FEATURE: Spotlight: Memphis LK — Music Musings & Such

FEATURE:

Spotlight

PHOTO CREDIT: Jack Craig

Memphis LK

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IF you have not heard…

of the amazing Memphis LK, then make sure that you follow her. The Australian artist fuses Dance/Electronic. She is a wonderful artist and D.J. True Love And Its Consequences is her latest E.P. That came out in November. A remarkable work from an artist that will be on a lot of people’s minds as we head towards 2024. She is someone that I am new to though, instantly, I was intrigued by her music and story. Memphis LK is an extraordinary vocalist, songwriter and producer from Melbourne. She was influenced by the early sounds of Chicago House, in addition to U.K. Garage and Detroit Techno and Breakbeat. The young Memphis LK was raised on the music of strong female artists. R&B legends and Pop queens from the 1990s. Bonding with Synth and Electronic music has led her to this moment. I am going to bring in a few interviews with this amazing artist. Music Tech featured her back in February. It is interesting that, growing up, she would try to sleep but would hear kick drum and the pulse of a club/Electronic event. Years later, she would understand the cultural significance. Something that enticed her so young is now what she does as a career:

“Having grown up in an industrial part of Melbourne during the late-90s/early-2000s rave scene, Memphis LK developed a unique insight into electronic music from an early age. “I remember being really young and I could hear this pulsing four-to-the-floor kick drum every night, and I could never sleep,” the producer, vocalist, songwriter and DJ says. As Memphis got older, she understood and appreciated the cultural relevance of her experience: “It must have been such an interesting era of dance music… and I just had no idea that it was going on right next door!” This early exposure to club sounds helped to shape the artist that Memphis would go on to become. “Maybe, on some weird level, that’s infiltrated into my psyche and made me love dance music,” she says.

After abandoning her childhood dream of becoming a marine biologist, she started focusing on making her own music. Inspired by the likes of Four Tet, Burial, Overmono and Bicep, she started making loops on GarageBand and singing over them.

“I had all of these sounds in my head that I wanted to be able to make, but I didn’t know how,” she says. Although she’d performed in indie bands as a teenager, Memphis adds: “[indie] music was fun, but it was never the music that I really wanted to make.” However, everything changed when a friend got her onto Ableton Live. “I got a crack of it and was like ‘whoa, this is crazy’.”

Watching tutorial videos and teaching herself the basics six years ago was a big turning point for Memphis. “I was like ‘this is it. This is what I’m supposed to be doing.’ I realised that I could literally make any sound on my computer, and I didn’t have to rely on other people. That was a really exciting moment for me, and I started taking music really seriously.”

Three years later, when COVID-19 lockdowns hit, Memphis had another realisation. “I was pretty good at production and getting my songs to a point where I was happy, but not quite satisfied with them because I was always handing them off to another producer,” she says.

“I guess I just had this idea in my head that ‘I’m a girl, so I can’t finish my songs’, which sounds so ridiculous when I say it out loud.” Memphis says this thought process was “holding me back, and I think it’s something that holds back a lot of people. But I thought to myself ‘there’s no reason that I can’t be as good as the people that I admire; I have all the time right now to do it, and the only thing that’s holding me back from doing that is myself’.”

It’s exciting that genres from the 90s rave era are having a resurgence and people are reimagining them in new ways. And I think it’s cool that, although TikTok can be kind of annoying, it can be a way for people to discover music they might never have heard before.”

Memphis is also part of the Australian rave scene’s new generation, which also includes producers and DJs JamesJamesJames and Pretty Girl. “The dance and electronic scene right now in Australia is just going crazy,” Memphis says. “There’s a real vibe; so many artists are doing really cool things and it feels like people really want that kind of music right now. I’m not sure why, but everyone wants to be at the club and have fun”.

Urban List chatted with Memphis LK in February too. An artist that gives back and has shared her knowledge and skills with women in her community, here is this amazingly giving and inspiring artist who is setting such a fine example. That collaborative and bonding nature comes through in her music. Sounds that are designed to get people together:

“Can you tell us a little bit about your music journey to date?

When I was like 15, I started discovering artists like Four Tet, James Blake and Burial and became obsessed with electronic music—particularly the more experimental stuff. I started out making loops in GarageBand and singing over them. Then when I was about 18, I found out about Ableton (a music production software) and realised I could create literally any sound that I wanted all on my own, without having to rely on anyone else and it blew my mind. I was in a couple of bands before I started releasing solo music in 2019. I spent pretty much all of 2020-2021 working on my production (in lockdown) and feel like I’m in a place now where I’m so confident in what I’m doing. My EP is coming out in January and it feels so good to be releasing music I’m really proud of.

