INTERVIEW: Love Spells

Photo Credit: Annabel Friedman

Interview by Marcus Ollier

I got to interview Love Spells, a fellow Texan, before he performed at the Sinclair on September 24. Last summer, he was featured on Kevin Abstract’s project “Blush,” and this summer, he’s riding the high of his debut album “LOVE IS THE LAW.” We talked about mentorship, Michael Jackson, and his favorite breakfast foods. 

Marcus Ollier (MO): Are you wrapping up the Texas part of your tour right now?

Love Spells (LS): Mhmm.

MO: Awesome. How does it feel to be back in the place where you grew up?

LS: I get very emotional every time I come back home, you know? Just because of everything that happened here. All that it means to me. But it feels great to finally do a show here. It was a long time coming, and it came.

MO: Yeah totally. When was the last time you had been back previously?

LS: Actually I was just here like a couple months ago. I forget what month actually, but I was here recently. But I was just here to hang out.

MO: Yeah, that’s cool. I’m from Dallas originally.

LS: Oh sick.

MO: But I go to school in Boston so I’m not home that much.

LS: Oh I was gonna say, why didn’t you go to the Dallas show? Oh wait, I think I’m doing a Boston show. 

MO: I will be there next week. 

LS: Amazing.

MO: I’m super excited. Are there any cities that you’re looking forward to visiting in particular?

LS: You know, I’m excited to be everywhere, but mostly again just Texas I was so excited about. And New York is always so fun. LA. But I have a very short mind when it comes to excitement on shows. I’m excited about them as they come up, if that makes sense. My excitement comes show by show.

MO: That’s good, staying in the moment. Do you think that your physical surroundings affect your songwriting? Like, songs you write in Texas, do you think they differ from what you would write when you were in LA? 

LS: I think so, actually. I was gonna say no, because I think I carry my emotions everywhere with me, no matter the location. But I do experience a different level of emotion when I come home so that does influence my writing. 

MO: Where do you think you do your best song writing?   

LS: I don’t know. In the shower, probably. Singing in the shower.

MO: Does singing come first to you usually?

LS: I think so, yeah. My mind is always thinking about it. You know, a lot goes on in my head. 
And that reflects in my notes app. 

MO: I feel like your vocals are maybe the most distinct part of your songwriting. So that makes sense. 

LS: Yeah, thank you.

MO: What other instruments do you really like in particular? Are there any that you want to explore more? 


LS: Man. I love harmonica.
 I love the harmonica a lot. It’s also just so small and portable. 
And it can go unnoticed and I can fit so many in my pockets. So sometimes I’ll walk around and I’ll play it. I haven’t been [playing] recently too much, but I definitely will when I get to New York. New York makes me feel like I’m in a movie. 


MO: Would you ever break it out on tour? 

LS: I did, I do, and I am. 


MO: I’m excited. That’s awesome. I know recently you’ve gotten to collaborate with artists like Kevin Abstract and Dominic Fike, and they have a history of platforming up and coming artists. How has that partnership impacted you and your music? 

LS: It’s like a mentorship, you know?
They’ve done it before and I’m still young, and half stupid, so they have a lot to say. Just to, I wanna say, keep me locked in.
They always remind me that they’re professionals when it comes to music. And their craft. It’s very inspiring. 


MO: Would you say you’ve become more disciplined since working with them? 

LS: Absolutely, yeah. I think I’m here because of that. 

MO: How do you feel that as you get more professional and [music] becomes a full-time thing, how does your enjoyment change? 


LS: If anything I enjoy it more. You know? It’s also just a second nature to me. I’m always thinking about it. 
I’m always doing it. And that’s because I enjoy it so much. One thing I don’t like about tours is that I can’t be in the studio so much. I can still write on tour, but I like to get out full ideas. I make songs in the same day. 
Every song on my album, I made in like the day of. I go in the studio with the idea, and I will make the entire song in a day. And so, I work like that, pretty fast. And not even in the day, it’s more like in five hours, I want to say. 
Five hours out of that session is when it’s made, and so I can’t do that on tour. It frustrates me. I’m like “I want the full song now.”

MO: When you were recording “LOVE IS THE LAW,” did you have the studio dates planned or was it kind of like, as the idea would come to you, you would go in? 

LS: It’s very spontaneous to me lately. I usually text the day of or the night before. I’m like, “Guys, I have this idea.”


