On August 4th, the second day of the Osheaga festival, Ari Staprans Leff, known by his stage name LAUV, performed for his first time in Montreal. Under a scorching mid day sun and a massive crowd, he wasn’t just a refreshing dance party, he was an adrenaline shot … At that moment, we knew we had get him for an interview.
His name might not be that familiar to some of you, after all he only released his debut EP ”Lost in the light” in late 2015 – but if you opened the radio lately there’s a good chance you’ve heard his song. Lauv’s biggest hit ‘I like Me Better” was released on may 2017 while he was only 23 and he hasn’t stopped getting achievements since.
That very same month he began touring across the state. In September he became supporting act on a Ed Sheeran tour that crossed all the way trough Asia, kicking off in Singapore and stopping in places such as Jakarta, Indonesia and the Philippines. At the start of 2018, he embarked on his first world tour and by June Lauv was ranked number one on the Billboard’s emerging artist chart – a position he held for a total of 13 weeks.
That being say, I think you get the ideas, the American singer is growing quick and internationally ! He’s sharp, funny and his beats are resonating repeatedly on dance floors and radio stations across the globe. But beyond his sold out show and billion cumulative streams on Spotify, we wanted to know and understand more about the artist behind the stage.
https://www.instagram.com/p/BmU6vt0h3Lu/
Self described as hopeless romantic, Lauv is the kind of artist that leave a box called ”My blue thoughts” so that audience can write whatever is on their mind at the moment. Sometimes it’s just random desire to eat McDonald, but often it include serious things such as loss of family or depression and Lauv commemorates those on a blog to bind fans together – A sort of online group therapy. He describes himself as the kid who was a little weird, who had a Myspace banner that read Be Yourself, who wrote love songs before he had a girlfriend and liked sad tunes before he had ever been in a breakup.
You see he have a unique vision and a fascinating creative mind that doesn’t stop surprising. You’ll love his sense of humour, his positivity and of course his sound. That’s why we were so excited when Lauv blessed us with a quick interview so we could learn more about his interest, busy lifestyle and amazing personality.
See the Interview Below .
What did you think of the city and the Osheaga experience
It was my first time playing in Montreal, and unfortunately, we couldn’t stay long to explore the city or see any of the other bands perform, but the vibe of the whole festival was incredible!
Are you constantly on the road? What does your day-to-day look like at the moment ?
Ha-ha it’s a lot of flying and driving and recording and shooting and trying to eat & shower here and there (just kidding…sort of). I’ve started working on an album which feels really good, as well as some other songs with some friends that might come sooner 😉
What makes you happy lately?
Creating! For the past year or so I was touring so much and barely home so I couldn’t really write, but I’ve been feeling like I’m hitting a new zone that I haven’t been in for awhile.
Anything you would do with your time if you didn’t work in music?
probably something with food and/or psychology. Or maybe both. I can’t cook 🙁
Any other artistic sides that particularly inspire you or that you would like to develop?
Yes! I want to eventually write bigger pieces, whether that be books or scripts or something else. That and clothes. I have some ideas for a line in the future.
Fondest musical memories as you were growing up?
Sitting in my room and looking up green day guitar tabs, crying to John Mayer songs at breakfast, etc.
First concert you attended?
First one I remember was a My Chemical Romance show, it was lit.
Artists most often played on your playlists?
Lately it’s been Travis Scott, Mayer, Coldplay, Sun Kil Moon, Joe Pass
What, in your opinion, is overrated/underrated?
A)Overrated – Pineapple on pizza.
Underrated – Squidward in general
What are your thoughts on classifying music by genres? Is it something you think about when you write and compose?
I think the idea of our brains wanting to classify things is totally natural, but I don’t really listen by genre and I definitely don’t like to create that way. I think a lot of other people are the same now, music is a lot freer and more cross-cultural.
What can you tell us about your upcoming projects?
They taste like spaghetti-o’s
Written by Xavier Hebert – Info@mtltimes.ca
