Since releasing her debut single “Wasted” in 2018, sensitive pop artist Lulu Simon has been writing autobiographical shimmering pop.
Inspired by the queen of heartbreak anthems, Taylor Swift, Lulu began to explore beyond her personal experiences and expand on her authentic stories through fiction.
Her new EP Muscle Memory introduces that musical evolution. Through singles like “All In” and “Something,” Lulu chronicles the stages of grief at the end of a relationship.
We chatted with Lulu about the transformation of her music, the “All In” music video, and what fans can look forward to next.
Congrats on the release of your EP Muscle Memory! What was the writing process like for this project?
Thank you very much! I think the writing process was more therapeutic than anything else. Since most of these songs were written during the pandemic,
The track listing takes listeners through the beginning through the end of a relationship. Can you take us through how you decided on the track order?
Even though the songs weren’t written in the order of the track list, as soon as I had all of the songs finished, the through line started to become clear to me, and the story of my life and how I’d been feeling was laid out in a way that I did not plan, which was nice!
You’ve noted that your newer music, specifically your single, “Something” is more reflective than reactionary in comparison to your previous releases. Can you speak to what sparked that switch?
I was actually deeply inspired by Taylor Swift’s Folklore. I used to feel like the only way for me to write honest music was to write from a purely autobiographical perspective, which can, of course, be limiting, especially if the entire world is shut down and you’re not necessarily having the same kind of interpersonal experiences you were before. After hearing Folklore, though, I realized that songwriting can be based in fiction and still be very moving and relatable, and I feel like it gave me permission to to expand my songwriting.
What inspired the track, “All In”?
Since so many of the songs I was writing were really sad (haha), I wanted to write a song that was purely about having fun with your friends, no drama. It was heavily inspired by Kim Petras’ “I Don’t Want It At All,” and I’m so happy with how it turned out, I think it’s the perfect party song.
Where did the concept for the video come from and what was it like to film it? It looked like a lot of fun!
The video was SO fun to film, it came out so perfectly, exactly the way I dreamed it, and it’s all thanks to Mariel and Marita Gomsrud who came up with treatment and directed the video. They are so talented and immediately understood the energy I was looking for and created the perfect, pink, hyper feminine, fun environment for the song, which is exactly what I wanted, and I’m so grateful to them.
You asked fans on instagram what their favorite track off the EP was. What’s your favorite track and why?
I think my favorite track off of the EP is “Already the End,” although I love each song so much, it’s definitely a difficult choice, but “Already the End” is the most vulnerable song I’ve released thus far and it was, again, incredibly therapeutic for me to write and release. I feel like most of my songs have been written from a very particular and almost curated perspective, it was really important for me to feel like I was creating a persona that was tough and unbothered, but obviously that isn’t the truth, and writing a song that let my guard down was really important for me.
If you could set fans up in the perfect environment to listen to the EP, what do you imagine it looking like?
My favorite place to listen to music is in the car, specifically a convertible on a warm evening, so I think this EP is perfect for road tripping.
What can fans look forward to next?
I’ve got more music on the way! So hopefully fans can look forward to that haha!
What is one quote that you have heard or that you go by that you want to ECHO out to the world?
Very good question, I think a quote that I try to live by, but admittedly don’t always, is, “When life is sweet, say thank you and celebrate. When life is bitter, say thank you and grow.” – Shauna Niequist