Ari Leff is no stranger to battles of the heart. For the singer-songwriter known as Lauv, love is akin to kryptonite, but he’s fully capable of finding inspiration from both the good and bad experiences that come attached because he’s such a hopeful romantic. Today, Lauv has released another piece of his ongoing I met you when I was 18 playlist project in the form of a fire new single called “Chasing Fire.” The slow-building, bouncy banger captures the painful experience of trying to preserve the passion from a fading romance that has ultimately run its course.
TRL recently caught up with the 23-year-old while he was casually chilling in Paris for a few days during his sold-out I met you when I was 18 world tour. Lauv opened up about the origins of the track (which you can stream below) and everything else going on in his life.
TRL: What’s the story behind “Chasing Fire”?
Lauv: I would say it’s one of the most tragic songs on the playlist. I wrote it about when you get to that stage in a relationship when deep down you know that it’s over and that there’s going to be an expiration date, but you’re trying to pretend that’s not the case. It’s a desperation song; I’m trying to save something that is already over. I originally wrote it two years ago with some friends of mine called Friendship and it was sitting around. It didn’t come together or feel quite right, it wasn’t the right time. I was in the middle of this U.S. and Canada leg of the tour and the production came together super out of nowhere, I cut the vocals in a hotel in Toronto, and now it’s coming out! I’m stoked.
While I was doing my research, I found out that you’re a Leo, which is a fire sign. It had me wondering if naming the song “Chasing Fire” was intentional.
I actually didn’t even know that I was a fire sign, so thanks! [laughs]
Which is harder for you to write, love songs or breakup ballads?
I would say the sad stuff, music that I describe that is beautifully tragic, that comes more naturally to me.
What are your typical remedies to recover from heartbreak?
I feel like you try everything—you try drinking, eating, going out, meeting new people, doing new things. I’ve definitely learned the gamut of trying all of that stuff, but I’ve kind of realized that for me what’s been the most setting thing is to really accept [it]. I don’t know if you really ever get over somebody that you cared about deeply, and you kind of have to accept that they’re always going to be there as a part of your life and let that be.
What is your connection to the color blue and why is it so involved with your music?
So the beginning of it happened in an interesting way where I just finished up “Like Me Better” and I was listening to the final version and I just kind of saw the color blue in my head. I was doing research online and I stumbled upon the meaning for the blue rose in literature and classically it represented unrequited love and I was like “Yo, that’s super dope. That’s super my vibe.” Life, especially when paired with something like love that can be so surface level cliche, corny and boring, but for me blue represents the complexities of it and the realities, the micro-truths, the complicated times and all of that stuff. I just love the whole pairing of it.
TRL is in the middle of a March Madness snack bracket right now—obviously including chicken nuggets—so I wanted to ask about your tender obsession. We’re always having a debate in the office about how to categorize tenders, fingers and nuggets…
I think it’s so funny when I started posting about that. As a kid growing up, it’s the classic thing when you’re a picky eater—-you know a kid’s going to like chicken tenders. Growing up, I was one of those kids that was afraid to let my foods touch each other. With chicken tenders, there’s always that safety. Ever since I started posting about tenders people try to tell me like “Wait, is it nuggets, tenders or fingers?” I’m just like “ALL of the food.” For me, it’s not even particular that it’s only about tenders. I’ve come to realize that I love food in general. I made a song about ramen noodles with one of my friends when we were in middle school, it was super lit.
You should just make an album called Snacks For Snacks or something.
Yeah, I could go on for days! [laughs]
What are some of your top favorite snacks around the world?
Oooooh OK. Tim Tams, have you had those before? They’re from Australia, but the first time I had them I was in New Zealand. They do this thing called a Tim Tam Slam, you have to search it up to really visualize it, and some people use tea, hot chocolate or coffee, but you use it as a straw and it soaks the whole cookie and then it dissolves and melts in your mouth. It’s incredible, it’s f*cking delicious. Those are a newfound obsession. Sour Patch Kids, sour candy in general… Chilaquiles are one of my favorite Mexican dishes. Obviously, chicken tenders. I’m going to also include margaritas because that can be a snack. Oh my god, I’m making myself hungry! Papaya salad, I fell in love with that when I was in Thailand.
What else is going on? You were recently on tour with Ed Sheeran, what was that experience like?
That was a crazy tour. That was one of those things where there are moments in my life like every time somebody brings that tour up I’m just like “Holy shit, that actually happened.” The crazy thing about that tour was that I found out about it when I was taking a run one morning in LA where I live. It was seven in the morning and I was sweating my ass off and then I get a call from my manager asking if I would be interested in touring with Ed Sheeran in Asia. It was the most unexpected thing ever, so that was dope. It was my first time playing in arenas and with Ed so all of that at the same time was an overwhelming and incredible experience.
Aside from that, I’m just going to be finishing up the European portion of the I met you when I was 18 tour which is my first world tour ever. It’s been pretty much all sold out and doing incredible. I’m finishing working on music on the road and then going back to LA to do more writing, playing some festivals this summer and announcing more shows. It’s been fun!
If you want even more Lauv in your life, you can revisit his special guest appearance on TRL!
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