Lulu Simon on Her Latest EP, Exploring Pop, and Navigating Heartbreak
Lulu Simon is bringing authenticity to the table. Her newest EP, Muscle Memory, released on October 7th, 2022, is a culmination of vulnerability wrapped in wispy acoustics and vocals. The five track project uncovers the limitless proponents of Simon’s ability to manipulate the aspects of pure pop and singer-songwriter styles. Bringing this together in Muscle Memory, she presents a soft snapshot of self discovery, heartbreak, and cathartic truths that is illustrated through her story-like lyricism and cast in a rosy light.
Before Muscle Memory, Simon had released her title EP back in 2019, establishing her capability to produce a signature power-pop sound. Now, in Muscle Memory, we see Simon’s journey back into her roots, melting raw, singer-songwriter acoustics with her shimmering pop likenesses. She tells us that “artists are not married to their genres,” demonstrating this flexibility of genre in her EP. Muscle Memory commemorates Simon’s exploration of sound, spanning from her upbeat introduction with “All In” to her yearning moments in “Already The End.” Read on to hear Simon’s thoughts on her inspirations, creative processes, and being a “Swifty.”
[UNPUBLISHED:] For anyone who has not heard your music before, how would you describe it?
[LULU:] I like to describe my music as sensitive pop. I think there are a lot of like sonic pop elements because I love pop music. But, the way that I write, I think my foundation is very singer-songwriter. So, I would say it's a melding of the two genres.
[UNPUBLISHED:] You just released your latest EP Muscle Memory this month – congratulations! How does it feel to have it out?
[LULU:] It just feels good. It feels like nothing. It just feels the same as it did before because I've just been listening to those demos for so long. It kind of feels the same as before.
[UNPUBLISHED:] How have your fans received it? What feelings were you hoping to evoke from its release?
[LULU:] I think it's been received well, I haven't had anyone hate on me to my face. So, I take that as a good sign. I don't know, I feel like I wrote this EP when I was going through a really weird time. I think that if I was able to sort of articulate something that someone else might have been going through. I think that's all that I can really hope for is that any of those songs helped anyone get through something difficult the way that they helped me.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Can you tell us the meaning behind the title of the EP?
[LULU:] There's a line in one of the songs on the EP, "Already The End," that goes, "muscle memory means the break ain't always clean." It means so much about navigating the dissolution of relationships and friendships. I think that when you've been so comfortable in certain relationships for so long, when they end it's really difficult to not reach for that person in some capacity. You know, if a joke reminds you of them, if you see a funny meme. It's really difficult to sever all ties because there's such a pattern of motion between people. So that's the meaning behind the title.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What inspired the EP, was it something specific or a multiplicity of experiences?
[LULU:] I wrote most of these songs during lockdown. It was like once I turned 25, all of a sudden, I just felt like everything in my life changed. I had to take kind of a hard look at a lot of my habits and relationships with people and I had to assess whether or not the things that I had grown so used to in my life were actually serving me. And, it was really difficult to process that a lot of things were not good for me anymore. So, this EP is kind of going through that process of recognizing what doesn't work for you anymore and sort of acknowledging in not so certain terms like, "this is terrible." This is not easy and it's not so black and white to just cut people out of your life and move on. So, it's about exploring all of those feelings.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Is there a certain song from the EP that you're excited for people to hear? If so, is there a specific significance or memory attached to that song? Or what does that song mean to you?
[LULU:] I think my favorite song on the EP is "Already The End," which I had just mentioned, inspired the title of the EP because I feel like it's the saddest song I've ever written. And thus far, I've only released relatively positive songs or like kind of pissy songs. I think it was really important to me before to curate an image for myself that made me feel like tough and unbothered. And I think in going through all of those difficult changes, I also had to look at the way that I saw myself and the differences between the way I wanted people to see me and the way that I actually am. So I wrote this song when it was meant to be kind of scathing and then it ended up just being very sad. It doesn't feel new for me because I've felt sad before. But I think it's kind of a newer, more vulnerable side to myself that I'm revealing to people in a way that I haven't quite done before.
[UNPUBLISHED:] You released the single "something" from the EP back in August. What made you choose this song to release first, does it have a special meaning to you as well?
[LULU:] I think that "Something" was actually one of the only kind of positive, romantic songs that I have that's not like coming from a reactionary or hurt place. "Something" is actually one of the only songs I've written that is not 100% autobiographical. I used to think that if I was writing anything even partially fictionalized, that it was bad and it wasn't authentic of me to write something that didn't 100% happen to me. But actually, when I listened to Taylor Swift's Folklore, I was like, "Oh, actually, you can write songs that are mostly fictionalized and they can still carry a lot of weight and still sort of help to contextualize your own emotions." So, I think listening to and loving Folklore sort of gave me permission to explore a different style of songwriting. And "Something" came from that and I was excited about it. It almost felt like I wasn't listening to myself when I was singing it. So, I just felt like I liked it a lot and wanted people to hear it.
[UNPUBLISHED:] Can you tell me what your creative process was like with the EP? Are you usually more lyrically or musically driven at first?
[LULU:] I feel like, oftentimes, I will think of one lyric and write it down in my notes app. And then, when I'm feeling musically inspired, I'll go to my instrument and start to play and then see if the lyric that I had written down fits into the musical tone that I'm setting and then I go from there. But normally, I feel like I write music and lyrics together, I feel like one informs the other. And it's really difficult for me to write one without the other.
[UNPUBLISHED:] As a sensitive pop artist, I feel like heavy emotions are usually laid out for people to see. How do you feel vulnerability is important to music?
[LULU:] I feel like more than anything for me, music is expression. So when I'm listening to music, I'm really paying attention, I'm trying to situate myself in that music. I think that being vulnerable is being expressive at its rawest degree. So, I think to be vulnerable in music is to allow the deepest expression and for other people to feel it if they can't articulate it or express themselves in their own way.
