Los Angeles electronic duo LUCKYANDLOVE continue to build their own world, one driven by analog synths, live improvisation and fearless emotion. Formed in 2013 by Loren Luck and April Love, the pair have shaped a sound they call raw dark electrowave — intense, dreamy and deeply human. Their third album, “Humaura”, pushes their creativity even further, blending pitch-bent synth lines, layered harmonies and powerful themes of freedom and feeling. In this conversation, we talk about their beginnings, their process, live energy, and the spirit behind their evolving electronic journey.
by Dimitris Zacharopoulos
When, where and how was LUCKYANDLOVE formed? Give us a short biography of the band!
LUCKYANDLOVE was formed in 2013. We eventually started this analog-electronic project, LUCKYANDLOVE. We wanted to do something raw, analog yet electronic. After writing some songs together in our creative space, we went on to record our first LP in 2016. We released it ourselves and got it eventually distributed.
How would you describe your musical dynamic as a duo—what does each of you bring that completes the other?
We start with an improvisation in our studio and after a few minutes decide to hit the record button if we feel a tingle of excitement. Usually starting with a hooky bass line and then treble synth soloing on top, and after a few bars of sing-provising, usually coming from ether. We relax and tap into our subconscious imaginations. Next we some presets, try out some live- loops, with pitch bends and synth-solos along with playing around with percussion.
Your new, third album, “Humaura”, is out now! How do you feel about that? When you listen back to the album now, what feeling hits you first?
To be honest, we feel super proud. “Humaura” takes my work to new levels, regarding my synth playing showcasing bluesy improvisational pitch bending that somewhat unique to us. I also am proud of the vocal harmonies that I have developed on this record which is totally new in “Humaura”. I also think that the songs like “Name Of Love” and “Hawks Do Cry” are arranged in a way that is highly dynamic, and need to be heard fully rather than in a 10 second streaming sample. I would say it’s the best record and brings listeners through a journey that creates deeper meaning that is interpreted fully and captivates what reviewers choose to write about it so far.
Where would you trace the differences between the new album and your previous ones?
For one thing on “LUCKY+LOVE”, our first debut record, forI was performing harmonies and melodies with both hands on two synths, a Little Phatty for the treble melodies and bass melodies and a Juno or other support bass synths like a Novation or others. On “Transitions”, I started playing the Korg keytar using midi on the Slim Phatty and or just playing with one Roland Juno-06 to the side and using a switch to also play the Slim Phatty. On “Humaura” I really do a lot more pitch bending with new guitar effects running through the Slim Phatty. This new way I play is unique. Also, I have harmonies with my voice, thanks to practicing with my vocal looper. Loren does a lot of strategy on how to perform all of the additional elements live. He instantiates all the additional melodic notes that you hear coming from him with his drum stick and foot. We don’t use stems, it’s all instantiated live from our instruments. This gives us an edge when it comes to improvising to the public. You can hear us do this live on our Instagram videos. All the things mentioned make us stand out in a unique way we believe.
How would you define the music style of LUCKYANDLOVE?
We define it as raw dark electrowave.
Where do you get your music influence from?
As a group, it’s kind of all over the place, Cocteau Twins to PJ Harvey, Loscil to Washed Out, Modest Mouse to Ladytron. Dancing at the Cat Club in SF, Noise Pop fest, 70s re-run tv shows that incorporate moog into their theme song. Giorgio Moroder.
What was the most interesting non-musical inspiration—places, art, or moments—that influenced the new album?
Big Sur, CA was a major inspiration, Monterey, CA was also a major inspiration, specifically Salvador Dali exhibits, and the biggest reason of all in regards to “Melt in Sunshine” is the Pacific Grove area of Monterey which is home to the Monarch Butterfly Sanctuary. Another one, is the Bottom of the Hill venue in San Francisco and Black Market Music, a now closed vintage synth shop in regards to our track “Down to Black”.
How is a typical LUCKYANDLOVE song composed?
