lucky break’s Debut Album Is a Coming-of-Age Mixtape
A Conversation On Bedrooms, Tumblr, and Other Inspirations Behind The World of ‘made it’
by calli ferguson
photo by Addie Briggs
“I'm always trying to figure out how to return to myself… I try to make decisions that are aligned with who I am. And sometimes that's really scary.” - lucky break
From hand-drawn illustrations to pink vinyl and music with the right amount of rock edge and emotional lyricism, lucky break’s debut album, made it, feels like something to jam out to in your bedroom. Released on May 8 after a string of singles— including “Crush,” “Head Down,” and the double release “City Lights” / “Camp Song” — the project gathers five years of songwriting into what the artist describes as a “mixtape” of songs that speak to the scary choice to trust yourself in a chaotic world full of choices. As she builds a musical universe around the doodled character “lucky break”, the artist takes inspiration from the act of building out a safe space of one's own– both in physical and internet spaces. And like those little havens, what came out of it was a coming-of-age project set to 90’s-inspired pop rock music where all the emotions and creative outlets are safe to be expressed.
On the brink of releasing made it, the artist spoke to me about the process and inspirations behind her debut, the act of returning to self, and creative worldbuilding inspired by girlhood bedrooms and Tumblr blogs…
warmly: You're putting out your debut album, made it, May 8… So exciting! How has the rollout been so far? How are you feeling about putting it out into the world?
lucky break: It's been great. Today was a crazy day because I officially submitted the last video that's going to be on the album, and all the materials are done now. It's a surreal feeling because this record has been like a product of the last five years of my life. It feels like closing a chapter in a really beautiful way.
It's funny – I have two little sisters, one of whom is graduating from college next month, and I started writing this record when I was her age. She just called me [saying], I don't know what to do! I'm freaking out! And I was like, Dude, I am just out of that tunnel.
It’s weird. It's one of those days where it feels like everything shifted in a day.
How full circle! So you said it's a product of the last five years. Have you been working on this album that whole time?
I started writing these songs when I was 19, and finished writing them when I was 23. So there are versions of myself along the record. And then all of the videos, working to get it out with Fire, and rolling out singles… that [took] another two years. So, from the beginning to now, it's been about five years.
And what was your process? Were you writing songs to write songs, or did you know you wanted to make a bigger project?
I feel like this album is like a mixtape in a fun way. I really did just find a collection of songs that I've written over time that I wanted to put together. I didn't necessarily conceptualize it when I first started, but it worked out. It's cool to have a little snapshot of time.
Debuts can often happen that way– I like the word mixtape– but in your case, it really does feel like an album, too. There's a lot of emotional richness in it, but it's also very cozy and nostalgic. What was on your mind when you were writing these songs, and how have you found they’re thematically tied together?
The way I feel about it is, in your early 20s (I guess, actually, all the time in life), there are all these things pulling you in different directions. You have relationships, friendships, jobs, and all these outside influences. For me, I'm always trying to figure out how to return to myself and really listen to what my gut is saying. I try to make decisions that are aligned with who I am. And sometimes that's really scary.
Early adulthood is kind of when you're first doing that. People aren't making decisions for you anymore. So that's a really major theme: figuring out how to listen to that voice inside, so that you can go out and live your life in a way that feels true to you, even if it's a little scary or strange.
That's beautiful. So much comes at you from so many angles in your young adulthood. It can feel very noisy, and music and writing are great places to go inward. What were you listening to in the years you wrote ‘made it’? Anything make its way into the album?
Definitely. I started getting really into 90s alternative because I was obsessively listening to this podcast called Bandsplain. So a lot of Pavement, I was listening to a lot of Liz Phair, copious amounts of Elliot Smith. I love Rufus Wainwright and early 2000s singer-songwriters like Amy Mann,Fiona Apple– those are all really influential. The Magnetic Fields, too.
It was a really cool time of music discovery for me. I was living in Spain at the time and traveling a lot. So I spent a lot of time just sitting on a bus, or train, or plane, and listening to albums.
I love travel for the sense of boredom. People are always saying they have their ideas on a plane. I swear it's like you're engaging with stuff deeper because you have to.
Yes! Liminal spaces, like when you're sitting at a bus stop forever… It's very weird. And you feel deeper, too, because you're alone. It’s these moments where you're alone, you're in a hostel or something in a city where you don’t know anybody… It's just you and this album.
