Olive Louise Bad Things Interview

Haunting Lullaby

Olive Louise is a singer, songwriter and composer from New York. Known for her championed ability to intertwine her classically trained background with a refreshing take on today's contemporary pop landscape, Louise translates her vast wealth of experiences into music that is timely as it is timeless.

Growing up on the very estate that inspired F. Scott Fitzgerald's classic novel The Great Gatsby in Kings Point, New York, Louise's youth was sound‐tracked as much by the classical and jazz greats as it was by the impeccable talents of her mother, the lead pianist of the Long Island Philharmonic orchestra. While her upbringing took a tragic turn following the passing of her parents before her formative teenage years unfolded, Louise has since worked to consistently rise above, refusing to put her tragedies in front of her handshake and calling for others to get to know her through the music she creates.

New eerie single 'Bad Things', which is reminiscent of a broken lullaby, features delicate vocals which float atop the large rolling drums, creating a theatrical release. 'Bad Things' narrates the singer's struggle with anxiety at a young age, where she was consumed with constant premonition. Detailing the battle with the stigma associated surrounding therapy and mental healthcare, combined with the broken healthcare system, Louise hopes to remind others to stop feeling like they may deserve these negative feelings and do all we can to make the quality of our lives better. Louise confides, "The main message behind this song is that even when you feel like no one gets what you're going through or like nobody is really listening, you aren't alone and you shouldn't let it stop you from being open. Don't bottle anything in. It is okay to feel your emotions and to be upset when life gets tough, but then own that feeling, and let it propel you forward".

Louise explains how writing for her is a form of therapy and that allowing herself to be completely transparent and vulnerable with others has enabled her push boundaries, coming out stronger than she ever has before. The songstress hopes that her music will inspire others to let go of whatever is holding them back and start being their true selves, sharing "I hope it inspires people to embrace the beauty in what makes them different and offers them new perspective. I believe that when you change the way you look at things, the things you look at change".

Interview with Olive Louise

Question: How would you describe your music?

Olive Louise: I'd describe it as honest, it's honestly me; never just one specific mood or genre. My writing changes depending on my life and my songs don't fit into the same category from one to the next because my life hasn't been a straight line. A lot has happened and my music reflects that. It grows with me. Right now I'm working on music that just feels good, light, open and happy because I couldn't feel more like that right now if I tried. I know my song is called Bad Things, but life is truly good right now!


Question: Can you tell us about Bad Things?

Olive Louise: Bad Things is about the anxiety I suffered at a young age, being consumed by constant premonition. When it first showed up, there was no one I could really talk about it with because it was consuming and left me feeling isolated. During my childhood and especially in the town I grew up in, there was a lot of stigma surrounding therapy or any form of mental healthcare. When I finally did have someone to talk to (my therapist) about the issues I was dealing with, it made me feel worse because I felt like I was just seen as a kid, and this person who was supposed to help, really didn't know what to do with me. It's been cathartic allowing myself to look back on my experiences and be able to give myself the empathy and understanding I didn't have then. All of my fears were legitimate and it was scary starting to see the world in a real way. There's a lot of beauty and magic in being a kid but I was also exposed to a lot at a young age, and I didn't know how to process a lot of it. Part of Bad Things is a mocking of the broken healthcare system that does not treat mental health with the importance or care that it deserves and the other part is me looking back at my life as a child and describing how anxiety always found its way into whatever I was doing, it didn't discriminate by situation, which is where my lyrics came from, "brightest bluest sky, kinda made it seem like paradise", and then that feeling takes over.


Question: What inspired Bad Things?

Olive Louise: My song "Bad Things" was a result of my experiences with anxiety and therapy when I was in elementary school. I had huge separation anxiety from my parents and was always worried that something was going to happen. I would try and leave class to call and check in on them multiple times a day. If my parents didn't pick up a phone call, I assumed something must have happened and was in a constant state of panic if they weren't within sight. After several years of the same patterns, my parents decided to put me into therapy but I felt like every appointment was just free candy from a bowl and my therapist saying things like, " in with the good thoughts, out with the bad thoughts" repeatedly until it was time to go home.

Question: Is there a particular message you hope listeners take from your music?

Olive Louise: Feel everything. Take in everything. Allow yourself to be happy. I hope it makes people feel more alive and that it allows them to feel that deep sense of now that we all had when we were children and were only focused on one thing and that was literally whatever we were doing. If we were drinking chocolate milk, that's what was on our mind. If we were sledding, we were happy and scared and in that moment flying down a hill into a pile of hay. If we fell and skinned our knees, we were hurting and nothing more. I want it to make people feel so in the now that they feel that lost feeling of being a kid again. Hopefully it wakes people up emotionally.


