West London non-binary singer Lava La Rue is pushing boundaries and creating music to speak directly to their fans. In 2018, their first single “Widdit” was made while living in Tokyo and gained traction quickly online. This led to their first EP Letra and a mixtape, Stitches.
Starface is this genre-defying artist’s debut album and was released this year from the label Dirty Hit. The concept surrounds an alien landing on Earth and exploring the relationships found there.
La Rue recently rocked out as the opening act for another queer artist, Remi Wolf, at the Byline Bank Aragon Ballroom and talked backstage about their career.
Windy City Times: Start off with your history. I read you started performing at age 13.
Lava La Rue: Even younger actually ,at age 11. I was in a band called The West Borns because I was born in West London. The bassist was into The Clash and The Blockheads so we played punk music in an all-girls band.
When I turned 19, I used the name Lava La Rue on SoundCloud and here I am today!
WCT: since this is your first time in Chicago—what are your thoughts?
LLR: Well, I have seen this green room, the catering team and your beautiful face so that’s it, although people have been giving me advice on where to go through Messenger. I was told to go by the girls to the lesbian bar Scarlet or by the guys to Roscoe’s because they have a drag night tonight.
WCT: You currently live in London, but I read that you lived in Tokyo for a bit.
LLR: I did and I am going back for Christmas this year.
WCT: Sounds like you travel often.
LLR: I do, but maybe I will eventually settle down.
WCT: In the past, you have related the Starface album to a lesbian Ziggy Stardust. Are you a David Bowie fan?
LLR: There is an influence there, and I learned about his life. Now I can appreciate his craft and imagery while seeing him as a three-dimensional human being. He had some groupie experiences that made me question if I was still his fan. As far as imagery and aesthetics while performing, I still am for sure.
WCT: Talk about creating the video for “Better” with a string section.
LLR: The two people playing strings at the beginning of the video I met while busking. Where I live there’s a place on Portobello Road that has the best market in the world. It’s in the Notting Hill district and that’s where I saw them play. It happened that one of them had entered a competition to win a Lava La Rue beanie in the past, but I didn’t know that and he recognized me. He now plays violin for me, which is great. It felt like a serendipitous moment!
WCT: What are the crowds like in the United States compared to the UK?
LLR: It varies from state to state, and each state is essentially like its own country. Geographically each state is big with its own culture. America versus London is like comparing countries to each other. In LA, people at shows are trying to look cool while in New York they are moshing in a pit. Every place here has a different scene and culture.
There is a difference in oppressed towns like Salt Lake City, and the queers go crazy there. They may dance wildly because it means a lot and that’s their safe space to do that in.
Where there is oppression, it’s important that the subculture be more radical. In some places people are liberal and their politics tend to mellow out.
WCT: Talk about these safe LGBTQ+ spaces, like here at the Aragon, while on tour with Remi Wolf.
LLR: It’s really amazing. The backstage area is a safe space. She has an almost all-female and non-binary team. It’s definitely a matriarch team running the show back here. That creates a nice environment and people are very respectful of pronouns. It’s really lovely and I am honored to be here.
WCT: How was it working with indie singer Cuco? Was he drinking coffee while making the video for “Better?”
LLR: It was actually herbal tea, and he was hydrating. He’s a wholesome guy and all about looking after himself. He’s super great and I met him six years ago in Berlin. We were both doing a YouTube music session and had met on the fly. We stayed in touch through mutual friends and I sent him the song. He flew to London and recorded that video.
WCT: One of my favorite openly queer singers is Clairo. Talk about working with her on the track “G.O.Y.D.”
LLR: That was the mutual friend. Cuco was supporting Clairo at that time in 2018 at Heaven, a very iconic gay bar. I met her at that venue.
So the song “G.O.Y.D” stands for girl of your dreams and is a response to her song “B.O.M.D.” or boy of my dreams. People have to really listen to hear it with secret meanings. It’s an easter egg song and a queer duet.
WCT: Did you enjoy the dance sequences for “Push N Shut?”
LLR: I went to a K-pop dance school, just for fitness though, with me and my girlfriend going there to get fit. I started watching dance videos from one of the instructors at the school. I asked him to choreograph that music video.
It was a challenge and it came out of a dance class. It was fun!
WCT: After watching it I thought about you bringing those dancers on the road to perform at Pride festivals.
LLR: I am always happy when gay people like my music, because it exists in such a weird intersection. Even though I am so unapologetically queer, I don’t brand myself for those spaces, so I have never played a Pride festival. I totally would if I were asked.
WCT: I see Bjork engraved on your arm. Do you have a favorite tattoo?
LLR: I definitely love that one. My favorite is a chain that wraps around my arm and pierces my collarbone.
WCT: How do you describe yourself to someone who hasn’t heard your music yet?
LLR: It says it all on my sticker “Lava La Rue makes funkadelic Brit-pop for vinyl dads and they/thems.”
WCT: What are your future plans?
LLR: I want to keep dropping albums, and I would like each one to be better than the last one. I want to build on what I have started. Even though I have been making music since I was a teenager, this album felt like I was a serious musician. I am also trying to take it on a global level in America ,even though my sound is very British in terms of my lyricism.
I feel like the world right now is very open to hearing my kind of sound, and I want to grow that more.
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