Artist Spotlight: Lavaud
When ones personality shines through in their music, it elevates the listening experience to new heights. British-Mauritian singer songwriter Lavaud is a vibrant, bubbly and thoughtful person, and her music amalgamates the same qualities. The well travelled artist is now London based, having spent time in LA, and uses her cultural experiences to elevate her sound to provoking and radiant heights.
Lavaud’s sound is firmly planted in alternative R&B, with a strong afrobeat influence apparent, especially on the smash hit ‘Oh My’, which features afrobeats star Reekado Banks, and has already amassed over 3 million streams. Her summer EP, ‘King Vaud’, is a dynamic, cinematic celebration of self love and female empowerment, with Lavaud illustrating her striking lyrical and vocal ability over the eclectic, colourful instrumentals.
I caught up with Lavaud to discuss her fantastic EP, maintaining authenticity, and her future artistic direction.
How has the pandemic been personally and creatively?
For me personally it’s been really good. I’ve been learning, figuring myself out. I feel like I got really creative, I got a mic, I downloaded loads of stuff on logic. The drive was a bit different because I’m the kind of person who can’t sit still, Im very much an extrovert. It kind of forced me to learn new stuff. I also figured stuff out about myself that I didn’t know I needed to figure out, and loving the way I write.
Who is influencing you at the moment?
You know what… Kanye! His album is mind blowing, he never settles for average. There’s another girl called Arya Starr, I really like her sound and the way she manipulates her melodies.
You’ve got such a unique sound, despite the Afro influence being really popular right now, I think you stand out. How did you first decide and decipher it as the sound that you want to pursue?
I did my first single in 2016 which was R&B/pop, which I grew up listening to, but I also grew up listening to Seggae, Maritiaian music, French music, African music, so I thought why have I not put that in my sound because it’s authentically me. At the time, Afrobeats was just emerging and building up and I felt that it was what I wanted to do, but to implement it and put it with other things that I grew up with and make it this whole fruit salad of me. For about 4 years now I’ve been trying to create this sound that is Lavaud, and I feel like when the opportunity came for me to finally release the EP it felt like the perfect time for me to show what I’ve been working on this whole time. The decision came with who am I, what music do I like, how do I make it into me. Even this next project I’m going to do now, I’m trying to figure out what I want to do next, it’s like a fun puzzle.
Within your sound do you see a lot of progression?
Yes because when I listen back to early stuff it has definitely elevated.
What kind of direction are you learning towards?
Afro elements with a bit of R&B and a bit of pop with an alternative vibe. Just playing around with sonics and sound, and different synths. Something that when you listen to even just the music you hear it and think it’s Lavaud.
When you have a sound that doesn’t sound like anything else, do you think it’s difficult to fit into a scene?
Definitely. I think though that music always finds it place as long as you continue to be you. You can put your music out in the universe and 5 years later it’s blown up. I feel like good music is good music, anyone who’s heard it just vibes with it and that’s all I care about, if it makes you move, makes you dance.
There’s a real uplifting feel to your tunes, it’s really self empowering. Is that something that you purposefully shone a light on and being vibrant in your writing and your production?
I just go in the studio and express how I feel at the time. It often starts with a conversation and then the bass line or drums will catch a mood. A track like ‘King Vaud’ on the EP, it’s about me feeling empowered in that moment and messing around and asking why can’t females be called kings too. Whereas ‘Fast Lane’ came from a photo I took when I was living in LA which is this picture in a big bomber jacket, trackies and heels and it’s just a downtown LA mood, talking about how wild I was living when I’d just turned 21, living in LA and talking about my experience of being young, wild and free and living in the moment. It really is just honest and talking about how I feel in the moment rather than overthinking. Sometimes I go into the studio and overthink about what I’m going to write about and it never comes out as special.
Do you ever write sadder songs?
I have a bunch of sad songs! The next EP is going to be something a little more personal and a different side of me. I’m going to go more vulnerable with it.
The numbers on ‘Oh My’ are absolutely crazy. Were you surprised that they sky rocketed like that?
Definitely. As soon as I dropped it, the feedback I was getting was insane and I was so shocked because I didn’t expect it because it’s my first EP. That track specifically I think there’s something special about it, every time someone hears it they’re like addicted to that bass line.
When you go about writing now, after having a song that has done those crazy numbers, do you subconsciously think about trying to replicate the sound?
I think I try not to because that’s when I start overthinking. I feel like I know what the formula is now though in terms of what people want and enjoy. I feel like if I keep working with the writers and producers that I collaborate with, it’s bound to happen that we keep making similar stuff and people will gravitate towards that. I don’t think there’s such thing as a hit. I feel that hits come when you’re being real, or when you have 6 writers in the room and they all play their part.
I’ve always wondered if major artists get scared by their stats.
Probably, I think it’s the fear - that the song that blows isn’t the song you love the most. Thankfully, I love everything that you put out.
Where was the ‘King Vaud’ video shot?
In Jamaica!
I really liked the video. I loved the way that the vibrant production was matched in the video. Was that something that you put a lot of thought into?
Definitely. We had so many treatments for that video. I wanted women in the video and everyone to be really colourful and look like their kings from different parts of the world. I wanted it to be a party and everyone to drink wine and have grapes and be really regal.
In terms of the EP as a whole, what is the deeper themes behind it that you set out to convey?
Empowerment, authenticity and vibes. That’s what I wanted. I wanted the listener to get to know a bit about me. The EP just suits my personality. I wanted people to listen to it and be inspired and want to make something like this.
I really like that you’ve said authenticity because I think it’s something that is difficult to ascertain. If you were giving advice to s budding artist about how to be authentic what would you say?
I’d say that everyone is born uniquely. So you being you, you are already different from everyone else. That in itself is being authentic. Also, your personality and things that you genuinely like - not what the media says you should like or what your friends like. You have to then think about how you can put this all together into one and make it you. I think people get caught up in what other people like, what other people want to wear. You might go out in a bin bag with a belt on… why can’t you? Someone might like it. Just be yourself and not care what people might say. There’s people out there doing it, so that’s the mentally that you should have.
Yeah that’s great advice for any walk of life really. Most people are worried to truly be themselves.
The moment that you are yourself and it’s excepted, that’s what makes you be yourself even more. I think the older you get, the less you care about what people think - they aren’t paying your bills, they really have no relevance to your life.
If you were introducing yourself as an artist to someone who had never heard of you, what song are you putting on?
That’s a hard one… [deliberates] I’d say ‘Oh My’, because it has a French element to it so you get some of my culture in there, whilst it still has some R&B elements in it.
What’s next?
The next EP is looking like March next year. Right now I’m figuring out who I want to work with, and aligning certain things to make sure it’ll be ready. I’ve hopefully got a couple gigs coming up as well, maybe in LA.