Interview: Lucy Mayhem Talks About Her New Single/Video "Into Hell"
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“I know I’m provocative in how I look, and how I write. That’s on purpose. At the end of the day, I want people to have the same experience I had/have with music.”
Congratulations on the release of your new single/lyric video "Into Hell"; tell us about your and Jamie King's creative process for its development.
"Into Hell' came about fairly similar to any other song I've written. It was really me just personifying my depression, and my relationship with it after dealing with it for 8+ years now.
At this point in time, I've accepted that it's a thing I have. I'm probably always going to deal with it on some level. At the same time, I choose to no longer settle, and let it completely control my life and whether or not I truly live. That's why the song is kinda vengeful. It's also why I call the song my "villain origin story."
How Jamie and I's relationship works, I've always written, and recorded everything at home in my bedroom. Then, when I feel it's ready, I bring it all to him. At his studio I record vocals (he usually gives me harmony ideas because I can't think of good ones to save my life), I give him a few references sound wise for what I want the final mix to sound like, and then he does his magic. With Jamie, that part of the process is really pretty easy. I give him full credit for making my songs sound as high quality and good that they do.
Would you say that your environment in Winston-Salem has influenced your songwriting and the music that you create? Is there a vibrant rock music scene in that city?
I'm honestly still learning about the rock scene around Winston Salem/NC in general, but from my experience so far I've always been pleasantly surprised by it.
Specifically in Winston, it's definitely small from my knowledge; however, the bands and musicians I've discovered and/or interacted with in / around Winston have all been super friendly, kind, supportive people.
I don't know if the environment has impacted my songwriting, but that being said, I've definitely been inspired and motivated by the few interactions I've had with other musicians around the area. I think it being kinda small, relatively speaking, really just makes it so everyone is trying to pick each other up and help one another succeed, which is nice.
How would you describe your upcoming EP of the same name, which drops on August 9th? Is there an overarching theme or concept for the project?
Sonically, I'd say the EP very much sounds like a Lucy Mayhem EP, just taken to the next level. It's guitar driven of course, heavy while still having light elements, darker then anything I've done before, energetic yet has it's more stripped down moments, and overall sad and angry.
Lyrically, it kinda comes across as a breakup EP because a majority of it lyrically I'm talking about my relationship with my brain. It goes through all those emotions from heartbreak, to desperate, to lost, etc.
I think thematically, "Into Hell" EP is really the start of Lucy Mayhem's story. (My story.) I've always had this idea that, as much as I write about things I'm going through mentally, I want there to be some sort of overarching theme and storyline sonically, lyrically, and imagery wise with it. To me, this EP is the start of that storyline and theme. That's why it's so theatrical and symbolic. That's also why it's so dark, heavy, gothic, etc.
I'm not literally going "Into Hell", nor have I met the devil. But mentally, I've been put through hell, figured out more about my brain which can be dark and a bit conniving, similar to the devil.
Will "Save Me" also be a featured track on the EP? Also, how many songs were recorded for the project, and were there any that did not make the cut?
Yes, "Save Me" will be on the EP! The way my whole process is, I probably wrote around 40ish songs for the EP. Of that, I go back and choose which ones I think have something to them, and that I truly like.
My only concern is liking what I put out, so I'm pretty picky. I recorded 7-8 songs, and of those 1-2 were scratched either because they didn't end up working out once I started recording, or because I felt thematically they could go towards future projects. The final EP ended up being 6 songs.
When someone listens to "Into Hell" or watches the lyric video for the first time, what do you want them to take away from the experience?
Really, and this applies to anything I make, I hope they take away whatever they need from it. If nothing else, I hope it makes them feel something, good, bad, whatever. It's no secret my image and my music go hand in hand. I know I'm provocative in how I look, and how I write. That's on purpose. At the end of the day, I want people to have the same experience I had/have with music. If one person can listen to my music and feel understood, supported, helped, and/or inspired by it that's really all I can ask for.
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