Following on from our glowing review of Lauren Hoffman’s latest album “Interplanetary Traveller” we begged for a few minutes of her time and we got them! Eight questions as usual, welcome to the warm fluffy glow that is Lauren Hoffman on motherhood, writing and salad:
Firstly, congratulations on becoming a mum! What are your favourite things about becoming one?
Wow, I love almost everything about it. The change in lifestyle really suits me. I’m actually a really private person and I love routine. I also like a challenge, and to be busy with something that feels personally meaningful. watching a child grow and learn is one of the more awe-inspiring things I’ve ever witnessed.
But my favorite thing? When my daughter says ‘mom!’ and runs to hug and kiss me, it’s just the greatest thing in the whole world!
How directly did becoming a mother effect the album Interplanetary Traveller?
The songs had all been written and demoed when i became pregnant, but it doesn’t sound that way, right? The songs sound like they were inspired by motherhood and the love that it brings? Well maybe it was the reverse; that somehow the inner journey I went on to find the love in me that I wrote about on Interplanetary is what inspired motherhood… either way, the two seem inextricably related, and that’s why I’ve been talking publicly about becoming a mom in connection with this album.
This album is a lot more acoustic-pop/immediate than some of your other work. What took you in that direct for this album?
Oh probably just softening with age, wanting to make music that makes people feel good, something you could put on as background music for a dinner party, or on a road-trip with your kids… I wanted to share something more positive, but it had to be genuine. and by the way, I didn’t set out to make an ‘acoustic-pop’ record, but that turned out
to be the sound-scape that supported the energy and meaning of the songs the most.
What do you like most/least about recording an album? Do you enjoy that part of being a musical artist?
Recording an album is my second-favorite part of being ‘a musical artist’ (my first-favorite part is writing the songs). I love being sequestered in a studio, crafting something that never existed before. I love the friendships that come with working together, and the inside jokes. I love the process of finding the balance between ‘letting it happen’ and ‘making it happen’; when do you need to loosen up, when do you need to be meticulous? When is it time to say “it’s done” and stop recording before you mess it up? I love all of it… it’s actually the rest of it that i don’t care for: playing live, touring, promoting, etc.
Are their any particular favourites from Interplanetary Traveller that you have?
I think ‘Sweet Lazy Day’ is my favorite song. The album starts with this bittersweet declaration of a rootless person who loves her life, but finds something is missing and really yearns to belong somewhere. She then searches, tries out different flavors of love, and visits different ‘planets,’ looking for a home… finally the album ends with ‘Sweet Lazy Day’, where she finds herself belonging somewhere, at home at last. and that’s where I am and how I feel now.
Your music videos are always artistic and interesting to watch. Do you get involved with that process and do you enjoy making them?
I get involved in so much as that they have all been made by dear friends of mine who I trust and love to collaborate with. The video for the song ‘interplanetary traveler’ was all Shawn’s idea and definitely his project. I just showed up when I was told to! Shawn is one of my best friends and knows me well, so I was excited to see how he would reinterpret me and the song in a visual format. It turned out so sweet and light but with depth, and I love that.
If you had the chance to learn a new instrument which one would you pick?
The cello…but more realistically, I do aspire to to eventually get better at the piano, just enough to play a little chopin.
Any more cooking recipes coming out (I love beetroot – I’m so trying that out!)
Cooking and sourcing great food is an absolute passion of mine, so be careful what you ask for – with a tiny bit of encouragement, forlauren.com could become a foodie blog!
With thanks to Lauren for her time
Sometimes being able to buy old EP’s and demos of artists is a blissful thing and its such a case with Lauren Hoffman. She already releases demo’s for free on her website but I went to great lengths to track down and buy this six track EP. The key is that some of songs were recorded for Lauren’s first album but are completely different here.