[UNPUBLISHED:] It's been about three years since the release of your debut title EP, which I noticed had all of these really lovely synths and pop themes. And I feel with Muscle Memory, while you still retain your pop sound, I also noticed a lot more of these acoustic, folky sounds to it, especially with songs like “With this being said, How would you describe your evolution of sound in the past three years?
[LULU:] I think that when I first started out, when I was initially meeting people in the industry, I felt like I was being pushed towards having a more acoustic, singer-songwriter style, because that's the way that I write my music, but that's really not what I wanted. And I wanted to establish myself as a pop artist and so I think, with my first EP, I went really heavy in the pop direction, because I didn't want there to be any confusion about what I was going to do and what my musical intentions were. And I think that was in part, an act of rebellion, because I didn't want people telling me what genre I belonged in. And I think now that I'm older, obviously I still love pop, I love synth music, I love pure heavy pop. I love Carly Rae Jepsen, I love Kim Petrus. I still want to incorporate those sounds into my music, but also at the same time, the way that I write -- like "Already The End" is a song that I don't necessarily think belongs in that heavy pop world. Also, now that I'm older, I think I'm able to stand up for myself a little bit more and recognize that artists are not married to their genres. You can make any type of music that you want, if it's something that you want to do and something that you like. So, I feel like I was, again, you know, hearing Folklore coming from Reputation or 1989, it was a thing where I was like "you can make whatever kind of music you want and it's still like you." Just because you're, you know, dipping in and out of certain genres doesn't mean that the music is any less your sound or any less valid as a pop artist. If that's what you want, which is what I want.
[UNPUBLISHED:] You are described as bringing a singer-songwriter mentality to big pop productions. How did this mentality shine through Muscle Memory? Is there a specific lyric you have in mind?
[LULU:] I think my favorite lyric is again, from "Already The End." There's a little breakdown bridge bit that goes: "And so I beat myself up for wishing you'd just pick up the phone and call me and tell me that you're sorry. So I can say I don't forgive you for putting me through hell, I guess I'm not mature enough to wish you well." And when I wrote that, it was a thing where I like made myself laugh. I wish you would just call me and say you're sorry. So I could not forgive you. I don't know, I feel like that's kind of a perfect combination to me of the pop attitude, but with a singer-songwriter delivery. And I also think there's something about it that is so upsetting, but also, so camp. That's being like "I wish you would say that you're sorry. So I can say it's not okay, I don't forgive you. Go away."
[UNPUBLISHED:] I feel that the EP has this heavy emphasis on coming to terms with healing from all kinds of relationships, both platonically and romantically. What advice do you give to overcoming heartbreak in life?
[LULU:] I think that more than anything, the best way to get over any kind of pain, I think is to be able to turn inward and look at yourself and like really genuinely take a look at yourself and see. See yourself for all that you are, you know, good bad, the ugly. I mean, it sounds so cliche but to like really, truly love yourself. If you're alone, but you love yourself, you're never actually alone. I think that coming to terms with being alone and my only company being myself it's like, if I hated myself, then I would hate my life. If you're trying to get over a relationship and you put all of your faith and stock into someone else, into making another person your personality, if they complete you, then when they're gone, you are incomplete. You have to be able to complete yourself and anyone else is just a cherry on top.
[UNPUBLISHED:] “All In” has this undeniably fun and feel-good sound, making you want to get up and dance. It reminds me of going out with friends, enjoying life. Do you have a specific memory that influenced this song perhaps?
[LULU:] I think there's something so special about a bunch of girls like getting dressed and getting ready to go out all together. Like sharing clothes and doing each other's makeup and hearing music coming from their room. There's just something really special about the bond of sisterhood. Especially when it comes to getting gorgeous. I just think that's so fun. I love girls. I love girl friends.
[UNPUBLISHED:] In the song "Driftwood," you write "arms around each other, singing along to Lana." So besides Lana, who are some of your other favorite artists or artists that have inspired you?
[LULU:] I love Taylor Swift. I'm definitely a Swifty. I love Carly Rae Jepsen, Kim Petras. I grew up listening to No Doubt, I love Gwen Stefani. I love ABBA, a lot. I love the 1975. I mean, I love everybody.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What has been inspiring you lately in day to day life?
[LULU:] Oh, this is gonna sound "big headed," but I'm inspired by myself right now. When 2020 started, I started going to therapy and I feel like being in therapy was so helpful to me, so instrumental to me healing emotionally and being able to like process my feelings and not to be like a reactionary person. So I feel like now as I'm going through trials and tribulations, I have ways that I want to react. I think it's really easy to say "I want to throw a tantrum right now." Like, I want to scream and like cuss someone out. I want to ignore people, I want to ghost people, I want to be a brat. And that's kind of the easy thing to do. But, I think I'm really inspired by looking at myself and being like, "why do you want to do that?" Like, why do you want to be like a nasty little bitch right now? Don't do that girl. Or being like, is it valid right now for you to want to be nasty? And then like allowing yourself to be like, no right now I'm going to be a bit of a twerp. I think I deserve that I've earned the right to be a twerp. Or then to be like, "No, you're crossing a line." So I feel I'm really sort of exploring that about myself.
[UNPUBLISHED:] What are your next steps? What does the future look like for Lulu Simon? Perhaps an album or tour?
[LULU:] I mean, I would love to tour. So, anyone out there who wants me to open for them? Call me. I have another EP that I'm working on actually. Eventually, I would love to be a guest judge on RuPaul's Drag Race. So, you have any connects with RuPaul? You give him my name. I mean that's kind of it, just like, you know, making music that I like and that is a representation of who I am in the moment.
