In Conversation with Love You Later
Photo by @pixelgash
With childhood roots in Orange County, California, Lexi Aviles, the one-woman machine behind her solo project Love You Later, is taking the Nashville scene by storm. From working with other songwriters and producers, to being inspired by the city’s endless stream of creativity and music, she channels her inspirations, both past and present, into every aspect of her music. Her latest single “Keepintouch” is the latest in a long line of synth-heavy, shimmering alt-pop anthems but might be the most vulnerable and daring look into the artist’s psyche. Like Lexi, how can we all re-learn to balance socialization with solitude? How do we embrace spending time with ourselves without feeling lonely?
We caught up over Zoom to chat about the story behind the song, how she first created Love You Later, and how she’s found ways to “keepintouch” with herself.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What does an average day in your life look like?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I nanny part-time two days a week so after, on days like that, I’ll come home, eat dinner, hang out, and sleep. On other days, I’m writing music or working on music. I’ll get up around 8:30 or 9, get some coffee, sometimes eat breakfast. I’ll go to my session around 11 and leave around 3 or 4. Sometimes I’ll drive home or go to the gym. I’m currently a one-woman machine so when I’m not writing, I’m emailing and doing the business side of things. It’s a lot but it’s worth it.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How do you enjoy nannying?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I enjoy it a lot. I’m looking forward to the day when I can do music full-time but it’s an awesome job and the kids I nanny are very sweet. The whole family is wonderful and sweet to me. I’m grateful that that’s my part-time job. I used to be a hostess at a restaurant, did retail for a second. I’ve been a nanny/babysitter on the side since my freshman year of high school. It’s been the most fitting thing for me because it’s so flexible and pays well and I love kids!
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’re currently based in Nashville - how long have you lived there and where did you call home before?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I’ve lived in Nashville since 2017 but I’ve been back and forth between here and where I’m from in Leguna Niguel in Southern California. When I moved, I stayed for a little bit going to school but dropped out and moved back to Orange County to get my feet on the ground because I couldn’t afford to stay in Nashville. Then I moved back later that year.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How does Leguna Niguel compare to Nashville?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: Super different. The music scenes are very separate. Nashville is the capital of music so there’s a lot more. But in Orange County, there’s a lot of people in music that understood what I was going for as far as my music style because it’s still very inspired by the West Coast. It’s hard to pinpoint what is the same about the two cities. They give me a similar feel because I’m inspired by both places in different ways.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How do you find that both cities inspire your music?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: Growing up on the West Coast, I gained a lot of inspiration, that’s where I started my project. I would always go outside and enjoy the weather, go to the beach, things I don’t take for granted now. I’m inspired by everyday moments. Out here, I’m mostly inspired by the community and endless amount of artists and creativity. They’re both wonderful places but right now, Nashville feels more like home to me. My community is here, the people that support and love me are here. It makes the most sense to be here.
[UNPUBLISHED]: When did you first know that music was your calling?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I don’t know if there’s necessarily a moment because I was always doing something musical. I grew up doing musicals, being involved in choir, talent shows. I started doing songwriting camps when I was 12 or 13. That’s where I realized that writing music is dope and being able to create my own music from my own life, my own stories is something that I knew I wanted to do forever. Those camps were the start of my writing but I don’t know if there was ever a doubt in my mind that I wasn’t going to do music in some capacity. I’ve always known.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What musicals did you star in and how long did you pursue that passion?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I was doing them all growing up but stopped in my freshman year of high school. I was in Annie, Seussical, Anything Goes, Crazy for You, Grease, all the High School Musicals, No, No Nanette, a lot of older musicals that my community theater did. I still love all that music.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How did your solo project Love You Later initially come about?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: In late 2016, I’d been sitting on a lot of songs for a while, exploring who I was as an artist and what kind of message I wanted to portray, and thought, “I think I want to start this project.” Then I went and saw The Japanese House open for The 1975. Specifically The Japanese Houses’ set was mind-blowing to me because it was her solo project. It was really crazy that she could make me feel that taken aback. I was so emotional and her live performance changed that game for me. That’s what made me put my foot down and start the project. It was a turning point.
