Sensitive pop artist Lulu Simon presents us with her sophomore EP Muscle Memory, the perfect balance between pop and vulnerability. Simon takes on a ride almost like she's updating us on what happened since the last time we saw her. Lulu and I got to talking about her EP, inspirations, how she got into music, the creative and writing process + so much more!
Hi Lulu! Thanks so much for taking the time out to answer my questions, how are you?
Hellooooo, of course, thank you for taking the time to ask me questions! I am very well at the moment, thank you!
For those who are just discovering your music, can you introduce yourself?
Yes hello, my name is Lulu Simon, I make sensitive pop for the girlies who want to cry their glitter off.
How did you get into music?
I’ve been making music since I was about 12 years old and really started as a means of expressing myself in a way that I felt no other way could. My older brother, Ade (stream his song Junk in Orbit btw), is an incredibly talented musician and he’s been making music since he was literally 5 years old, so I’ve always felt very inspired by him and his creativity and I think watching him do it at such a young age made me feel like I could do it, too.
How did you go about finding your sound?
When I first started writing music it was very singer songwritery, I wrote everything on the guitar and piano, but as I got older and developed a love of pop music, I wanted my own songs to reflect that. I felt very strongly that I needed to establish myself as a pop artist when I released my first EP, so it was very heavily pop influenced, but as I’ve grown older I’ve sort of recognized that my sound is not solely one genre, and it’s been really exciting to blend genres to create what I call a “sensitive pop” hybrid sound.
You’ve just released your EP Muscle Memory, which is absolutely amazing and so fun! Can you tell us what the main inspiration behind it was?
Thank you very much! I wrote this EP during a time in which I was going through a lot of really intense changes, and these songs were my way of processing those changes and my feelings.
What was the recording process like for Muscle Memory?
It was fun honestly, really rewarding. It’s nice to finish writing a song but to finally get in the studio and bring it to life is incredibly exciting.
What was the writing and creative process like for Muscle Memory?
I really wrote most of these songs out of necessity, I needed to express myself and emote and the best way for me to do that is through the majesty of song.
I really love how every song is different, how did you go about finding the sound for Muscle Memory?
Thank you! I think when I released my first EP, it was really important for me to establish myself as a pop artist, so I pushed for all of those classic pop elements, but with these songs and this EP, obviously the energy is a lot different and it didn’t really feel appropriate for a sadder, more introspective song to be produced in a big pop way. Because my musical foundation is very singersongwritery, I wanted to blend my love of those 2 genres, so that my songs maintained the integrity of the way they were written, while also incorporating in my love of pop music.
One of my favorite songs on the EP is “Driftwood”, can you talk a little bit more about this track?
I wrote this song during lockdown in May of 2020, I was quarantining away from all of my friends and was going a little crazy, I missed my friends, I missed being a part of a community and I just felt really disconnected from my life. I was actually going on one of my daily hot girl walks at the beach and saw a piece of driftwood and started to cry (I had been alone for too long) because I was like “you used to be a tree! and now you’re NOTHING!” and thus, the idea for Driftwood the song was born.
-Was the creative and writing process for “Something” different from “Being Alone is the Best”?
It actually wasn’t that different. I wrote both the first verse for Something and for Being Alone is the Best and then abandoned both songs because I couldn’t think of anything to follow. I then ended up writing the chorus and second verses of both songs months later, just in my head while out walking, and then ran home to the piano, for Something, and the guitar for Being Alone is the Best, to see if what I’d come up with actually worked in a musical context, and luckily for me, it did.
-How would you describe Muscle Memory to first time listeners?
Listening through Muscle Memory in order is really like following the deterioration of my mental wellbeing hahaha. It starts of with footloose and fancy free All In, which is a song just about partying with your friends and being fabulous, not a care in the world, and is then followed by Something, which is about the end of a relationship but the unwillingness to let it go, and sort of the delusion of thinking that maybe it’s not really over. Driftwood is then about recognizing that something is over but wishing it wasn’t, and romanticizing the times when it wasn’t, and then Already the End is about seeing the relationship for what it truly was, no romanticizing, and realizing that there is no point in wanting what it was back, because it’s already over and the bell has been rung, you can’t go back from this. Being Alone is the Best is about coming to terms with yourself and trying to find peace on your own; removing the loneliness from being alone.
What would you say is your favorite song, or lyric off of Muscle Memory?
I think Already the End is my favorite song off the EP because it’s the most emotionally vulnerable I’ve been in a released song thus far, and that’s been a very freeing feeling for me. I think it used to be very important for me to put on a persona that was fun loving and tough, but that’s just not realistic all the time, and it felt nice to let my guard down.
What was your favorite thing about creating and recording Muscle Memory?
I think just hearing the songs come to life, from voice memo to final master, it’s very exciting and fulfilling.
Who are your musical influences?
Carly Rae Jepsen is my #1 queen, I also love Kim Petras, the 1975, No Doubt, Queen, Taylor Swift, of course.
When writing lyrics, what would you say is your main inspiration?
My main inspiration is just my life, really. I’ve always felt very connected to words and I think that music and lyrics and poetry are such a wonderful and dramatic way to express yourself, I love trying to channel my emotions in a thoughtful way, it really helps me to understand them better.
There’s a sense of vulnerability in your lyrics, despite the upbeat music. How do you keep that vulnerability in your lyrics without shying away?
It’s been kind of hard, actually, because for so long I really wanted people to see me as tough and cool and unbothered, and that just isn’t realistic, I am DEEPLY bothered all of the time hahaha. But I think it’s important to be real, even if it’s “ugly” or “embarrassing”, because that’s life, baby. Life is ugly and embarrassing and also cute and carefree, and it’s all about finding peace in the balance.
Last question! We love discovering new music, who should we be listening to right now?
I absolutely love Chappell Roan right now, everything she puts out is a certified banger.
Words by Melody
Keep up with Lulu!
