Interview live in New York, before lolo took to the stage at the Mercury Lounge.
How does it feel to have your album out in the world for people to stream?
It feels so good. I’ve been working on it for so long, and even before I started it, I was working towards it.
Putting out a full-length album was daunting, and so much led up to it.So now that it’s out, it’s just a sigh of relief.
It’s a weird feeling because you work so hard on something, and then all of a sudden it’s just out there and it’s everyone else’s, and it’s not mine anymore; it’s pretty cool.
How long did you spend working on “falling for robots and wishing i was one”?
It was a long process. At first, I didn’t know I was writing for my album because I was releasing EPs, but when I wrote my song, “u & the tin man,” in May 2021.
I was like, oh, there’s something cool about this.And I put that aside, I didn’t put it on my EP; I felt like this was album material.
Then it wasn’t until a year later that I wrote, “wish i was a robot”. And I was like, that’s funny because in u & the tin man, I’m making fun of a robot, being like, fuck you, this guy that has no emotions, and now I’m wishing that I was one because I felt like I have too many emotions. I felt there was something cool like two sides to the coin.
In the moment, when I wrote the title, “falling for robots and wishing i was one,” it was easy to fit songs into that theme and different aspects of that theme.
It was also hard because I had extra songs that I ended up cutting as I couldn’t have 25 songs on the album.
What was your inspiration behind the album?
It was a lot of different things. I wrote the album over three years, and I had a lot of different experiences that went into it.
The inspiration, big picture, we’re just honestly having a lot of feelings and struggling with that and sometimes not wanting to be like that.
And then also coming to the realization that it is what makes me human, and it’s okay to be feeling those things and just falling for robots or heartless assholes.
Was it a small team of people you wrote the album with?
I had one producer who produced every song on the album except one, and he was my constant.
I had a couple of writers with whom I wrote more than one song with. And I wrote a bunch on my own, which was cool as when I first started writing songs, it was just me, obviously because I didn’t know anyone in the music industry before I started collaborating with people.
This album brought me back to my roots, and I was able to write those singer-songwriter songs, which was really nice and fun.
What was the album’s hardest and easiest song to write?
The easiest one to write was probably “u & the tin man” I wrote that super quick.
Because it was easy, I could see the whole world of it, and you can probably tell, The Wizard of Oz is my favorite movie.
Then, the hardest one to write, I’d say, was “kill the girl.” That was the only one with many different versions.
It’s different from the other songs on the album; it has more hyper-poppy elements. It took us a long time, not necessarily to write but to get the production right.
I didn’t know what I wanted it to be—more natural or cool, hyper-pop stuff.
What song gives you the biggest feels when performing live?
I think it’s a tie between “hot girls in hell” and “*snow in berlin*”
In both those songs, I feel very shivery, I could cry. Do you have an idea what the fan’s favorite song is?
Sometimes, I have an idea. I know what my top Spotify song are. I know everyone loves “u turn me on (but u give me depression)” and “hot girls in hell”.
But then sometimes the fans surprise me. When I performed in Boston, they were screaming for a “faceplant”. ‘I was like, I didn’t know that was a fan favorite.
And when I was in the UK last year they were screaming for “the floor is lava.”
‘And I was Like, oh, that’s like a b cut.’they surprised me, because I can see the statistics, I generally know what they like.
Do you have time when your touring to explore the cities your in?
It depends on the situation but we do have a little time to tour the city.
We will go to a fun restaurant or something in the area, to make a memory from that city.
Do you have any favorite venues?
My favorite venue I’ve performed was the Dome in London.
Are there any more UK dates you have coming up?
I’m doing Download festival in June. I will be back to tour again. Still being planned right now.
Who would you love to work collaboration?
My dream collaboration would be Green Day, Or Avril Lavigne that would be so cool.
I’d love to write with Julia Michaels. She’s such a talented writer.
How about you and Leah Kate doing something?
Leah was almost on my song “DON’T!” but the timing didn’t work out. I wanted her to sing the second verse.
She’s my best friend, and we want to do something together.
What are the plans for the rest of the year?
I’m opening for Simple Plan this summer.
I’m also doing a European run of festivals, I will be at Nova Rock, then Download Festival in the UK, and Rock Am Ring in Germany. I’m doing a few headlines in the middle and I’ll be in Zurich and Milan.
