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Q&A: Lauv of 'I Like Me' fame
Lauv extends his hand out to me and says, “Hi, I’m Ari!” when I meet him at Crimson Hotel in Alabang. The 23-year-old singer, songwriter and producer — whose real name is Ari Leff — is in Manila for a couple of shows at Ayala Malls, the last of which happens tonight, November 7 at UP Town Center.
Best known for songs like “I Like Me Better” and “The Other,” Lauv got his name from the Latvian word for “lion.” His music combines electro-pop with bits of R&B. Think Lany sung with Sam Smith-esque vocals.
Despite battling jetlag, Lauv was pleasant and thoughtful when I threw a bunch of questions at him.
You’re a long way from home. Are you the type who’s excited when you’re traveling somwehere new? Or do you prefer staying in one place?
I moved around a lot growing up. So I always kind of feel comfortable going to new places. I actually don’t like…When I’m in LA for too long. It’s just too repetitive.
Did you know anything about Manila and the Philippines before coming over?
I didn’t really know a whole lot. Yesterday we had some really good food and we explored a little bit. What was the name of the place we went to where we walked around? Fort Santiago. That was really cool. We walked around there.
When did you first decide to pursue music as a career?
I think it was gradual for me, over time. I grew up playing music as a kid. And it got to a point that, when I was in high school, all I could do was play music. I would go to school and I would come home and I would play music and write songs and work in my studio in my house. I would play in bands and record. And so over time, I was just like, well, this is all I could do.
When you look back at stuff that you wrote back then, when you were 15 and compare them with your current songs, do you see how much you’ve grown, how different you were back then?
It’s interesting because I feel like, for one I just have more life experiences. Like, I think the first song I ever wrote was a break-up song, but I’ve never been in a relationship. So if I go back and listen to that, it kind of doesn’t really make sense. But now I’ve been through that, of course, and some other stuff. I feel like the songs I’m writing now, in a lot of ways, I feel like I still write in the same way I used to write as a kid in that I would just try to express myself.
You write songs for other people, but do you see yourself still doing that especially now, when you’re establishing a career for yourself as a solo artist?
Yeah I think I’ll always do that. There are a couple of things that happen. Sometimes, I’ll write songs that I think will be for myself, and then, sometimes, you don’t really have control over the creative process. So sometimes it’ll turn out that, oh, I don’t need this song. And then, I have a team that can help find another artist (for it). I have friends who are other artists and I can send it to them, and they can collaborate on it. But I see myself always just writing music in general, whether it’s for me or for other people. But I’m much more focused now on my own stuff.
Are you the type who has to have things a certain way? Like, do you have to be sitting down, does the room have to be a certain temperature, or do you need to have a drink?
I do have things like that. You mention the drink. It’s either like an energy drink or coffee. I have to get really caffeinated, but that’s probably pretty normal. But other than that, I don’t like to have too much control, because if I do the same thing, it’s not very inspiring, or I don’t really make stuff that’s very creative. So every song happens a little differently.
Like when you’re on the plane and you get an idea…
Yeah! Like on the flight over here, I took out my computer and started working on something. A lot of times, it’ll be like I’ll be walking around, and I’ll just voice mail something on my iPhone. Like, “I Like Me Better,” that melody (sings a few notes), that was just me in the moment, I took my phone out, and voice mailed it to my computer. I get a lot of ideas when I’m kind of, like, not thinking.
Lightning round questions. Favorite city?
I think it’ still New York. I love New York. I live in Los Angeles now, so I kind of miss it.
Favorite snack?
That’s hard. Because I don’t really like snacks. I love meals. My favorite food is sushi.
Favorite TV show right now?
It's actually "Friends". I know, I’m really late. I just started watching. I think I’m on Season 3.
Who’s your favorite character so far?
It’s gotta be Phoebe. I’m always wondering what’s going on in her head.
Favorite ice cream flavor?
I think it would be chocolate chip cookie dough.
If you were throwing an intimate dinner party and you were going to invite three living musical artists, who would you invite?
That’s tough because you have to make sure they’ll be good together. Definitely Chris Martin from Coldplay. I’ll say A$AP Rocky. He’s interesting. And then, let’s go with Cashmere Cat. I think that would be such a weird combo.
But it looks like it’s going to be fun…
Yeah! (laughs)
A post shared by Lauv (@lauvsongs) on
You’re opening for Ed Sheeran?
The scheduling for that is still being worked out, but I hope that I can still do it.
Who else would you like to perform with or open for?
I think Coldplay would be another dream. Massive tour.
Have you considered releasing a full album of your songs?
What I’m doing right now is, and it took me a while to kind of realize this, but all of the songs that I put out have all been about one part of my life. A lot of it is back when I was living in New York.
And so recently, I kind of reconfigured them into this playlist called “I Met You When I Was 18.” And basically, I still have a bunch of songs that I’ll be putting on that and they’ll be coming out, some one at a time, some a bunch all at once. So that’s kind of like what my first body of work is going to be. It’s gonna happen over time. I didn’t even really realize it. It was like a couple of months ago, everythhing’s been like about the same part of my life. And it’s like I want to give that to people in the right order.
What have been some of the funniest stuff you’ve seen people tag you on social media?
I’ve been seeing on Instagram some people have been making memes of me. Which is the best. Just like, have you seen that meme of the cutting the monkey’s hair? People have done that with me. Everything. Whatever meme there is, people have been posting just of the most random stuff. It’s hilarious.
Have you ever thought about what you’d be doing right now, if you weren’t into music?
I’d either have a sushi restaurant — that’d be amazing because I’d love to learn properly the art of making sushi — or I would be do something probably in psychology, just because I’m really interested in the way people think. And maybe be a therapist. Or maybe not. — LA, GMA News