What has been your most memorable or rewarding moment so far in your career?

The day after I released my track, 'Whip', I played a show and people were screaming the words and I nearly cried on stage. Also, the messages from people saying my music inspires them will always be an amazing feeling.

Music runs in the family, have you always wanted to create your own music?

I’m lucky that I grew up in a house where creativity was encouraged, so music always felt like it was an option for me—that’s something I’m really grateful for. I’ve pretty much made music in some capacity since I can remember and really became extremely obsessed with it when I started producing my own music. That was the moment everything clicked and I was like, 'oh, okay—this is what I’m meant to be doing'.

Your music is a captivating mix of dreamy lyrics and fast-paced layers, does this contrasting combination reflect how you see the world?

When making dance music I’m drawn to sounds that have conflicting moods. I like to contrast the hard and the soft, the dark and the light. I’m a Libra and quite sensitive so I guess I feel a lot of the darkness in the world but I also feel the light—corny. I also feel like that’s probably just my personality too, a little bit nice and cute but don’t mess with me.

Who or what has been your biggest influence in creating your unique sound?

Four Tet. I’ve always been so inspired by how he is able to put so much emotion into dance music.

Walk us through the music writing process for you; are you a creature of habit, or do you thrive in spontaneity?

I’ve learnt over the last few years that my creativity thrives through routine and repetition so I try to be pretty disciplined with it. The spontaneity and magic are more likely to arise if I set myself up properly to receive it.

You’ve already given back so much to your community, organising free DJ workshops for women and gender-diverse folks in Melbourne and playing Mildura’s first pride event—how important is giving back to the community for you?

It’s really important to me, and I can only speak from my own experience, but as a young female in a male-dominated industry it’s so easy to think you’re not good enough, or you’ll never have the skills to be at that top level, so I’ve always wanted to help people build those skills and that confidence in any way I can. On a broader note, I feel like community is something that’s taken a bit of a backseat in general. Our society feels pretty “me” centric, people seem to focus a lot on themselves but often aren’t extending that care and compassion to others. I hope we can get back to a place where we all value community and connection more”.

I am going to stick with interviews from February. That is when Memphis LK was promoting her E.P., Too Much Fun. I am sort of playing catchup in a lot of ways. Listening back to older work and discovering this artist with such amazing command and depth. Purple Sneakers spent time with Memphis LK and asked her about her transition from the earliest days to now:

“When was the moment you started to begin to love the energy and power of dance music? What were the experiences that made you feel like I want to make this type of music?

It was when I started discovering more experimental artists. People like Four Tet, Burial and Nicolas Jaar. Even early Grimes. The way that it was electronic but more experimental. The thing I love about those artists is how much emotion they can put into dance music. That’s always something that I’ve strived to do with my music. That was the moment for me that was most inspiring to me. It was the most inspired I’d been listening to music.

How did that transition to music making?

I started from there playing around with looping stuff on Garage band and singing over it. From there I was shown Ableton and that blew my mind. Oh my god, this program can do everything. Despite playing in bands before I started producing, I always had a certain sound in my head that I wanted to be able to make but I didn;t know how. That was the moment where I realised I could make this music now. It was such a cool feeling because I realised I could do it all myself without having to rely on other people.

That was also the moment that I decided I wanted to do music. If I can make it work, this is it.

In 2021 you dropped your first solo EP 1 which really introduced your sound well but it feels like with Too Much Fun you’ve taken that musical foundation and perfected it. How do you reflect back on 1 now?

It was definitely a necessary step in involving my project. I definitely look back on those songs and to me, that was a full on exploration phase for me. I had no idea what my direction was or what my sound was. I was just trying all these different things and seeing what would stick. That was also a period of time where I wasn’t so confident in my production. I was getting my songs to a certain point and getting another producer to finish them for me.

The years that followed that were COVID and lockdowns and that time I didn’t put any music out. I just wanted to get really good at producing so that I don’t need to give my songs to other people then not being happy with the result. Too Much Fun is where I’ve come out the other side with so much clarity in my sound, confidence in my production. I had to take all of those steps to get to where I am now so I’m really grateful for that time. It’s so important to have that stage of exploration and just figuring stuff out. It helped me grow.

How challenging was it to find that balance between pop and dance on Too Much Fun. Was it completely off instinct or was it something you consciously had to balance?

A lot of it is just based on instinct and the sounds that I like. I’ve always loved songwriting and telling stories through songwriting. I want my music to make people feel things. I’ve also been very involved in the club scene and being very inspired by underground sounds. That’s the music that I listen to. So it makes sense my production veers towards those sounds, with the rave and club influence.