MO: About your new album. 
I feel like there’s such a late-night diner aesthetic. What’s your go-to diner order? 

LS: That’s a really good question, actually. Oh, and you just made me hungry. Man, it’s always gonna be like scrambled eggs. I love bacon. What else is on this plate? Scrambled eggs, bacon. Potatoes. I love lemonade. 
I always order extra bacon too. So I’m just munching on them.
A giant plate of eggs and bacon.

MO: That sounds awesome. Are you big on big breakfast for dinner? 
Breakfast for every meal, kind of thing?

LS: I love breakfast, yeah. I love eggs. 

MO: When I think of your music, one word that comes to mind is “intimate.” And I’m curious, you know, when you’re starting out, I’m sure the recording process is a lot smaller. So how have you held on to the kind of intimacy and vulnerability while you transition into more of a collaborative and bigger studio space? 

LS: It doesn’t change at all. I mean, I still have the same feelings. I’m still me. 
As long as I have my brain, it’ll never change. 

MO: Yeah, totally. That’s good. 
I feel like dancing is so essential to this album. Have you always been a big dancer? 

LS: Yeah, I mean I love to dance. It also specifically means a lot to my freedom. It’s just fun, you know? Going out and busting moves, every time I feel like it. It’s very fun. 


MO: What’s your favorite song to dance to right now? 

LS: Probably “Don’t stop ‘til You Get Enough” by Michael Jackson. 


MO: That’s a good one. 
Going back to collaborating with people like Kevin Abstract on Blush- I guess on that same note, what smaller artists are you tapped into that you want to platform? 


LS: That’s a great question, and I need to jumpstart my brain to remember. Yeah. 
Oh, my gosh. What is the name? I saw this androgynous person. 
I say that because I can’t tell if it was a boy or girl. This androgynous person on Instagram. They’re like 16 years old, and they sound like Nick Drake. 
And I was so captivated when I first heard them. I really wish I could remember the name. It was amazing, actually. I think that they’re going to be gigantic. Oh man, I really wish I could remember the name. Todd’s Antlers.

MO: Todd’s Antlers.

LS: Todd’s Antler’s. Yes, I think. If you Instagram search that, it should be like some 16-year-old androgynous person. Yeah hopefully it’s the right name, but you should also go listen for yourself. Like, it’s insane. So beautiful. 

MO: I’ll have to tap in, for sure. 

LS: Yeah. And then Emma Ogier. I love. I love, I love. She’s like the best.

MO: Right, I’ve heard of her. I watched a video of, I think it was by Dominic Fike. 

LS: Yeah, you saw the music thing he did for her on stage? MO: It was really cool.

LS: Yeah, she’s amazing. I genuinely love her music. She’s gonna go so far. 

MO: Where are you kind of looking to go musically after “LOVE IS THE LAW.” Is there any genre that you want to experiment in? 

LS: It’s hard to say, because I’m not sure yet, you know? Right now, I’ve just been so locked in on tour. Of course also thinking about the future and music, but, it’s complicated, you know? I can’t really know for sure until I sit with myself some more outside of tour. I don’t know, I listen to a lot of George Michael right now. But it’s also more so, I’m really inspired by, I don’t know what the word is. They’re very grand songs, with a beautiful purpose and message. I listen to a lot of “Man in the Mirror” by Michael, and I’m like, “Oh my god, this is revolutionary. This is gorgeous.” He’s making a song about the betterment of everyone. Specifically, I was like, “I wonder how I can make something like that.” It seems like not a lot of people are doing that. And it’s kind of sad, actually. 

MO: Something that comes to mind for me is the “We Are the World” that they made. That song and things like that. That would be cool to bring back for sure.

LS: Yeah.

MO: I feel like there’s so many good collaborations happening right now. Especially with you and projects that you’ve been a part of recently. I could definitely see that happening in the future. 


LS: Hell yeah.

MO: For my last question, what’s one feeling that you want people to go home with after they see you on tour? 

LS: 
I want people to feel heavy in the heart, you know? I want them to feel opened up. Seeing down to their core, because a lot of the time, a lot of them, a lot of my fans, they’ll talk about how strongly their emotions come out when they listen to my music. I love that and I want more of that, you know? So people can kind of explore their own emotions, and know what it feels like to be overtaken by them.

*This interview was edited for clarity*