Like a few of her peers, Lowell is young, free, and fearless; but not all 23-year-olds can pride themselves on writing songs for Icona Pop and collaborating with a supergroup like Apparatjik (composed of A-ha’s Magne Furuholmen, Coldplay’s Guy Berryman, Mew’s Jonas Bjerre, and star producer Martin Terefe). Following her critically acclaimed EP I Killed Sarah V., Lowell’s debut album We Loved Her Dearly is a collection of catchy, dreamy pop songs that tackle the issues she feels strongly about: women’s and LGBT rights, abortion, rape, and sexual abuse. Lowell is not like other pop stars: she’s neither mindlessly politically correct nor provocative as PR strategy. She’s genuine and this is why we like her.
In terms of musical influences, Lowell quotes “Handsome Furs and anything Dan Boeckner does, Animal Collective, and Kanye West” as inspirations. Both her songs and her taste in music bridge the gap between the mainstream and the alternative; and it is proving to be a successful formula, judging from the response she got at SXSW last month. i-D caught up with the singer to find out about some serious and not-so-serious things.
2 causes Lowell stands up for
1. A human’s right to choose what sex means to them.
“That means: their sexuality, how sexual they want to be, when and where they do it, how it relates to their life, whether they want to buy, own or sell it.”
2. Race issues
“…Not that anyone ever prints anything I say about race issues because its not trendy to talk about race.”
4 favourite cities in the world
1.Calgary
“My mama lives there.”
2. Brussels
“They are LGBTQ friendly and have great bars.”
3. Stockholm
“Except for the new weird government. My friends from there are fun and liberal. Plus they have great musicians and lots of fun stuff to do downtown like bowling, laser tag etc. Not just drinking.”
4. Oslo
“I’m pretty sure just over 10 years ago Oslo came into a huge sum of money, and upon nationalising some of their resources that provided them with the wealth, they have managed to maintain a surplus of 10,000 dollars for each citizen. They are all rich… but get this, they still politically stand up for the little guy. That’s super rare.”
6 things you didn’t know about Lowell
1. She’s part Czech.
2. She can play Debussy.
3. She can speak French.
4. She hates people who can’t admit their privileges.
5. She has a lisp.
6. She, by her own admission, needs a therapist.
8 things that are on her bucket list
1. Create a female Lego line.
2. Make good music.
3. Write a fucked up autobiography.
4. Change sex worker laws in Canada.
5. Make a lot of money.
6. Work with Tarantino.
7. Fly a plane.
8. Learn 6 languages.
Lowell’s debut LP We Loved Her Dearly is out now on Arts & Crafts
Credits
Text Luna Cohen-Solal