On that though, I feel like a song doesn’t feel finished until it evokes an emotion. That’s when I know whether a song is worth following through with, when I’ve found a chord progression, melody or lyrical idea that I’m feeling emotionally.

The project lands at such a perfect time in the context of global dance music. People have become really accepting of underground dance influences in pop music. What do you think has triggered that? What’s changed in the water?

I feel like it is the aftereffects of lockdowns. People want music that makes them feel great. People are craving fun. That’s been my mindset as well with making music. I just want to make fun music that people can have a good time with. Obviously TikTok is a big factor in dance music. It has benefitted so much from it. The whole 90s dance/rave culture sounds and feeling has been blowing up on TikTok for the last couple of years.

The title for me is definitely a double meaning. At first glance it’s very Oh so fun! but when you listen to the music, there’s some obvious shit going down. Too Much Fun on face value has been my approach to making music in the last year or so. Just having so much fun with it, making music that I enjoy and not overthinking it.

Supporting Tove Lo must have been a crazy experience. What did seeing an out and out pop star like her perform and kill it on stage teach you about making and performing art generally. What were your reflections after walking out of those shows?

It’s so inspiring seeing a big pop artist do their thing. To have a live show that is so dynamic, well thought out, high energy is just so inspiring and something that I want to have at some point with my live shows.

Also the crowds were really lovely and supportive. That made those shows so much fun. I was pretty nervous for those shows because they were all sold out and when I walked out on stage I had never performed for a crowd that was so attentive. Being used to performing clubs and stuff like that and then to go onto a stage and see everyone silent, watching and present. I was not used to it. It was really cool.

You were the spotify EQUAL ambassador for January, which led to you having a Billboard in Times Square. You spoke extensively while entering the industry about the lack of representation in dance music and now that advocacy has led you to the most visible you’ve ever been. How do you reflect on having the billboard for that reason? How does it make you feel?

I can’t believe it. I still feel like that photo is Photoshopped. It’s surreal. It feels really amazing having put in so much work over a long period of time and a lot of the time it feels like despite putting in that work you don’t get a whole lot back. It can be extremely hard to keep pushing. As I’ve said in other interviews, there can be a lot more self doubt when you’re a woman or non-binary person in the industry for a multitude of reasons. Both from a lack of representation and visibility on the artist side but also the lack of belief in those artists. We are wired to assume that a man has produced a female’s work for some reason.

For that reason I feel really grateful and happy and proud I kept pushing through and now it is the ultimate blessing”.

I am going to finish up with some of the most recent press. There are not really any interviews around the release of True Love and Its Consequences. We might get some more interviews with Memphis LK soon enough - but, for now, here is some background and detail about one of the best E.P.s of the year. It is a phenomenal work that everyone needs to listen to. An incredible aural experience, it is clear that Memphis LK is primed for big things next year:

“Idiosyncratic producer and DJ Memphis LK releases her second EP of the year titled True Love And Its Consequences via Dot Dash / Remote Control Records, a true lesson in beat-making set to cement her at the forefront of Australia’s dance scene.

The addictive focus track ‘Black and Blue’ leads the omnibus which offers an angelic soundscape that dissolves into her signature driving beat paired with her most unique production yet, utilising space and classic piano elements with euphoric electronic elements.

True Love and Its Consequences sees Memphis LK at her most concise and developed, sitting comfortably at the intersection of underground club and bubbly pop music. Conceptualised between the UK and Australia, True Love and Its Consequences is Memphis’ second EP for the year, channeling pure feeling and boisterous fun over five tracks of emotive dance music ranging from the introspection of Burial to the brightness of Charli XCX. That sense of instant euphoria is abundant on ‘Closer To You’, a true love ballad echoing the nostalgia of dance music from the early 2000s. The duality of love is expressed in full through the duality of Memphis LK, her artistry communicating a range of feeling through her unique approach to music.

As a producer, songwriter, vocalist, and DJ, Memphis’ approach echoes the bedroom pop sentiment of the 2010s with an intentional dance spin, a DIY artist in full control. Memphis is part of a diverse new wave of pop artistry, inspiring those around them and the next generation with artistic agility and plurality. She seeks to elevate femme voices like her own, who deserve to be seen for all that they are without being boxed in as women in dance music often are”.

Go and check out this Australian treasure. I hope that she gets to play around the U.K. next year. There is a lot of love for her here. It is wonderful seeing how she has grown and where her music has traveled to. Regardless of how you’re feeling and what sort of mood you are in, there is something about the music of Memphis LK that puts you…