Aussie Indie Artists is a series of interviews with lesser known Aussie creators across all forms and fields. The goal is to share exciting new works, find new angles towards the art, and peek behind the scenes.
Experimental artist LOUV’s career so far has had the inspiring trajectory of a woman who never gave up on her dreams, even when she didn’t know if she should.
Like many, she was a child who sang and danced. She wanted to be a singer, but she wasn’t sure that she could. It’s a story many know well, and when she decided on what to study, she settled for a humble spot behind the stage– learning visual arts and designing spaces. But the desire to sing, to express all of herself boldly and openly never dissipated. She began mixing, playing around with Ableton. She co-founded a music event, Fem Fantasy, and took the name LOUV to DJ at it.
Playing at Fem Fantasy inspired her to release an ambient dance track– ‘In the Form of a Prayer’ – her tentative step towards the spotlight. She sang low and wordlessly, but she sang and grew bolder. Her second single, ‘Power’, was an exciting second step; A hyperpop song with volume and distortions of Charli XCX or Dorian Electra. It’s a hype song, for her as much as the audience– All is full of love, when I know my own power.
Recently, LOUV has released her third single, ‘All Of You’, a moody, dance track that sees her step into the limelight. She sings proudly, without distortion or facade. She wants more and says it. It’s an exciting transition, and I was lucky enough to chat to her about what else she wants from her music.
As a visual artist too, your visual identity is such a huge part of your work. The music video is such a great example of that. It’s like the high fashion and choreography of ‘Power’ mixed with the lo-fi grunge of ‘Rain Has Come’. It very much feels like all of you, hahaha. What was filming that like for you?
The filming experience was enchanting yet intensive, providing a valuable learning opportunity. My sister and I filmed across remote locations in Marche, Italy, near the small town where she lives. Each day, during a heat wave, I rehearsed the choreography I had learned back in Melbourne sweating yet loving the incentive to dance each day. Executing the choreography on the beach and in a dark field was far more challenging than I had anticipated, but it helped me focus on the feeling and expression of the movement and let go of the need to execute the choreography accurately.
We used two cameras: one super high resolution and one low resolution handycam from the 90s. The handicam footage was alive, rich with a life of its own, while the high-resolution camera often fell flat and didn’t seem to capture the moment as vividly. It was like the handicam was a lifeform with its own unique energy while the other camera was a machine. This is something I often feel with analogue versus digital equipment. The remote locations while stunning also made navigating the gear and movements difficult, adding to our stress. Despite these challenges, as soon as we started recording, all the stress faded away, and we were transfixed. Filming felt like entering a portal into another state, where we were alive and in flow.
I remember getting into the freezing water of a river for example and not feeling the cold at all while the camera was rolling. As soon as the camera was off, I was frozen and shivering. The entire process, from rehearsing in the sweltering heat to filming in the cold, pushed us but also allowed us to experience moments of pure immersion and creativity.
You’ve also said that vulnerability is the theme of ‘All of You’, and the lyrics are so vulnerable. How do you feel now that it’s released?
I feel really satisfied. I love this song and all the artwork it invited me to create so much. It was a wonderful experience. It IS funny though to put such vulnerability into the world. A friend said “I’m obsessed but girl… who hurt you?!!” But I temporarily kind of forgot the “heartbreak” that even inspired the initial spark of the song because the song transmuted a lot of that original hurt for me and helped me take it into a much broader story. Songs take on a life of their own and become something else entirely.
It’s amazing that in art you can just f**king go there. No holding back. Be as dramatic and honest and revealing as you want to be. Expressing feelings, ideas and energies that don’t usually have a place out in the world but can find sanctuary in art. And once they’re expressed, any shame surrounding evaporates. It’s like the pain can’t survive that kind of light… it’s transformed through such a powerful creative force. It’s truly magnificent.
What’s next?
Right now I’m back in Italy taking part in an artist residency. Slowing down and connecting with my creativity and artist self and how to balance that with living a beautiful nourishing life. After this I will be travelling slowly throughout Europe exploring, creating and enjoying life.
Have you found any music artists recently that you love?
Cecile Believe has been captivating me recently. I have listened to her before but this time it’s hit differently. I’m particularly obsessed with this song Pjluk because of its gorgeous ability to be alluring and sensual yet ephemeral and atmospheric and soft yet guttural. That song makes my body move in ways I dream of.
What about non-musicians?
A long love of mine is Marina Abramović and similarly, she is not new to me but I have reexperienced her through her memoir ‘Walk Through Walls’ and it’s reignited my early connection to her particularly the notion of making art to feel present and enter heightened states of consciousness myself also invite the listener and audience through the door as well.
Do you have a special artist that you’d love to work with?
I would absolutely love to work with Evita Manji, what a dream.
Your sister (Katie McKnoulty – thetravellinglight) is also a special artist that you do work with, but you two seem to have completely different art styles. What’s it like working with her?
The differing styles aren’t important between us. Style is just part of the form. What we have is a shared creative flow that we can enter together which can morph into different styles. With the music video that was very much my world and her entering into that to help bring it to life with me. A lot of filming is witnessing what is alive at that moment. We also share a common interest in presence, atmosphere and Katie is really really good at finding and capturing that through film and photography. So although the visual style may not be her style in particular the notion of capturing interesting movement, moments of time and encouraging strange interactions definitely is.
Are there any visual or musical styles that you’d love to try in the future?
I would be curious to explore music that is more purely ambient and focus very clearly on simplicity and creating an atmosphere so rich and enchanting it doesn’t need layers of lyrics, beats, or an overt story.
Exciting! Thanks for the interview!
You can find LOUV on Spotify, Instagram, YouTube, and Facebook.
