Editor’s Note: It was a fantastic time having Brooklyn singer/songwriter Lorelei Rose Taylor on to discuss “Versailles”, mental health awareness and coping with the Covid-19 pandemic with Madness To Creation. Lorelei balances her music with dreamy alternative pop hooks and baroque style of pop and she says that she draws inspiration from The Cranberries, Jewel, Stevie Nicks and Sinead O’Connor. She recently released her debut EP, which you can check out after the end of the interview below. Fans can find Lorelei Rose Taylor at the following locations:
https://www.loreleirosetaylormusic.com/
https://www.instagram.com/loreleirosetaylor/
https://twitter.com/lorosetaylor/
Madness To Creation: I really like the song Versailles, it’s kind of melancholy, what was the mindset as you were penning the lyrics to that song?
Lorelei: I’m so happy you like it. It’s special to me, though it haunts me in a way. I guess I felt especially vulnerable when I wrote it; I let myself run back and forth through my emotions unhinged. I was livid and dejected and proud and helpless all at the same time – but somehow, my tone is indifferent. There was a moment where I turned to the guys like, “Do I sound bored?” But I realized I was just exhausted. Exhausted and defeated and sick of doing the same dance – and I didn’t want to pretend I felt any other way.
Madness To Creation: What does a day in the studio look like for you?
Lorelei: It’s a journey. I record with Stephen Kellner Recording in New Jersey, and I’m coming from Brooklyn, so it takes me a couple hours to get there. I crawl out of bed around 6 AM and catch the train from MSG, notoriously grabbing a Sprite at sunrise. Stephen will engineer the tracks for the first hour or so and then I’ll lay down vocals. It’s a really collaborative process – Stephen always knows what to do when I don’t. He’s so talented and accommodating, it feels like I won the lottery having him as my mentor. Robbie Grabowski [I Can See Mountains, Super American] writes most of the music, and sometimes he’ll drive down. Those are my favorite, least productive days – between the two of them, I probably laugh more than I sing. We usually record 3-4 songs in two- or three-day flights – and with 14-16-hour days, by the end, I don’t want to look at a mic for a long time.
Madness To Creation: You’ve released your debut EP on May 22nd, if someone hasn’t listened to you before, what can they expect?
Lorelei: To be sad. We’re going through the trenches, so it might get a little dark. I don’t know – I don’t really sing for the party; I sing for the come downs. So don’t put my record on if you’re trying to ruin someone’s life – put it on when the deed is done.
Madness To Creation: How have you had to adjust your social media presence through this pandemic?
Lorelei: Everything went down a couple weeks before I planned to drop my single, “Versailles,” and I immediately signed off from social. It didn’t feel right to promote myself, so I eventually announced the push back. I quietly put out Versailles a month later and waited until the hysteria died down before announcing the EP in May. Since then, I’ve been more active – you know, with more downtime – but I’m still not a content engine by any means. I do want to partner with a charity initiative at some point, but I’m still figuring out the logistics.
Madness To Creation: How are you holding up through this pandemic?
Lorelei: It was the best of times; it was the worst of times. On one hand, I’m getting to know myself and indulging in things I never had time for. On the other, I’m depressed. I feel helpless; there’s so much loss and confusion and ignorance everywhere you turn – and being cooped up in Brooklyn, it feels indefinite. I hate the news. I miss my friends. It’s funny, because everyone’s like, “Oh, you must be writing so much music!” And I just laugh nervously. My friend, Sav, Sire., and I were talking about our creative process yesterday, and he was like, “I finished one song in 45 minutes, and then I had nothing to write about.” And I never related to anything more – which sounds pretentious, but so much of my process is triggered by my experiences. And all I’m experiencing right now is banana bread and face masks.
Madness To Creation: Three biggest influences on your life and in your music?
Lorelei: I think New York City altered everything for me – down to my brain chemistry. I’ve been here eight years – and I don’t know how much longer I’ll stay, but it’s hard to imagine calling anywhere else home. Which is strange, because I don’t even particularly love living here, but New York will do that to a person. But my past probably plays the greatest role in what I write. I’ve always written about the people I meet and places I go – it’s compulsive at this point. Unrequited love, Greek mythology, parties, gangsters. That’s my peculiar little pigeonhole.
Madness To Creation: What’s the first thing that you want to do when this pandemic is over?
Lorelei: Depends – is this a safe space? I want to drink at a dark bar and go home with someone I love.
Madness To Creation: At Madness To Creation, we focus on mental health awareness with normalizing mental health conversations and promoting suicide prevention, what gets you through the difficult times and what makes Lorelei happy?
Lorelei: I appreciate that. Because it’s not talked about enough – I don’t talk about it enough. I take pride in being the outlet, you really have to push me to be the plug. I wish I were better about it, but I suppose that’s why I’m a writer; it’s my bootleg therapy. But when the going gets too tough, I lean on my friends. I have the greatest friends in the world – ride or die. Like, I could say the Earth was flat on a bad day and they’d have my back, then the next day they’d pull me the fuck out of it. I’m also hypersensitive to my environment – when I’m going through something, I tend change it (I haven’t stopped renovating my apartment since day one of lockdown). I love leisurely walks in the evening, with my favorite songs on repeat. Candles, fresh linens, baking, lemon water, my cats – I swear I’ve never been more domesticated than I am in this moment. Oh, and memes. I fucking love the internet.
Madness To Creation: What else would you like to add in regards to where people can find you?
Lorelei: Brooklyn, baby.
And there you have it! Check out her debut EP entitled “Versailles” in its entirety via Spotify below:
