Catch LAVAGXRL streaming live on the Hassle Instagram TONIGHT 5/9 @ 8pm EST!!!
Dan Shea:
Hey! So it seems like you’ve been doing a good number of streaming events. True? Are you into it? Post pandemic how do you think this virtual world of performance will continue?
LAVAGXRL:
Yes!! It’s been super fun to explore that way of performing over this past year. I’ve gotten to do a bunch of live and pre-recorded digital sets, and it’s always cool to see how the songs adapt to the virtual context. I did a totally acoustic set back in December for Disposable America, which was a blast, something I had never thought to try before.
It’s so hard to picture the world of the future, and I expect we will be in a kind of social liminal state for a while. Having to learn how to be with people again. So there’s definitely a future for virtual shows — I mean the Internet has always offered that platform — but to see it become so normalized as a place for mainstream and independent artists alike was pretty wild this year. Because of this, in the digital world, independent creative spaces become as accessible and relevant as the industry-made ones. Maybe even more relevant because DIY artists have been connecting online basically forever.
Dan Shea:
Are you vaxxed? When do you think shows will start happening that you’ll actual be playing/ want to play? Are you chomping at the bit to get back or not really?
LAVAGXRL:
I am! And I’m not totally sure — I might be down to play shows in person as soon as the summer. I definitely crave that live atmosphere like…eye contact ! with people and not a camera!! Live music has always been a huge part of my life, so being estranged from that physical environment for this period of time has made me think about how valuable some of those moments are. And now just imagining being in a mosh pit — it’s so alien to the way we’ve been operating in daily life. But there will be time for those moments again.
Dan Shea:
Are you still @ the Record Hospital/WHRB? If so, what have covid times been like over there?
LAVAGXRL:
I’m graduating this month, and I’m so sad to leave RH & WHRB 95.3 behind! They have been doing great live air despite limited studio access, plus booking artists to stream on their Twitch. Their springtime ORGY season of themed broadcasts is also happening now, so definitely check that out. I’ll be playing 7 hours of drill on the 15th. Gotta go out with a bang.
Dan Shea:
You just put out a full length, Anima. i enjoy the album’s many approaches to electronic music. Want to tell us a little bit about that record, or making it?
LAVAGXRL:
Thank you! Anima was a fun patchwork kinda project, full of odds and ends, things I made over the past couple years but never released. Lots of experiments with analog synths, my drum machine, sampling, Max MSP. I’ve been learning more about electrical engineering, so I built a breadboard MIDI keyboard and used it with a virtual synth on a few of the tracks. Been drawn more and more to making dance music, so expect lots of noisy electronics in the future too.
Dan Shea:
What can we expect from your stream on sunday, and what is next for you????
LAVAGXRL:
Get ready to transcend & dance!!!! I’m trying to cultivate carefree energy for the summer, so lots of house, hip hop and synth shit to get u moving. Next up for me, I’ve been working on an album for later this year, Cult Favorite. I’m releasing a single with Green Line Records this summer, so I’m hyped about that! In the near future…I see myself taking lots of field recordings, singing all the time, trying to stay in the sun.