As mentioned before, we typically improvise starting with a bassy hook and then add some soloing and some stream of conscious singing. After we get the song going, and we both smile at each other, then we switch it up with the next two parts. We have things rigged in such a way that we can switch to the next part of the song quickly, and come back to the first part of the song again. Once we have three to five good sections of a song all recorded on our hand held recording gear we sit and listen to it, we then decide what we are going to “call” each section before we decide what is a verse, a chorus or a bridge. In the past we had to work on our naming conventions to match what was saved in our presets, because it isn’t always evident what we decide what the chorus is, or the verse is or even an interlude. The solo sections can be numerous and so we still need to have a good naming convention. We also take note of the keys we are working in and write that down in our notebooks. There might be a day sitting in the park with headphones, listening to the lyrics, translating them to written words and or maybe Loren and I sit in a cafe possibly rearranging the lyrics. It’s usually ready for a stripped down cleaned up version in our next session. We have a lot of these recordings that we come back to and pick what will be finalized for an LP. We have designed our own custom song form sheets, which are essentially paper with strategic entries where we write the keys, the presets, the names, bpm, lyrics, effects, volume levels, midi number and so on. I also have written out the lyrics, bass lines and treble notes in musical staff form for many of the songs. I often need to save the settings and resave them so that I can easily get from one song to the next changing my settings on all my effects and synth gear with one knob turn.
Where do you usually begin from, music or lyrics?
Music starts, and then stream of conscious singing, then thought out lyrics.
How do you handle creative disagreements inside a duo where both voices are central?
That is a good question. We don’t have any disagreements now, we used to. The topics ranged from specific tuning and arrangements which led us to find the answer eventually.
Who is the one who writes the lyrics? Where do your lyrics refer to?
We both write songs and take 100% credit for all our song writing, even though he majoring of lyrical writing comes from me. We both take credit because we digest the lyrics together and arrange them together. Most of the lyrics come from stream of conscious singing from April, then first pass of writing often come and then we flush it out together. Loren has written some lyrics and has arranged some lyrics.
You coined the term “humaura”. What does this term stand for? How did that term first emerge for you?
“Humaura” (pronounced “hu • mau • ra”), we define as the atmosphere emanating from the feelings of the human spirit void of technological control. We were coming up with a new word, and coined it to describe the journey the record takes us.
How did working with engineer Be Hussey influence the record’s emotional texture and sonic clarity?
That is a good question no one has really asked us before. Thank you for that. Be was fantastic with pulling out and pushing back elements to meet our creative goals for the song and was able to echo back feedback and constructive critique to help give support and confidence. He was phenomenal in helping us get the vocals mixed, he has fantastic way of recording that allows a methodology meeting my goal of not using Autotune or Melodyne in the process and yet still finding the right takes for the tracks. He was influential in some of the recording effects that were added in the studio, and for a couple songs gave his opinion on the arrangement. He helped me rerecord “Run On Run” in a raw lo-fi way to give it a new kind of Guided By Voices meets Yeah Yeah Yeah’s sound.
Which atmosphere do you try to create with your music and lyrics?
A celebration of breaking stuff with “I Am Human”, a celebration of breaking up with “Name Of Love”, a celebration of flying with “Hawks Do Cry”, a celebration of dancing under a blacklight with “Secret Is Out”, a celebration of mad max driving with “Feelz So Good”, a celebration of geeking out with “Down To Black”, a celebration of physical intimacy with “Lonely At Night”, a celebration of butterflies and rainbows with “Melt In Sunshine”.
What drew you back to analog synths and drum machines rather than leaning further into digital production?
When I first started moving from using a Farfisa synth I wanted to continue some type of analogue synth. We did an experiment with an AKAI device that acted as a midi controller with a computer application that digitized the moog, which lasted about 10 minutes and we knew we didn’t want to make music that way. I think the truth is we love playing together as a group, and sitting behind a desktop computer or laptop keeps us from improvising.
What was the most fun part of making the new record?
