'Motivations' by Lowell
The dao of Lowell; photographed by Luis Mora.
Los Angeles by way of Toronto ascendant pop star Lowell alluded to an upcoming album with the honest sweet and acerbic slow dance sashay of “Lemonade”. The piano lead sophisti-lounge blues ballad rages against the challenges of contending with the corrupt and compromised bad actors of the world, in the industry and in our communities. Lowell reckons with the headaches and heartaches in a rhythmic and explicit recitation of grievances set to an arrangement that gently rocks like an afternoon spent in the sanctuary studio of one’s own armed with plenty of tape reels and a cathartic case of choice rosé.
In anticipation of the new album, Lowell present the following Week in Pop curation:
Lowell’s Motivations
Books
Before the pandemic I was flying Toronto to LA every two weeks and, let’s be honest, sometimes I actually looked forward to those 5 hours on airplane mode where I could just read read read. We are constantly getting so much information, on TV, online etc. There’s something about diving into a book that feels less transient. Binge watching on Netflix is fun, but forgettable. Books stay with you. This year I’ve read about 30 books and I will read plenty more.
Some of my faves: If you haven’t read any Zora Neale Hurston, get on that, Their Eyes Were Watching God is a classic, should be considered one of the best books of all time. I personally love Chuck Palahniuk because I’m a satire junky. This year I also enjoyed some newer upcoming authors: Saeed Jones’ memoir How We Fight For Our Lives and Riot Baby by Tochi Onyebuchi. Both were quick Sunday reads and really beautiful.
Old movies with the captions on
When I’m writing and I really want to get into the zone I project old movies on the wall. I’m all about horror, but sometimes I switch it up and throw on some Godard for the love content. Of course I do this because its a vibe, but I also turn the captions on for the word inspo. In fact, even when I’m just casually watching television and movies I like to have captions on just in case I see a good word or phrase, which my partner finds very annoying.
Life
Songwriting is my therapy. I write songs when I’m happy, depressed, drunk, when nightmares wake me up in the middle of the night, when crazy elections happen, when I fall in love, when I fall out of love, when seasons change, when I eat a really good bag of chips. There’s a song in everything and my biggest muse is waking up in the morning and living my life.
My studio space
It's not much, but my little studio nook is where I spend most of my time. I’ve got a really modest setup. A Gefell M930 mic, two mini Genelec speakers, a couple of keyboards, my fender bass, some wicked pedals (Big Muff, Big Sky, Rat etc.) and guitars that my partner and I share.
Coffee breaks
I can get a little obsessive when I’m creating and sometimes I can go for hours without eating, going to the bathroom, or going for a walk. The problem is when you’re making art sometimes what you need to do is take a step back and see things from the outside world. I take walks, put on a pot of coffee, listen to some music etc. Usually my greatest art comes to me when I least expect it and when my subconscious is taking in information I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced in my work space.
My very generic and yet beautiful piano
I’ve been playing piano since I was three years old and writing songs on piano since I was about 12. If I’m feeling something, that’s where I go. When I moved away from home it took me years to finally have a home big enough to fit a piano, anyways here she is. The brand is a generic Ontario brand of all things, but somehow she does a Duke Ellington piece justice in her own way.
This here is my piano at home:
And [this] one is my fave studio piano:
“Lemonade” will be featured on Lowell’s upcoming album arriving in 2021.