Interview by Brooke Gibbs.

Meanjin and Yugambeh-based musician LAVELIN has made waves with her dark fantasy music. Futuremag Music sat down to chat with her about her latest single, Addicted, before the release of her debut EP later this month.

FMM: Your latest single, Addicted, is now out in the world. How does it feel?

LAVELIN: It feels really, really good. I'm super stoked with how the release has gone and that it's out in the world.

FMM: I’ve seen you share on your social media stories when fans have been sharing the new track. So tell me, what's the response been like? Have people reached out and said they're liking it?

LAVELIN: Yeah. Even just when I've been out and about, everyone has just been saying it's so catchy, it's been stuck in my head. A few people have said that they really like it even more than my last release, so that's really nice as well.

FMM: And it's good that they say that they've liked it more than your last release, because that shows some growth in between the two songs, especially moving into the EP as well.

LAVELIN: Yeah, it's been really great.

FMM: So this particular song is about love, but exploring it as an unhealthy addiction, so what inspired this release?

LAVELIN: I think it's probably a song about codependency and anxious attachment. It was just a bit of a subconscious write, really. I was in a relationship that wasn't great and it just came out one night.

FMM: I think that's probably why it's gotten such a good response as well, because we've all been in slightly toxic relationships, and that's what makes your music relatable for anyone that's gone through that in relationships.

LAVELIN: Yeah, definitely. I think especially when you're in your first relationship, you have no idea what you're doing.

FMM: Your songwriting is both vulnerable and relatable. I’d love to hear your journey as an indie-pop artist from when you first started releasing music to being at the stage where you're about to put out a new EP.

LAVELIN: I released my first song in November and I've been writing and creating music for ages, most of my life, and I just really never had the confidence to put anything out there. I was like, everything needs to be perfect. I've been slow brewing this project for ages. And now, I hit the ground running in November. The EP is going to be out in May, and I'm already setting up everything from beyond that, so it’s good to feel confident.

FMM: We're excited, and it's great to hear that you are feeling more confident now. What helped you find that confidence?

LAVELIN: I think I just had to really acknowledge that I wasn't being confident and kind of look at all the triggers that were stopping me from putting my music out and work through them, which was a such a long and grueling process. But, I think I just had to do it because I was just kind of sitting around, pondering and worrying instead of releasing.

FMM: Yeah, that makes total sense, and as I said, we're excited to hear the upcoming EP called Forget About Us. That again, explores love and relationships. Can you tell us more about the themes and what, you people can expect from the upcoming project of music?

LAVELIN: Yeah, I'm so excited for the EP. It's going to be great. It probably took about two years to write, and it's a short list of about 40 songs. The songs on it go through the cycle of realising that you're not really in the right relationship, realising how you feel in the relationship, which is what Addicted's about, and then the song after that is deciding to leave the relationship. Then there's a really, really beautiful track about coming into yourself. It's pretty much just a process of a breakup from deciding that, okay, this isn't great, to reclaiming your power.

FMM: I love that it tells a story in order from the relationship to leaving and then that healing process as well. What do you hope fans take away who may have gone through a similar experience as yourself?

LAVELIN: I hope they just feel seen and heard. I feel like that's the most powerful thing in music when you listen to something and you're like, ah, I get this, I'm not alone. And other people like it, too, so obviously I'm not super not alone in how I feel.

FMM: That's the great thing about music; the way it can connect people from all over the world over universal experiences. Looking into the sonic elements, pun intended, but I’m addicted to the song because it is so catchy. I can just imagine going out to a club, hearing it, and just dancing along to it. It’s got that kind of eighties pop, disco. It's got a bit of everything. Tell me about your process when you produce music and write it.

LAVELIN: My process is mainly writing and composing. So, I'll put in all of the musical elements, like the chord structures, the harmonies, sometimes the rhythmic elements, and then I hand it over to a producer. I just send a list of every song that I'm in love with and I'm like, I want it to sound like all of these songs smushed into one.

FMM: With that list, I'd love to hear what songs inspired Addicted and what songs were on that list where you're like, look, I want it to sound similar to this.

LAVELIN: There was a lot of Laurel, a lot of Vera Blue, a lot of droney girl, pop music, like Lilas. I really love that band. A lot of Jack Ripper, Julia Jackman and Cub Sport, too.

FMM: There's some incredible artists and some artists in there that I like myself, so I can see now why I like Addicted if that's where you’re getting some inspiration and influence from. Do you have any live shows coming up or how can people who are liking your music come out and support you?

LAVELIN: No. Because I'm a fully independent artist, I am so tired because there's just so much work to do behind the music. For Blind, my last single, I did my first national tour, which I booked and everything, and it was incredible. But now for this release, I'm going to take a little break and I'm going to work on designing merch and hopefully getting like a patreon up and running where I can share more of my art and music before it's released into the world.

FMM: Yeah, sounds incredible. So this year, you've got the EP coming out and you mentioned working on some merch. Do you have any other goals you're working on this year that you like to share with people or you want people to know about you or your music?

LAVELIN: Yeah, I think I was, like, honestly a little bit scared to release pop music. I've written a lot of genres and then after the response I've had from the releases, I've just fallen, like, deeply in love with pop music, so I'm so ready. What I'm working on at the moment is just writing the best pop songs I can possibly come up with. I've just been in, tunnel vision mode and I just want to make the best dance music.

FMM: I'm interested in what you said about feeling scared to release pop music. Why was that, and what fears were going through your head when putting this release out?

LAVELIN: I think that's… Or I perceived that there was always this kind of connotation that pop music is not proper music and, you know, it's just simple and easy and stuff, but it's really not like. It's not simple. It's refined. It's perfect. That's how I feel. I just had to get over that mindset. I don't even know if people really think that or if I just thought people thought that.

FMM: No, I've heard a little bit about it, but not too much. I think that unless you're actually behind the scenes, like yourself, writing the music, some people just see it as simple, but they don't realise how much work, time and money goes into making tracks like this. So, that's all my questions. We're really excited to hear the upcoming EP and to see where you go from here.

LAVELIN: Oh, thank you so much. I really appreciate the support.

Debut EP Out May 24