LAUV IS IN THE AIR [IN PRINT]
BY DENISE J. MALLABO
Singer-songwriter LAUV is constantly striving to better himself. Thanks to his dogs, a solid inspiration, and constant creation of music, things are looking up and he’s happier.
PHOTOGRAPHY: IRVIN RIVERA, FASHION STYLING: ANDREW PHILIP NGUYEN, GROOMING: ATHENA ALBERTO & MERCEDES GONZALES, PRODUCER: LOUISE BARRETTO, GRAPHICS DESIGNER: PHIL LIMPRASERTWONG, PHOTO ASSISTANT: JESSE ZAPATERO, STYLING ASSISTANT: JULIA VINDER
It was late at night in Los Angeles when A BOOK OF got a hold of LAUV for this chat. And guess what? He was working on his music for the past few hours, jamming on ideas because why the hell not? The 28-year-old singer-songwriter just released his sophomore album All 4 Nothing, a 13-track album which he produced in the middle of the pandemic, and he couldn’t be happier about it as he posts pictures of himself on his Instagram showing off billboards promoting the release.
Known for his ability to make anyone feel their emotions, Lauv’s songs are among the most swoon-worthy and heart-breaking arrangements out there; highly relatable and occasionally nearly painful to listen to. In his first album, How I’m Feeling, as per Lauv, he showcased six various characteristics of himself through his songs which resulted to like “Drugs & The Internet,” “I’m so tired…(featuring Troye Sivan),” and “Modern Loneliness,” just to name a few. With this latest offering he relied mostly on freestyling what he wanted to convey and focused less on being hands-on with the production. Leaving the album as raw as possible and Lauv as honest and vulnerable as he can be. “I would hear chords, vibes, drumbeats, and I would just turn the microphone on and I would just go and not think about what it is that I'm doing. Just challenge myself to be as free as possible and to escape my anxiety. It’s one of the only times that I could escape my anxiety was being on the microphone just doing it,” says Lauv. Prior to All 4 Nothing’s release, three tracks from the album already hit the airwaves just to give his public a taste of what he’s been up to.
Did you have any expectations for your music career when you first started?
When I was a kid, I had big dreams but I didn't expect anything. I was like "if anything happens at all, that would be cool." Everything that's been happening is beyond; it's crazy! The fact that I get to play in multiple big shows and put out all this music and get to do what I love to do; I just feel really lucky.
You began creating your own music at the age of 14, which is quite young. What inspired you to pursue a career in music? What inspired you to start writing music?
Originally, I wanted to become a pro-skater but I'm not good enough in skateboarding. If you want to be a pro-skater you have to be able to jump down on big stairs and do crazy ramps, and I was like "I can't do this!" Naturally, I was already playing music and fell in-love with it and I'm like "it would be super cool to have a career in music." And I thought for a while, even if I could just work in a studio or something - that would be sick.
Growing up, I was just feeling a bit lonely and I like listening to music and naturally I just started writing songs or coming up with things in GarageBand. Probably, just out of loneliness and boredom so I was like "this is really fun" and "this is a great way to pass time."
You devoted more of your attention to writing music for other people in the early stages of your career. What fulfillment do you get from writing for other people?
Anytime that I can make music and it could land anywhere, that's really cool. If it's for me or if it's just some fun idea that I was a part of that doesn't feel right for me, it's just cool for it to be out in the world, just as cheesy as it sounds, sharing the music in the world is really great. One of the first really big things before "I Like Me Better" happened when I was a writer and co-producer on this Cheat Codes and Demi Lovato song "No Promises." I remember when it blew-up and I was like "woah, that's crazy!" A few months later, I put out "I Like Me Better" and that sort of did the same thing.
The first Lauv song wasn't even done on purpose. I was going through a break-up at that time, and I was feeling my feels. I was writing with a close friend of mine and we were always writing songs to pitch to other artist but I was like "what if we wrote a song about my life today?" And that song turned to be my song "The Other" and after we wrote it, I said I want to try putting this out myself just for fun. I think after I put it out and even if it didn't blow-up like crazy, right off the bat, it did have a really cool internet buzz because of Hype Machine and all the blogs and stuff like that, I just really got addicted. It's so fun doing music for me. I have a channel now where I can make whatever I truly want to make and then put it out to the world. I don't have to worry about if so and so will record it? If someone else is doing it? Does the A&R like it? Does this person like it? It's just "do I like it?"
You compose the most heartbreaking and beautiful songs. Which would be easier for you to write about: being in love or having your heart broken?
I think heartbreak, just that feeling, it's just easier to write about sadness for me. Even if I make a happy song, there's some secret element of sadness in there, I promise, every time.
