot of inspo from the fashion world and gave it an editorial look twisted into the meaning of the song- being comfortable in yourself, and self-love. It isn’t a song about preaching to do that, but more so a song about striving for that.
If you could score one movie/TV show of your choice what would be some of the tracks you would lay down?
I feel like making some fvcked up tunes for Bates Motel would be fun..
Self-care is very important, especially when social media has trained us to be addicted to other people’s lives. What are some best practices you have found that you think others would benefit from?
I try to delete my social apps from my phone every now and then but I’m not the best at it as those are work tools for me. I think it’s important to do that though- my hope is to be less and less on my phone as I work on my second album because I feel like that will clear and open my mind more. But yes, self-care is so important and I think that social media is more negative than positive for people. If I didn’t need it for work, I’d be tempted to not have it at all.
Last Question(s): Where do you see your music taking you in the next 2 years? Is there one particular thing you really want to do next?
I want to put out more music and take it from there- hopefully, people discover me and enjoy the music enough to check out the artist behind it! You see plays going up but followers only inching up slowly and it’s hard. I take it day by day!
End of Interview!
Stream "lonesome" wherever you listen to music here.
Watch the official music video for "sicker" here.