Lovepoint arrived on the scene back in 2018 with his self titled EP, gaining attention from BBC Radio 6. The singer-songwriter later put out a duet with Indira May and now has a new single ‘Caramelise’. His songs are always a fascinating listen, they bring such a suave atmosphere to your ears. We managed to ask the charming artist a few questions last week, was fascinating finding out more about his music!
credit: @lovepointmusic (insta)
What music were you first introduced to when you were younger? Does it still resonate with you today?
I’d say I got into lyrics before anything else. Eminem was the first artist that really caught my ear. I got my hands on a couple of his CDs when I was in primary school and probably too young to be listening to some of that stuff, but I was wowed by his delivery and wordplay. I used to listen to Marshall Mathers LP all the time as a kid.
Bob Dylan came next. Again, his lyrics knocked me for six and I loved his voice. It’s technically flawed, but you can tell if it’s Bob Dylan’s voice from one syllable and I love that. Most of my favourite artists have very unique voices (Tom Waits, Nina Simone, Kendrick Lamar, Smokey Robinson).
Instrument-wise, I didn’t start playing guitar until I was 15. When I was around that age, somebody showed me Jimi Hendrix and I lost my shit. Then my school friend Ali put me onto loads of great blues musicians who I listened to loads and still do (Stevie Ray Vaughan, B.B King, Robert Cray).
All of that music still resonates with me today, yeh. I think those artists I’ve mentioned above are timeless and I certainly feel nostalgic towards those songs/albums.
You released your first bunch of songs back in 2018, can you tell us a bit about the lyrics of ‘Upstairs’ and how that song came about?
Sure. It’s a story about an affair with a woman who’s married to a guy that’s trouble. It’s a sketch of a moment; them illicitly meeting up in a hotel. I wrote it a few years ago, so don’t remember too much about it to be honest! I remember wanting to play with the idea of unzipping and I think that was more of a theme in one of the earlier drafts. That’s kind of the idea behind the line “is this the place where love comes undone?” As in unzipping the clothes of someone else symbolising the final nail in the coffin for their marriage.
In regards to writing the music, I’d written a bunch of songs in a row that were in common time and I wanted to mix it up. So I just started playing around in 6/8, got the chords, did the instrumentation, and got the body of the song pretty quickly.
For your songwriting, how are you typically inspired? Does it start with a melody or chord progression or lyrics?
To be honest it’s different with each track. More often than not it starts with a hook. I’m always singing to myself or in my head, so when I catch onto something I’ll either sit down and work on it or record a voice note if I’m not by my gear.
In terms of lyrical concepts, the first spark of an idea is more likely to come from real-life characters/episodes or a book/film than a song. Normally I’ll sing over an instrumental section to see what comes organically and then build and shape the lyrics from there. I have a fucking huge bank of lyrics I’ve scribbled down or e-mailed myself or whatever, so I’m never short of lines that I’m happy with. I just try to be careful not to cram too many into one song, because then the impact of the stronger lines is lessened.
Would you say your lyrics are inspired by personal experiences or observations of the world around you?
Normally, they’ve got a root in personal experience one way or another, and then I embellish them to make them a bit more interesting. That said, Caramelise doesn’t have a conscious root in personal experience. I just decided to write about a femme fatale seducing a guy into giving a false alibi for a crime that she committed. They talk about moving somewhere exotic together, but then she disappears, and he pines for her, eventually realising he’s been conned (hence the line “on a diet of coconut shy tricks”).
How did the collaboration with Indira May come about for the song ‘Tortoiseshell’?
I randomly came across her on Soundcloud. I’d never been particularly interested in writing lyrics with or for anyone else, but something about her tone and delivery got me, so I dropped her a message saying here’s some of my music, would you be interested in recording a duet? She was game and I wrote Tortoiseshell in one 5-hour block the next day, then went and met my mate for a coffee.
I remember that day quite fondly actually. It was the first time I’d ever written for someone else but really enjoyed it and it’s something I want to do more of in the future.
Ben (friend & producer) and I then recorded the track and we recorded her vocals last. She added her own flavours to the melodies in the demo and I was super chuffed and impressed with what she came up with.
Your vocal delivery sounds so enticing, who would you say you were inspired by your singing or does it come just naturally?
Thank you very much. I’m sure there are loads of subconscious influences in there, but I don’t think I could single anybody out. I remember I was recording with Ben a few years ago and I was really excruciatingly over-thinking my vocal takes and he said, “just think about what the song’s about” and that was a bit of a turning point. Even though I embellish the lyrical content, there’s normally something pretty personal buried somewhere, so I just focus on that and try not to overthink it.
Caramelise is the new single and it sounds great! The opening bass is so cool, how did you write the song?
Thank you again! Whenever I have an idea and am not around my music gear, I record a voice note on my phone. At the moment, I’ve got…. 432 voice notes on there.
I go through them quite regularly to get rid of the shite ideas and work on the ones I think have some substance.
I came across one that was about a year old and gathering dust. It was just me humming the chorus melody to Caramelise and I picked that out to work on. The bass line was the next thing that came and from there the structure came pretty easily.
I wrote it at the peak of summer during a really hot week and I think that the weather seeped into the lyrics.
Obviously things are up in the air during this difficult time, hope you and the people in your life are okay. What are the plans next when things return to some sort of normality?
Thank you, likewise for you and your friends/family. The main priority is to start gigging ASAP. It took a while to find the right people for the live shows, but there’s now four of us and I’m super happy with the band and how we sound together. We were due to start gigging early May, but the Coronavirus situation fucked that right up.
Besides that, I’ve finished writing an album during lockdown and have recorded parts of it already. I’m also about half-way through writing an EP.
So, in a nutshell, gigging and recording that material as soon as possible!
Thank you! Yes we are doing all okay thankfully! What have you been listening to while in lockdown and how’s being creative during this time?
I’ve not seen much of a change in my creativity, to be honest. I’m quite steady creatively. I write in a very solitary way and spend hours at my desk editing tiny details in song/lyrics, so being forced to stay inside hasn’t done me that much harm in terms of musical productivity.
In terms of what I’ve been listening to, all sorts! I intentionally try and listen to as wide a variety of music as possible. This week, though, I’ve been rinsing “Introducing” by Ruben Gonzalez and “Ibrahim Ferrer” by Ibrahim Ferrer. Reece, who plays bass in our band, put me onto both those records recently and they’re fucking great!
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