It’s a companion that way. And when I say your music sounds nostalgic to me, that's part of what it is: Especially as young people, there’s a sense of finding a companion in music.
Can you share a little more about your musical journey leading up to now? When did you start playing music and then writing songs?
Yeah! I grew up in a musical family. My mom's a singer-songwriter. I was born in New York, so when I was six or seven, I‘d go to bars and watch my mom play. I feel really lucky because I was just around singing. She's a vocal coach, too. On a random Thursday night, there'd be 20 people in our apartment living room singing. I just grew up around it.
I started writing songs in middle school. We moved from New York to California, and it was a really hard transition. So some of the first songs I ever wrote were just about the difficulties I was experiencing at school. It became a really therapeutic way for me to process life.
Your songwriting is so insightful. And your illustrations are so sweet too! I feel like they add to the music's intimacy. Can you speak to the process of world-building as an artist?
Most of the stuff that I've made for this album, and generally in my life, I've made on the floor in my bedroom. Having a space that’s completely yours is so essential to building a world.
Since I was little, I was always in my room. I shared a room with my sister till I was like 16, and it was completely ours. All our toys are in there. We watched Hannah Montana in there. Once I got my own room, it was all about creating my space: plastering the walls with stuff and having my little corner with crystals and my candles. I think because I had that insulated space where I could create my own safe, corner, I could bring things out into the world: Here are the drawings I made, and here are the songs that I wrote!
And then I'm also inspired by the internet. In a way, your algorithm is also sort of a reflection of your own little corner online. Specifically, Tumblr and Rookie Magazine were these spaces on the internet I felt really connected to when I was a kid. They still influence how I conceptualize what the lucky break world looks like.
My friends heavily influenced the visuals on this album. Like Margaret, who did a lot of the videos for this project, and Addie, who did a lot of the videos and photos, and also Elliot, too, his sonic ideas… bringing all of that in really made the world bigger in a way.
I am so intrigued by the idea that world-building starts with your own corners of the physical and digital world. There must be some parallel between the girlhood bedroom and a Tumblr blog. They both feel like such a coming-of-age and a practice of how you want your world to feel.
There’s definitely a sacredness to having your own– not to be Virginia Woolf— but like, A Room of One's Own! The world is really scary and big. And when you're a teenager… I had a sense at 13 that people were starting to look at me differently, because I was becoming a woman. So you need a place where you're safe, you can experiment, take creative risks, and all these things without having eyes on you.
And connecting with people on the internet, finding your people there… that's a really important phase to go through. I am really inspired by that and want to continue that culture.
It's so true: growing up as a girl, there’s a feeling- very early on- when you start noticing yourself being perceived. And it’s before you really know who you are or how you want to be seen. Having a safe space to develop that is crucial.
You said you’re including a zine with this album. I love a zine. What inspired you to do that?
Well, I started writing the zine, I love collaging, and I wanted to figure out how to get the visual component of the drawings in there. I also really wanted to solidify lucky break as a character. Actually, I just made a little website… If you go to luckybreak111.com, you can dress up your own little doll. So I love the idea of making a little world for her to exist in.
It added an artistic aspect to the album. I also think having a tactile way of connecting to the character and the music is really cool.
Where do you see ‘made it’ living in the world? How would you love for it to be listened to?
This album spans so many emotions, so I just hope that it provides people with what they need from it. “If People Could Fly” is a great song to just sing in your car when you're feeling really happy or falling in love. “Head Down” is really good if you need armor and to feel protected. “Crush” is really good if you need to scream something. I hope that it's a catharsis for people, and that they can access their emotions through it.
So you're coming to Night Club 101 in NYC on June 11… Are there other shows that you're doing? Are you touring on this?
Yeah, I'm going to be playing in LA on May 22, New York on June 11, and then I'm actually going to be doing a tour through the South for 10 days from July 10 through 20th. I'll be announcing that soon.
So fun. Are you excited?
I'm really excited. It's my first time really going on the road. It's cool because I feel a bit like I've been pregnant with the album, and now I get to share it with people. So I'm just really excited to get it out there.
How are you gonna celebrate? Do you have plans?
Oh, my God. It's funny, because my friends were like, “When is the release show?” I'm like, “Girl, I have too many shows coming up.” I don’t know, I feel really lucky because this whole thing has been a really joyful experience. It's a celebration in itself.
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