ALESSANDRA SCHADE —Tell me about your most recent song, “Scooter.” I love how playful it is, and yet biting at the same time.
LOLO ZOUAÏ — “Scooter” is one of the first songs I’ve put out with a different producer, Nömak, who I met in France. I was in France during the lockdown and it’s super strict, so there wasn’t really much to do other than ride around on an electric scooter. The subway system was a mess and nobody could get around. So, I rode this scooter to the studio. Nömak, who’s worked with Charli XCX, does a lot of futuristic music. And he was just like, ‘Why don’t we make something with your voice?’ The beat started out with me just like, making noises on a mic. And so [my voice] is pretty much everything you hear other than the bass. Then at the end my voice gets distorted—his specialty. It just came out really cool. And then the flow, I was like, ‘Let me do a full rap song with no melodies.’ I wasn’t thinking anything of it really, I was just having fun. I wasn’t thinking like, ‘This is going to be my new sound’—it was just like, ‘This is one song I want to make.’
AS — The “Scooter” music video is epic. I feel like it taps into everyone’s fantasy alter- ego of being in the public sphere and just really owning your body and space. Speaking of music videos, congratulations on your nomination for best international pop video at the UK MVA’s for your song “Galipette!”
LZ — Thank you!
AS — When you wrote that song, and during the recording process, did you have a vision for the music video, or did that come later?
LZ — It came later. I knew I wanted to show a few different sides of myself. The video shows those different versions of myself—there’s, like, the French bombshell. There’s the badass, which is the verses, and that’s the athletic me, you know, boxing underwater. There’s the play - ful one, the young girl, and you see that in the gym with the gymnast. And then there’s like the evil mastermind with all these men that I ended up like, tricking to be on my side. I think the video really represents all the characters that I’m bringing into my new music.
AS — Yes, we love a new chapter. You’re about to go on tour with Dua Lipa... How are you feel - ing? Is there one aspect of the tour that you’re most excited about?
LZ — I’m really excited to set up my visual for the stage and start something new. I feel like it’s not a rebrand, but something fresh. I haven’t toured since 2019. In 2019, I did all my visuals myself, and I think it’s just time to grow and expand my team. I’m so grateful to be able to play in front of her audience—she has such great fans, loyal and really sweet—and I think they’re going to connect to my music, as well. I think that’s why she brought me on, because she knew they would. And then there’s also Caroline Polachek, who’s so sick. It’s just this badass trio of women on stage. And people are waiting so hard to see this—it’s been so long! She announced [the tour] in 2020. So, two years later... Everyone is just going to be so happy.