A change of scenery and a couple of people waiting out west led Emmy Lux to Los Angeles, and she’s been making the most of the move ever since. With a new EP out in February, she’s been working around the clock to push her made-for-good-time pop all while cranking the wheels in her head to make even more. We talked about the move, the music, and the next phase of her life in this back and forth exchange.

Kendra: Being from Virginia, what drew you to Los Angeles over New York City?

Emmy Lux: I’ve always loved NYC and have a lot of family in that area so I considered making the move there, but ultimately I just wanted something different and to go somewhere that felt newer to me.

I originally moved out here to pursue acting but found I was having so much more fun in the studio and playing live shows than I ever was at my auditions. I love the music scene here…I feel like everywhere I go, I meet someone who makes music. Also, my girlfriend and my closest collaborator (Alex Lubeck) were located in LA, so that played a small factor in my decision. Pre-covid, Alex and his house (called Old Folks Home) were throwing shows at their place all the time, and I feel really lucky I got to make my Emmy Lux debut there.

Kendra: You’ve dipped your toes in a lot of creative avenues over the years from rapping to acting when you were younger. You were even part of a punk band. What are some lessons from those past experiences that you’ve held close as you continue to progress in this new chapter?

Emmy Lux: Growing up as an actor, I was the “talent” as opposed to the “creator” so that was a huge shift for me. Everybody was always like, “I could never be on stage or in front of a camera I don’t know how you do it blah blah blah,” but I hardly ever got nervous when acting because I was always saying somebody else’s words. It wasn’t until I joined a band and started writing my lyrics that I started to feel that fear and vulnerability that comes along with being an artist. But I learned to just keep writing and keep cranking out songs despite the fear.

During really turbulent times in my life, documenting my experiences through music was what grounded me. I also can’t lie, I use my acting training all the time in the studio and at live shows. I know how to control my voice, how to work in a crowd, little things like that. I like to think my live shows are just as essential, if not MORE essential, to my act as my recordings are.

Kendra: Your debut EP, ‘Part One (Hundred Thousand Million!),’ dropped at the end of February. Do you already have ideas swirling for a potential ‘Part Two?’

Emmy Lux: So originally the plan was to drop a ‘Part Two’ but now I’m not so sure. I struggle with dropping complete projects sometimes because I feel like my sound evolves faster than I can release music. I had a bunch of tracks lined up for ‘Part Two’ that I just don’t love as much as I did a few months ago. Perfectionist issues…I’m currently working on three singles that may end up being part of a project later down the line but for now, I’m just gonna drop them back to back to back. My favorite track I have in the works is an absolute banger called “I Love Money.”

Kendra: One of the songs on there, “The Pool,” is a song you wrote last year before all the insanity settled in so you spent the next 365 days or so really perfecting it. What do you think that extra time allowed you to put into that track?

Emmy Lux: Haha “The Pool” was so frustrating because I recorded a very rough demo with Alex a couple of days before the stay-at-home order. I didn’t have any mic or interface where I was quarantined, so all I could do was practice the singing (I started taking virtual voice lessons over lockdown) and obsess over the lyrics in a way I don’t usually get to do. It was cool though, I can say for the first time that I wouldn’t have changed a single word in that track. I also thought a lot about the story I was telling and how I wanted to deliver that through my voice. Alex got to work a lot more on the production and mixing as well! In the end, we were both so happy with the track that I think all the waiting was worth it.

Kendra: You’re not shy about your love of shiny things and making a good living. It reminded me of the bling-bling, Juicy Couture, That’s Hot ways of the early ‘00s. Is that an era of pop culture and music you draw inspiration from at all?

Emmy Lux: Wow, literally yes, I’m so glad you picked that up! I always joke that I got the idea for Emmy Lux from this Facebook group I’m in that is dedicated to post-y2k fashion called McBling. What I love about this moment in fashion history is how at a time when America was looking pretty bleak (impact of 9/11, dot com bubble burst, 2008 financial crisis), people were dressing like they were ready to PARTY! Ed Hardy, Juicy Couture, designer ripped jeans, pink hummers, bedazzled electronics, trucker hats, oversized sunglasses…I could go on forever. But yes that era was a huge inspiration for me. Extravagance to the point of absurdity is what I’m all about.

Kendra: It’s getting a little easier with the vaccine rollouts, but it’s still kind of hard to have a definite answer when it comes to plans given the current state of everything, but as far as what you can control when it comes to your career and creativity – what do you have planned in the coming months for yourself?

Emmy Lux: Definitely to release the three songs I talked about earlier, and to work with other artists more! I also plan on getting some more music videos going. I want at least one to be more of a short film, with a narrative that is out of the world. Lastly, LUXURY MERCH!!!