Question: How have your health struggles influenced your music?

Olive Louise: It is what it is. It's been there but it's never gotten in the way because music helps me release my frustration. I can pour it all into a song and then there it is as a tangible thing. It's like "Ha! Got ya!" I accept it.


Question: Do you prefer performing live or recording?

Olive Louise: Ooh I love both so much! Recording is amazing because I can sing something ten different ways, come up with different instrumentation, and harmonize with my vocals and steep in it in the studio. I love the process of it all; it's my favorite part, all the little special moments of excitement along the way. I also love performing live even though I get SO nervous before getting on stage that my hands shake! I love putting all of myself into a fluid performance and feeling that connectedness to whoever's listening. The listener affects the performance, which some probably don't like but I really do.


Question: Which is your favorite song to perform live and why?

Olive Louise: Garden, because it's about my parents and I feel closer to them when I perform it. It always feels like they're there with me, listening to me play. I do it for them every single time.


Question: If you could have anyone, in the world, attend a show, who would it be?

Olive Louise: If Robin Williams were alive it would be him. That man changed my life with his spirit and acting. It wouldn't even be because of the show, it would be to thank him for all that he did in this world.

Question: What motivates you most when writing music?

Olive Louise: My emotions from the way people speak to me during the day, the let downs, lovely moments, friends that call to catch up. It just comes when it comes, it never feels forced.


Question: Which music/artists are you currently listening to?

Olive Louise: I've been listening to a lot of Fiona Apple, as always, since middle school when I discovered her Criminal music video. I also love Lykke Li, oh my god and Ashe and Finneas. Finneas is incredible. His song I Lost A Friend is something else.


Question: What or who was your inspiration to go into the music industry?

Olive Louise: I was actually never truly inspired to get into the industry by any outside source, not even myself. I was just inspired by music and then realised I wanted to do it forever because I can't think about anything else but writing music. I was in college in the city at AMDA, and every single break I got I was in a practice room writing and playing the piano. I was always the last one out of the school, and my roommates were so awesome, they'd sit with me and harmonize and wait for me and then we'd walk home down the West Side together to Times Square. I wrote a song for my friend Alice on the spot, and I saw it made her happy and I was like I want to do this. I want to make people feel. I met so many people that made me believe in myself more, like an engineer who worked at Quad Studios at the time, Max the Engineer, who I had the best session with recording in a big studio with for the first time. Now we're friends! Music connects people in a real way and I just love it. I want this forever.


Question: If you could collaborate with another artist, who would it be?

Olive Louise: Finneas, it would be Finneas, even the thought of that makes me happy, he's amazing; I listen to his music every day. Also, Yoshi Flower; the energy in his music is larger than life and It makes me feel so many different things.


Question: What is the biggest challenge you have faced along the way to your musical success?
Olive Louise: Let downs! Lots of people promise more than they can actually deliver. Nobody is going to go to bat for you more than you. I take everything I hear with a grain of salt now. I'm big on apologizing when you do something that's messed up or when you don't follow through on your word, but I've realised most people are too proud to ever do that and quite frankly, they don't care until they see you doing your own thing. I've stopped taking everything to heart. I go with my gut and I'm kind to everyone and respectful but I'll also stand up for myself now.


Question: What's a typical day like?

Olive Louise: Recently I've been enjoying a healthy routine which I'm super proud of! Wake up early, make some eggs, have some fresh fruit, go and work out, come back home, write, or go to a session, practice the piano, draw up ideas for future music videos and I've been practicing for the live show. Then I go at night and I work out at around 11pm- midnight, and finish my night with a cold shower- it's the only way I can fall asleep. It's really been that way for a while and I'm very happy with the consistency. Oh and cuddling my cats, of course, they're my babies!


Question: What has been your favorite part of becoming a music artist?

Olive Louise: Connecting with so many talented and down to earth people. Music is the universal language and it truly brings people together.


Question: What's next, for you?

Olive Louise: I have so much music I can't wait to release! This spring I'm getting a lot of shows lined up. I've been dying to get on stage and perform my songs. They're all going to be acoustic versions where I play the piano while I sing and then when I'm ready I'll start incorporating more into the shows but for now I want the freedom of really getting into it with the piano and that freedom to improvise vocally and melodically.


Question: Can you share your socials?

Olive Louise: @olivelouise
@OlivLouise
Vevo Youtube
Youtube


Interview by Brooke Hunter