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One Step Closer: Lulu James
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ny number of musicians will try to make the difficult transition from promising underground artist to fully-fledged superstar in a given year. And very few, if any, succeed. But Lulu James is different.
“I’ve certainly put in the work for it,” she says of her upcoming single, ‘Closer’. “I spent a lot of time writing and in the studio, just trying to make myself better.” You get the impression that most of the pressure to improve has come from Lulu herself, something she readily admits when asked. “I really am my own worst critic. I would never put out something that I wasn’t 100% confident in.” But that doesn’t mean she’s immune to how it’s received. “I’m dead nervous and just hoping that people like it. I know that everything I’m putting out there I’m happy with myself, and I’m just hoping that other people click onto it.” The fact that the video for ‘Closer’ has already racked up over 250,000 plays on YouTube certainly bodes well. It’s quite a transformation from the early promise of debut EP ‘Rope Mirage’, released in April of last year. It introduced the world to her soulful, post-dubstep leanings. But it was only a brief glimpse of what was to come, setting in motion the discovery of her true sound that now, nearly a
year later, she lovingly describes as “21st Century Soul.” “Soul is a huge part of it, and electronic music as well. I’m a massive fan of James Blake and Jamie xx so they’ve been a big influence. But at the same time, it’s just honest soul music.” She continues: “It just means that I can express any type of music I want, in any way that I want, combining soulful and electronic elements.” A perfect fusion of human emotions and robotic precision, then; a balance only musicians with the deftest touch can successfully pull off. This is exactly what she achieves on ‘Closer’. A mix of 80s R&B and early 90s dance. Yet it still nods towards something entirely contemporary, somehow managing to sound neither sentimental nor futuristic, as if it exists in a Tarantino-esque universe where various time periods merge into one, glorious, alternate reality. Accomplishing a feat such as this takes a hell of a lot of confidence. “I just feel like I’ve got a lot to give,” she says. “Seeing the success of ‘Rope Mirage’ and then ‘Be Safe’ back in November, that really built up my confidence. Now, I’m just making those final steps of being able to say ‘Right, this is me’ and putting myself out there. But I’ve got a good feeling about it all. I think it’ll go well.” With a debut full-length set to drop in September, there’s no better time to unveil the new, improved Lulu James to the masses. “I’m just ready to tell people, ‘This is what I’ve got to give, this is me,’” she says. “And hopefully they’ll love it as much as everything they’ve heard already.” (Nathan Standlee) 29