PREMIERE: Lion Babe Walk You Through The Glitz and Glamour of ‘Fashion Week’
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY AUGUST NGUYEN ☆
LION BABE WANT TO BE SEEN BEFORE THEY ARE HEARD—Not because the music comes second, but because it is worn on their sleeves—quite literally so.
Composed of Jillian Hervey and Lucas Goodman (Astro Raw), the New York two-piece have made their marks on stages, dancefloors and runways across the globe since 2012. Such enviable longevity comes in part, from a timeless sonic identity of soulful dance R&B, and in others from their unchanging daringness to continue challenging, reinventing and experimenting with it. Hervey said they might even do a full acoustic project.
The duo’s latest single “Fashion Week” encapsulates this modern classicness, from its signature LION BABE disco-y grooves to the behind-the-scenes-style music video premiering today. It’s one for both the fashion girlies bopping their heads in front rows and those throwing nasty watch-parties in dorm rooms before strutting to the club.
Fashion for LION BABE, however, goes beyond the obvious glamour. The real luxury lies in its expression: “It has never been about a brand for me personally,” Hervey says. Fashion to her is hope and representation. It is a vision of growing up empowered as a young Black woman in the 90s, materialised. Now catwalking down stages herself, Hervey wields a kind of quiet confidence that can be heard and felt even in a track as bold as “Fashion Week.”
Read LUNA’s conversation with LION BABE below on what got them here, why they make the music that they do, and where they are heading.
LUNA: Congrats on the incredible new single! How has fashion week been treating you both?
LION BABE: Thank you! It was extremely eventful and there is so much still to share with our fans from London and NYC!
LUNA: “Fashion Week” was made to celebrate this special time of year. Do you always have a specific theme for a song going into the studio or is songwriting more of a spontaneous process for you?
LION BABE: Our song writing process can vary. “Fashion Week,” for instance, came together organically. Once we had a rough idea of the concept, we decided to go all in and make it about fashion week. It’s all about following that first jolt of an idea. Other times, we are looking to create a certain mood or feeling or might have some sort of magic word that we will shape the writing around. Having a concept is always helpful but as much as we try to have those themes, sometimes just leaving it to chance can also bring great results.
LUNA: How has your creative process changed, if at all, as a duo over the past 14 years?
LION BABE: Our creative process is forever changing. We started out as extreme newbies, signing off of the first song we ever wrote and landed straight in the deep end of industry. We have done sessions with incredible producers as well as young up-and-comers and also spent many hours just the two of us trying out ideas and making music. Every day comes with a new lesson and we aim to constantly tweak our focus, intention and strategy so we can remain curious, inspired but also consistent. Time, our awareness of it, and our vast responsibilities have pushed us to work faster, trust our instincts more and honour our energy.
With many years of trial and error, the gift of longevity has been that we know ourselves more and are able to not put so much pressure on everything. The main goal is to keep creating.
LUNA: “Fashion Week” embraces this timeless sound of electronic soul/R&B that you have been so well-known for. Was there ever a time when you wanted to go in a different direction production-wise, given how much the dance music scene has changed, especially over the past few years?
LION BABE: We are often inspired by all sorts of genres that intertwine each other's DNA—hip-hop to 70s soul, house music to disco and all the intersections in between. There’s a lot of crossover within those genres in their origins although the tempos and grooves may differ. From our first single “Treat Me Like Fire” to our latest release “Fashion Week,” there’s definitely a vast range of music landscapes we’ve tapped into, but all of which are linked together with a soulful common ground. Along with our latest dance releases, we’ve got a lot of new music in the works that taps more into our alt-R&B roots. Maybe we’ll even do an all acoustic project.
LUNA: What’s the most difficult thing about being in the music industry for as long as you are?
LION BABE: The music industry is constantly evolving and transforming so keeping up with those changes can be difficult. We were at the end of the SoundCloud discovery era where music blogs still carried the weight of influence that social media now possesses. Artists, labels and agents also operated differently. It’s been a common trend that we created a system and found a team to help us be a part of a new venture only to find out shortly after, that the elements or dynamics in those systems no longer apply.
The industry is always striving for the perfect formula. The truth is, there is no perfect formula, which, while difficult to hear, is where the true invitation to carve out your own lane lies.
LUNA: Do you have any favorite music duos at the moment?
LION BABE: I am forever a fan, friend and lover of Disclosure. Making music, touring and growing together with them over the years is truly one of the warmest parts of this journey. They have been a timeless classic since the start and continued to make incredible music. They are so inspiring!
LUNA: Fashion is a very popular reference in music; a lot of songs, for example, are named after/inspired by specific brands. What’s that one thing in fashion that inspires your music?
LION BABE: Expression. It has never been about a brand for me personally. I enjoy the feeling of putting clothes together, creating looks and also seeing fashion tell a story. People interpret the world in different ways and one of easiest ways to share your world is by wearing it. Most oftentimes, people see LION BABE before they hear us, so our fashion and style is also a direct representation of our sound and artistic world.
LUNA: Jillian, you mentioned that the supermodel era was very formative for you growing up as a young girl. Who is your supermodel Mount Rushmore?
LION BABE: For me as a young girl in the 90s, supermodels represented womanhood and growing up as empowering and exciting. Iman, Tyra, Naomi and Christy would be my Rushmore. The black models were especially inspiring because I saw myself in them and loved the confidence I witnessed. I didn’t have it then, but I think seeing their beauty gave me hope that I could grow up to be and feel gorgeous.
LUNA: If Lion Babe were a Met Gala theme, what would it be?
LION BABE: The Look of Love.
LUNA: What is one advice you’d give to new artists striving for longevity in the industry?
LION BABE: Keep going, and don’t forget to live life too.
LUNA: What’s next for Lion Babe?
LION BABE: A new era—a reintroduction is upon us! Exciting music is on the way for you all. We will be sharing our new visuals for “Fashion Week” soon and have new single weeks underway!
