Our first taste of the Glaswegian band LUCIA was ‘Melted Ice Cream’, a bittersweet tale of short-lived friendship reverberated through the band's gritty slacker-pop style. Since then, the Scottish four-piece have released their sophomore EP, titled Cheap Talk. Backed by this fresh scoop of sound, the band have toured the UK with We Are Scientists and Estrons, and were nominated for Best Rock/Alternative Band at this year's Scottish Alternative Music Awards.

According to legend, all of this recent success can be traced back to Lucia Fontaine, the band's enigmatic founder, busking on the streets of Glasgow. We've been given the opportunity to chat with LUCIA about these humble beginnings, the latest EP, playing live and what's to come in 2019.

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TMR: Hey LUCIA, how are you? What have you been up to recently?

Good thanks. Touring in the UK, releasing our EP and making a chick flick.

TMR: Back when we shared your single ‘Melted Ice Cream’, we heard that the band started out busking on the streets of Glasgow. Is this accurate or are the origins of LUCIA a little more nuanced than that?

Not as the band, I used to busk on my own in Glasgow. At this point all the boys were in other bands and probably didn’t know each other! When ‘LUCIA’ became a band, we all met through the Glasgow scene, at shows and parties etc.

TMR: Speaking of Glasgow streets, how much has your home city influenced your music?

A lot. Before we had started touring I spent a lot of time just in Glasgow. I was brought up in the countryside but desperately wanted to be in the city. I moved into Glasgow when I was around 16/17 which is when I started to heavily write music, and was also at the stage in my life where everything seemed to be changing. The people of Glasgow inspire me too.

TMR: We’ve just been treated to your Cheap Talk EP, is there a particular song in there that’s your favourite? And we know that they’re all your children, but c’mon everyone has a favourite kid.

‘What Am I’ is probably the song from the EP that means the most to me. It’s the oldest song off the EP and has always been my favourite one to play live. It’s the one I find easiest to put all my emotions into because I remember exactly how I felt when I wrote it.

TMR: Looking at the numbers, a fan favourite is undoubtedly ‘Summertime’, which nostalgically transports the listener back to crushin’ hard teen summers. Why do you think this one has received such love from listeners?

I’m not sure, I think maybe because it’s meant to sound like a very classic Summer song. It’s also the first song we had released since ‘Melted Ice Cream’ which came out in January.



TMR: In contrast to the bubbling ‘60s vibes and adolescent dreams of ‘Summertime’, ‘What Am I’ is much bolder, ferocious and confrontational. As though that teenager grew up and is now saying “I’m not taking shit anymore.” What’s your take on that track?

I wrote it when I was a bit younger, and I’d been getting messed about. I took it for quite some time as I was naive and didn’t really know how to go about the situation as I hadn’t experienced it before. I eventually realised that it wasn’t cool I was letting someone control me, and it was making something I didn’t like, so it’s like I am asking someone else “what am I?”, but also myself.

TMR: You’ve played your fair share on shows this year too, has there been a real gig highlight that you’d like to share with us?

I think that my favourite festival was All Points East. Patti Smith and Nick Cave on the one line up, that’s pretty hard to top.

TMR: If you could play anywhere in the world, where would that be?

New York.

TMR: Unbelievably, we’re almost at the end of the year, do you have any plans before the New Year?

This year was unreal, but I think with what we have planned next year everything is really going to step up.

TMR: What does 2019 hold in store for LUCIA?

We have some really special things lined up. All will be revealed soon.



-Hannah Thacker