There were many fun moments, I think for me personally when I was using my vocal looper and practicing the harmonies I had the most fun because I was able to sing the songs in multiple ways with myself. As a group, our most fun moments were being in Big Sur and along with soaking in a hot tub at the Fernwood Motel, we got to sit on the deck and hammer out some song elements, or sit under red wood trees and compose some musical notation for the record. I had the most fun with “Name Of Love” because I love where that song takes the listener emotionally and I think everyone has had a break up. For me, I am celebrating the fact that I am no longer dating the person I was singing about, if it had not been for the break up with a past relationship, even though it was painful. I would not be here today with LUCKYANDLOVE. Was there a song that was especially challenging to finish? The most challenging thing was with was trying to get “Hawks Do Cry” right when I was trying to rehearse it in a vocal booth at our rehearsal space. It was very old and dusty and interfering with my progress. I got sick from being in there for nine hours. Now when I sing the song I remember how much I suffered and feel happy that it comes to me easily now.
If you could collaborate with one vocalist or producer from outside your usual genre orbit, who would it be and why?
I can speak for both Loren and I on this one. I think we both would love to work with Robin Guthrie. Personally, off the top of my head, I would like to collaborate with a Massive Attack project.
Do you feel like electronic music can deliver vulnerability more effectively than rock, or is it just a different language?
That is a great question. I sometimes don’t think it makes a difference, because I think that electronic music is sometimes just the taste of the listener at the time. On the other hand, I do think that the instrumentation we offer with oscillations and pitch bending does expand a specific pallet of expression the way mixing colors do. For example, sometimes music that doesn’t ever pitch bend, can be compared to a color scheme that only uses primary colors. Polyphonic melodies that multiple oscillators can enhance or mask the vulnerability of the human voice, and I find that some analogue synths cleanse the aura just as large pipe organs can rattle the soul.
What do you think about the use of AI in music?
We don’t agree or permit AI stealing our music to train its models and we have copyrighted our music in an effort to cash in on royalties. I believe in the future, artists will get paid back for programs using their art. Bandcamp seems to have the ability to track it for example, so if that is possible, why not pay the musicians who had trained or contributed to the computer-generated elements in some way?
How important are live shows for you?
Live shows are very important to us. If anyone reading this wants to book us, please email us at hello@luckyandlove.com we have a gig tomorrow at Mojave Gold in Yucca Valley, and another gig at the Off Beat in Highland Park area of Los Angeles on March 19, and the Lust Fest on June 20th in LA. We are looking to tour in the UK and Germany (Europe) in 2027.
How would you describe the energy of your live shows?
Upon the recent addition of our new “Humaura” tracks I really appreciate the audience in a new way. I think that I can feel their vibing off of “Name Of Love”, in a way like they appreciate the lyrics. Another thing is they seem to dance to “Lonely At Night” which I find surprising. They also seem to vibe off of “I Am Human”. It’s a lot of fun!
If someone only had time to hear one song from you, which would you point them to first?
Loren and I had a really hard time finding which song to make a single. I am at a point where I want to shop “Hawks Do Cry” to be synced by reaching out to syncing companies, music directors or film makers, and I guess that’s why I was fine with “Hawks Do Cry” not being the main single. I love my singing on it, it’s the first time a trill rs and I love where it takes the listeners with the feeling of flying. I know Loren was certain that “I Am Human” was his number one song, and for me “Secret Is Out” was the main track I am hoping they’ll play at darkwave/goth clubs.
What comes next for LUCKYANDLOVE?
We want to book more shows, seriously, email us at hello@luckyandlove.com if you are reading this.
Send a message to our readers.
I would say a lot of the bands you write about often have a harder guitar edge. If you lean away from pure organic electronic music, come see us live or perhaps our live videos you will start to understand that we play keyboards often like guitars and to look beneath the genre to tap into something more universal. Let us know where and when you want us to perform. Our vinyl can be ordered through https://recordstoreday.com/UPC/5051142058546 just type in your location to request our vinyl to be ordered at a store near you in time for record store day or any time.