[UNPUBLISHED]: How did you decide to name it Love You Later?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: When I was writing the songs for the project, they all fell under the theme of love and relationships. Not necessarily romantic but the relationships we have with other humans and how in my life, that’s been complicated. I wanted the name of my project that was left up to interpretation. I wanted to make people think but at the same time, not even have a straightforward answer of what it means to me. It rolls off the tongue, it feels nice, and it still goes along with the songs I put out.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You released your debut single “Lost in Los Angeles” back in 2017 when you were 17–how have you found that your style and sound has changed over time?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: The first year or two of Love You Later was me trying to figure out my sound but I think it’s important that it’s always evolving, I don’t mind that. There are moments and elements of “Lost in Los Angeles” that still remain in every Love You Later song. The most consistent thing is the way I songwrite and my vocals. It’s not my favorite, there are songs I’ve written since then that are more important to me but it’s very close to my heart. It’s the first song I ever put out. It’s also the song that got out of the blue playlisting, it got on viral top 50 when that was way cooler. It was the moment that I decided to take this more seriously. I was like, “People are actually listening.”
[UNPUBLISHED]: Your discography embraces elements of music from the 80s, including heavy synths and drums, layers of vocals, etc. Would you say that you deliberately take cues from 80s music?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: For the majority of Love You Later, yes. Lately, I’ve shifted toward the late 80s and 90s era as far as inspiration but I’ll always love synths and songs you can dance to that are also really emotional.
[UNPUBLISHED]: Turning now to your new single “Keepintouch”, what do you love about this song?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: It’s my favorite song that I will have put out so far. It’s been a while since I’ve released a song that’s this vulnerable and honest. I’ve been teasing it on TikTok and people are genuinely connecting with it already even in the 15 seconds that they’ve heard.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve said of the song, “I felt more connected to myself when I had other people around me, but I knew that I really needed to learn to be alone again in order to truly feel connected with myself.” Can you tell us a little more about how that idea came about?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: Late last summer, everything kind of happened at once. My boyfriend had just left for tour, a few of my close friends had left town or started dating people pretty seriously. So all of a sudden, I was without my closest people. It was a wake-up moment. I realized I was selfishly blaming them for why I felt distant from myself, that I was making those excuses and getting bitter even though it wasn’t their fault. They were happy and doing what they wanted. I needed to learn to be alone again and actually enjoy it, know that all of this is happening for a reason.
[UNPUBLISHED]: In real life, what are ways you try to keep in touch with yourself?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I learned how to love to be alone again. Just picking out intentional times to be with myself and evaluate my life. I like to go on walks alone to check in with myself. Sometimes with music, sometimes not and in silence. As silly as it sounds, it’s important for me to do that. Now that I have been alone a lot more, I can feel myself needing to be alone when I get overwhelmed. My body has adjusted to that healthy balance which is great because it’s easy to get caught up in socializing all the time. Just being alone intentionally is a great way to feel in touch with myself and acknowledge that I’m taking care of myself.
[UNPUBLISHED]: You’ve previously performed as an opening act for OneRepublic, Dayglow and Briston Maroney, as well as at festivals and other venues on your own. What do you love about performing live?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I love it and I want to do it more. The main thing that I love is being able to connect with the crowd and hearing some of them sing these words that I wrote in my bedroom when I was 17, 18. The physical energy of people being there, who came out to see me play. It still blows my mind. There’s something unexplainable about live music and hearing songs that changed you or helped get you through a hard time. It’s so impactful and I hope that I’m passing along moments like that when I play live.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What other exciting projects are you excited for this coming year?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: Going along with “Keepintouch”, I’m releasing a music video for the song the week after the song comes out. I’ve been working on a ton of new music, a new single after this but I have no set dates yet. Really hoping to play some more shows, especially an LA show, around Nashville, outside of Nashville.
[UNPUBLISHED]: What is something that not many people know about you?
[LOVE YOU LATER]: I just started watching the Harry Potter series a couple months ago. I’ve never seen them before. I have one left and I’ll probably watch it tonight. And also, I’ve never seen Star Wars and I think I have three left. It’s impossible not to like Star Wars but I’m a little more engaged in Harry Potter and connected to the characters. Maybe I’ll read the books and then watch them again.
Cover Art by @reaganrenfrow