We first fell in love with Lo about a couple of months ago with “Drumline,” but I cannot express how much I love her latest, “Naked.” Vulnerability and relationships have never been my thing, but this song convinces me otherwise. It’s an invitation to be open and be real with whatever relationship you’re experiencing because in the end something great might come out of it.
Before you ask, yes she produced this herself, too. She does it all so add this to your playlist now!
Lo, seriously stoked and honored to be able to debut this for you. It’s great to catch up. Can you tell us about the story behind "Naked."
'Naked' is about that rare, magical, love where someone falls in love with your soul above anything and everything else. I think it's very rare in life to meet people who can see through all of the outer walls we build up, who can see every scar and story behind the facade we present to society, and who genuinely fall in love with person behind it all. I wanted to capture what that felt like for me when that happened in my current relationship- how innocent the falling process was because it was about emotional vulnerability first and foremost. How I would feel drunk when I was completely sober at two in the afternoon because it was all so enchanting, how we would stay up laughing so hard we cried at two in the morning on a hardwood floor in the corner of my kitchen, and just how magical finding that was. I think we live in a society that places so so much emphasis on the physical aspect of relationships, so for me it was especially fun for me to take a risqué sounding title like 'Naked', and purposefully focus solely on the emotional aspects of love.
Continued to be blown away by you producing and writing your own songs. How do you keep up with the inspiration?
Thank you so much! Honestly, the inspiration is easy to find for me because the vision I have for my artistic future is huge---and I know I'm only just getting started on getting there. I have a burning desire to to achieve the goals that I've set for myself, and writing songs/producing isn't something I make myself do- it's something I HAVE to do. It's such an extension of who I am. I have so many songs yet to write, tracks to produce, stories to tell, and shows to play between now and where I want to be- and that keeps me focused and at it every day!
What was the process behind creating this song?
I actually wrote the original version 'Naked' alone in my apartment in Nashville, and then brought it into a writing session because I knew the strengths of my co-writers would enhance what I had started- and they certainly did just that. When I left the session, I knew we had something very special & I'm so grateful for the amazing minds that worked on this song (Isaac Valens, Victoria Zaro, and Stephen Schmuldt).
From there, I hit up my longtime friend & collaborator, Paige Blue, who is an amazing producer/writer who is based in Nashville. I had this wild idea- what if we created the next Lo single, together? Side story--Paige was one of the first people in Nashville to believe in my artist project, and through the process of learning to produce, finding our deals, and all that comes in between, she was my sister through it all. I thought it would be extremely special to bring her in on this for that reason, in addition to her production being so fresh and incredible.Together we sat down in her studio and began crafting the track together- complete with handcrafted synths, drum layers on drum layers, frequent ice cream breaks, and dance sessions to each section as we completed it. It was such a fun, collaborative & empowering process to work with her on this song, and I'm very proud that from start to finish, 'Naked' was completely female engineered! There's not a lot of women currently stepping into that role in the music industry, so I'm really excited to use this release as a chance to highlight those of us that are!
Would you like to add anything else? 🙂
Rumor has it that there will be both a dance video and stripped acoustic video of 'Naked' to follow soon.. so keep your eyes & ears out for that! And to all the female producers out there, keep hustling!
