PUTTING THE SOUL IN SOLE DXB
Performing at the region’s hippest urban festival this weekend, Lion Babe’s charm is going to get you. We speak to the duo to find out how they feel before taking to the UAE stage
THEY’RE THE HOTTEST duo out there right now and they’re heading our way for Sole DXB this weekend. That’s correct, the hippest urban convention in town down at d3, Design District, with its sneaker culture, street food, underground documentaries and fashion seminars is about to get even slicker with a performance from Lion Babe on Saturday.
Lucas Goodman and singer Jillian Hervey, daughter of Ugly Betty actress Vanessa Williams, are Brooklyn through and through. And if you’ve ever been to the New York borough, you’ll know exactly what that means. Their soulful hip hop exudes achingly cool vibes to the point where their recent Coachella appearance was the talk of the festival.
You may know their hit Wonder Woman, but we’re here to let you in on more as Jillian spoke to us this week before heading to Dubai.
How do you describe your sound to people who are yet to discover Lion Babe?
Our music changes and evolves all the time, so we don't like to label ourselves with a particular sound. But it’s soulful, hits hard and is made to make you feel something. We are from New York too and that definitely influences us as well.
What made you settle on that more soulful genre?
We never settled on making soulful music, it’s just just what happened when we first started to create. The soul element also comes from our love of soul samples like Nina Simone in our song Jump Hi and Eunice Collins in our first song Treat Me Like Fire. They definitely both influence our sound. Our sound changes based on where we are and what we are going through at the time. We aim to make authentic music that we personally like, as well as music that we feel people could relate too.
Why do you believe, in a landscape where hip hop or more poppy sounds appear to dominate the charts, soulful music endures?
There are always going to be people that aren’t drawn to what dominates the masses in music. Modern soul music though has elements of pop and hip hop in it as well, and hip hop is the sound of our times. We think the best music has soul. Both pop and hip hop are both heavily influenced by soul, so there will always be a connection.
You both met at a party, how would you describe that meeting? Was there anything special about it that would signify you’d go on to create a group and music together? Are you more receptive to people at parties now?
Our initial meeting was very brief at Northeastern where Lucas went to school, but the only significant clue to the fact that we would end up creating that night was that I noticed his song playing in the background of the party. Our partnership came together very naturally though once we did start to create. And yes, we both still like to party.
How does the writing and recording process work between the two of you? Who comes up with what? Is it always easy to come up with material together?
We have a studio in Brooklyn that we work out of pretty much everyday. Lucas handles production and instrumentation, and I sing melodies and write songs. We both are always together making a song, generally just vibing off of each other. Once Lucas makes the beat, I might sing something during a freestyle that he might go back and chop up. Or he might find a great sample that inspires a chorus, and concept etc. We have many more agreements then disagreements, but the more we make, the more seamless it seems to be. We like to bring out our mutual strengths and always love to play with flipping a song or groove – meaning mixing sounds that you wouldn’t normally hear.
When was the first time you realised Lion Babe was going to make it big? Was there a ‘pinch yourself’ moment where it all fell into place?
It is great to be able to meet and connect with other artists in the industry who are also growing and expanding their audiences, and to have that feel authentic. We really are in competition with ourselves, though, and what we set out to do can’t be based on status. We always strive to make our best work and to participate in things that we believe in. The ‘pinch yourself’ never comes from calm. I think we both tend to pinch ourselves when we push ourselves to work a little harder. We are always moving forward and still have so much to accomplish and share.
Do you think music has to have a message and, if so, what do you believe yours to be?
I don’t think music has to have a message, but I think all music can be received as a message. People respond to music differently all the time, whether physi- cally or emotionally and music, like art, can always give meaning to people because something about it can always inspire an image, a memory or a feeling. We make music about love, healing, joy, growth and fun, because those are essential relationships to have in your life. From the beginning, we were always looking to uplift. The world is constantly evolving and our challenges are increasing, so putting our energy into positive music gives us more satisfaction. We are trying to create a balance.
What have you got planned for Sole DXB? Have you been to Dubai before? What do you think of the place?
We are both new to Dubai and have heard many things about the indoor malls, crazy food and architecture, and apparently a huge water park, which we are super curious about. It sounds like a unique place. Since it is our first time, we are coming over with our live set up and will do a classic Lion Babe show that invites you into our world for people who already know us, but we also welcome newcomers who will see us for the first time. We like to throw in some mash-ups of music we are influenced by, so that’s always exciting for live shows. And of course there will be dancing.
Who do you like listening to at the moment, and why them?
We are always listening to a mix of old and new projects and classics, but off hand the new Anderson Paak is sounding great. We love him in general because is a great performer and also is soulful.
What are you doing for the holidays and what have you got coming up next year? What would make a dream 2019?
We are spending the rest of the year working on wrapping up our next project and shooting some new visuals as well. The dream 2019 is having our new album reach millions of people, to be able to continue to perform and travel the world, and to be our best and happiest selves.