Irish-born, London-based artist and composer Last Apollo aka Lucy Rice has released her new single, Dandelion. We asked her BIG questions . . .
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Her recent performances of note include a chamber orchestra setting for her newest collection of songs at The Button Factory in Dublin, and a poetry and literature-infused headline concert at the CCI Paris alongside writers Caelainn Hogan and Stephanie Conn.
Other performances include support for Sprints, Sammy Copley, Genn and international festival appearances at Primavera (Barcelona) and Pro-Weekend Fest (Spain), and Electric Picnic.
Tell us three things about yourself . . .
This is like a Hinge prompt. I am a very anxious person who thinks too much about most things (great for creating art, less ideal for day-to-day living).
I am in an ongoing war with my mum and sisters about whether or not I should shave my armpits (they say yes, I say no).
I currently live in London and work at The Royal Albert Hall where I wear a red waistcoat and show people to their seats while bitterly muttering to myself that I am an artist and one day I won't have to work at the hall and "they’ll all see" or something like that.
How would you describe your music?
When someone in the pub asks me what kind of music I make, I usually say art rock. When someone in the pub (unless that pub is Whelan’s, where they nod knowingly and in reverence), then asks what art rock is, I have to admit that, actually, the term, in itself, is quite vague.
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For me, art rock is just an easy way of saying the music isn't necessarily confined to one genre. There are elements of rock, for sure, but also, you can hear evidence of an upbringing in classical music. Additionally, what is true of most Irish artists, there are habitual, almost compulsive returns to folk and trad conventions in my writing that are practically inescapable when you grow up among them.
My music is very emotion-driven, quite fierce and usually contains complex instrumental arrangements that contrast with simple, vocal melodies. My voice is a bit like Dolores O' Riordan’s (so I’ve been told by many a drunk man while doing a pub gig, and I have 'the look’ as well) but arguably I also sound a bit like a boy soprano who has spent their short life singing in Westminster Abbey and dreads the day their voice drops and their career falls into ruin.
Who are your musical inspirations?
My inspirations are always shifting and changing as I grow and evolve as an artist and a person. I feel remiss not mentioning the artists who have shaped me yet feel obliged to say they don't necessarily inspire me currently. Different artists resonate with you and thus, grow you as an artist, at different points in your life, even if, further down the line, their actual musical influence can no longer be perceived in what you have written.
What was the first gig you ever went to?
The first gig I went to was Nick Cave and the Bad Seeds (that is a lie I have written to sound cool. Actually, it was Miley Cyrus in 2008 and I spent most of the performance grappling with the fact that she wouldn't be performing Hannah Montana songs).
What was the first record you ever bought?
I was very late to the physical media buying game. Insanely, the first record (and by that I mean CD) I bought was only two years ago. My drummer (Sam Armstrong) and I picked up Set My Heart On Fire Immediately by Perfume Genius and The Idler Wheel… by Fiona Apple from The Secret Bookstore ahead of a long and treacherous car ride with me at the wheel.
What’s your favourite song right now?
At this exact point in time, I can’t stop listening to Boa Morte. Specifically, Sea Creatures.
Favourite lyric of all time?
"You go your way, I’ll go your way too" - Leonard Cohen.
If you could only listen to one song for the rest of your life, what would it be?
I am torn between A Pair of Brown Eyes by The Pogues and - bear with me - Smalltown Boy by Bronski Beat. APOBE because I have played the song a thousand times already and not gotten sick of it so I am confident I never will. I have played it in pubs, at sessions and at house parties and when I hear it, I am always reminded of the many outrageously kind, talented and funny people I love and all of the music we have played together. Alternatively, Smalltown Boy - lightning in a bottle that one.
Where can people find your music/more information?
The BEST place to find my music and more info is on my beautiful website! My music is also available on all streaming services and bonus material such as covers, demos and live show recordings can also be accessed via Bandcamp and my newsletters.
Alan Corr
