With songwriting credits on tracks like Charli XCX's "Boys", there's a decent chance you know Lauv from songs he hasn't sung. He's actually been making his own effervescent pop for some time, and his latest single "Chasing Fire" is now out everywhere.
A musician for most of his life, Lauv began playing the piano at age five and then switched to guitar and viola, of all instruments. When EARMILK had the chance to chat with Lauv, he shared, "That’s what led me to start writing when I was thirteen. From there I learned how to record and produce, was playing in bands, etc. through high school."
When he moved to New York for College, he began producing for other people, and wasn't planning on working on his own music until he wrote his single "The Other". His debut single "I Like Me Better" has become a viral mega-hit, boasting millions of Spotify streams. Of his writing process, Lauv says "I usually try not to plan or think who a song is going to be for, and just make whatever I’m feeling at the moment but what I've noticed is the songs that I end up keeping for myself are more personal lyrically." He continued, "Like when I feel that deeper emotional attachment, I know it’s a song I should keep."
"Chasing Fire" is "tragic and desperate", according to Lauv, but the production is, on first listen, full of joy. "It's so funny cause I wonder if people will get how sad of a song it really is the first time they hear it. It's very tragic, and that especially comes out when you strip it down. But I think the magic of the production is that it captures the...almost grandiose, hanging on feeling of the song. You know, when you’re trying to ignore the feeling deep inside that it’s over with someone and you start doing everything you can, pulling out all the stops, to save it and chase the way it used to feel."
"Chasing Fire" is exactly this—a chase. Lauv is chasing a high that seems to be perpetually out of reach on this track. It is deeply personal while at the same time easily relatable and a perfect pop hit.
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