Sydney outfit The Lulu Raes have been kicking around for a while now. With a string of singles, an EP, and a debut album under their belts, the band have become bonafide masters of the pop hook.
Their music is endlessly addictive and we can’t wait to catch them live once more at Hey Sunshine later this month. Before then, we caught up with the band for a chat.
Before they hit up Hey Sunshine Festival later this month, we caught up with Sydney lads The Lulu Raes to chat new music, their debut album, and a whole lot more…
HAPPY: Hey fellas, how’s it going? What have you been up to lately?
LULU RAES: It’s going good! We’ve been taking a bit of time since the album, hanging out and enjoying ourselves. We’ve built a lovely studio and are in there writing and being best friends all the time.
HAPPY: It’s been a few months now since you dropped your debut album LULU… how are you feeling about it now that you’ve had some time to sit on it?
LULU RAES: Still pretty proud of it! We’ve never really dwelled too long on stuff so we’re always on to the next thing, and it’s nice to hear some of those songs every now and then and see how it sounds compared to the stuff we’re working on now. It’s a nice natural progression.
HAPPY: Before the album you released your EP All Our Parents Are Divorced… how did you find writing/recording a full-length album was different to an EP?
LULU RAES: The days were much longer doing the album, and making it sound cohesive and like it all belonged on one CD was a different challenge. In terms of writing, we took a bunch of stuff that we’d done and went to work on it on a big farm in Goulburn, so that was a really beautiful experience and a really nice bonding experience for us all.
HAPPY: It feels like you’ve always had a really strong idea of your sound… do you feel like that direction has always been there? Or is your sound something you feel has developed over time?
LULU RAES: I think we’ve figured out that if something sounds good at first, and we keep working on it, it’ll start to sound like us anyway. Obviously we aren’t gonna start writing heavy metal riffs and make it “totally Lulu Raes” but most things turn out sounding like a “Lulu Raes song” without too much thought going into it.
HAPPY: You’ll be playing Hey Sunshine festival later this month… are there any other bands you’re looking forward to seeing at that festival?
LULU RAES: The Creases are awesome, and we’re keen to see Letters to Lions especially. It’s a tight line up. It’s gonna be real fun.
HAPPY: Do you approach festival sets differently at all to solo headline shows? If so, how so?
LULU RAES: Just make everything high energy. You can have softer and more contained moments in headline shows… the audience is right there along for the ride. Festival sets are more about using your time well and making it fun.
HAPPY: I wanna talk about the guest vocals on Blow Me Up… who’s singing here, and how did she come to be involved with the project?
LULU RAES: That’s our buddy Marina! She’s always been an amazing singer and dancer, and we finally convinced her to come and lay down some vocals on Blow Me Up. She sent everyone out of the room and her and Taras smashed out the recording, and when we came back from lunch we were all like “woah, this is awesome.” She jumped up in Sydney and the Gong as well… people liked her more than us.
HAPPY: Any other exciting things in the plans for the Lulu Raes? Can we expect any more new music any time soon?
LULU RAES: We’re writing and doing demos at our little studio, and we’re pretty excited about what we’ve been coming up with. We reckon you’ll like it too. Look out for a special little event at the end of the year! We love Christmas.
Hey Sunshine Festival – Saturday October 20th – The Billinudgel Hotel, NSW
