a drive around conversation with devin
December 14, 2018
A drive around conversation with friend, Devin Lauder (you can make the interviewee drive you around right?) led to discussions about his most recent project and first official album, Tucker, along with a lot of Frank Ocean and Jonah Hill?
Lauder is bound to take off with work that effortlessly weaves in elements from his musical inspirations with his own unique perspective. With a growing discography, the young talent has demonstrated his versatility with balancing cinematic melodies with a rap like flow that results in songs that can equally be enjoyed in a nighttime solo car ride or in your bedroom surrounded by friends.
Isabel Padilla: Although I know you, introduce yourself?
Devin Lauder: I’m Devin Lauder. I’m 17 and from Charlotte, North Carolina.
What other places do you call home?
Northport, New York. I can say I've grown up the most there besides Charlotte. That’s where I spent the second most time just learning about life. I've spent five weeks every summer up there since I was a kid.
What is ‘Tuckers’ conception story? Where did it come about?
My album is called Tucker--Tucker is my album.
Actually, the name came from my Grandma's old dog. I always liked the name because I really liked the dog and it just reminded me of being a little kid. Also if I had another name [for myself] I would want it to be that.
What were your inspirations for the album?
Musically the inspirations were the albums Flower Boy, The OOZ, American Boyfriend, and JPEG Mafia’s, Veteran.The latter half of the album making process was definitely inspired by [Veteran]. Other than that, movies and just real life. [The album] was all just stories about me, so the biggest inspirations I guess were just things that happened to me in my own life.
We talked about inspirations a little bit more...
Its weird, If you say you're inspired by specific people, then all your work is compared to who you’re inspired by. If people find something that really sounds like what you're inspired by...its lame. My main inspirations are Frank [Ocean], Tyler [The Creator], my dad, and movie directors like Spielberg, Kubrick, Wes Anderson and my man Jonah Hill!
He got really animated talking about Jonah Hill) At one point, he fully recited a whole scene from Jonah Hill first self directed film Mid90s. Got to love that dedication.
What else do you do music wise?
I produce, write, compose, and mix my own songs. I also play the drums, guitar and piano.
What is your favorite thing about music?
It sounds nice? Like it sounds “yummy” (laughing). I don’t know, music just feels good.
What is your favorite song off of Tucker?
Probably ‘Our Infinite Moment’ because I heard it the least. That song is literally the second half of ‘Blush’ reversed. There’s nothing new, added or different about it. The last minute or so of ‘Blush’ is what makes up ‘Our Infinite Moment’. It’s because when I was exporting the second half of ‘Blush’, it accidently got put in reverse and got saved into my files. When I went to go listen to it, it sounded sick! Fun fact: that all happened the night before I released the album.
I like it because I didn't have to listen to it a trillion times. It was like someone made a song for me to put on the album.
What is your music writing process?
Well it depends, sometimes I will come up with a melody that I like in my head, and whether I have words or not, I'll throw it into voice memos. If I have something that I think will be good in a song, I will just hum it into my phone and then I'll go home and write the lyrics for it later. Or I can have lyrics in my head, I'll write them down and make a song for them. So basically, I will come up with one part of a song and put it somewhere until I have the opportunity to put it altogether.
What were your top 5 albums of 2018?
Veteran - JPEGMAFIA
Some Rap Songs- Earl Sweatshirt
Ye- Kanye West
Iridescence- BROCKHAMPTON
Isolation- Kali Uchis
If you could be a “Renaissance man”, what would be the four things that you would choose to be really good at?
That’s such a good question! I would choose:
Music
Film
Painting
Architecture
If you could be front row at any concert, what would it be?
Frank [Ocean] - wait any concert living or dead? …
Let’s make it interesting! Living or dead.
Fuck it--it still might be Frank. Or Tyler [the Creator]. I still haven’t seen him in human form. It’s crazy, I’ve been a fan of his since sixth grade and I've never been to one of his concerts.
Then we started arguing about whether Frank Sinatra or Frank Ocean would be the better “Frank” to see live. In conclusion: both.
What song are you thinking about right now?
‘Shine’ by Aminé
Do you view your music as a way of documenting different chapters in your life?
Yeah! For sure, I always think about it that way. “Tucker” will be a two year span or an era of sound, the way that I made stuff, what I thought about, and what I wrote about. That’ll be the definition of those two years of my life. One of my favorite things about it is that it’s a time capsule. I can go back and remember what my life was like in those two years.
What are your goals as an artist?
I just want a platform to share my ideas on and have people listen. Just an audience to tell people stuff rather than taking a video on Snapchat and saving it to my memories to just watch myself. I want a place where I can put those ideas and have people appreciate them.
