Growing up in Ottawa, Lubalin was influenced by the Canadian music scene. With the likes of Joni Mitchell, Les Trois Accords and Nelly Furtado on repeat. Lubalin first garnered public attention in 2020 with his innovative TikTok series “Internet Drama”. The series involved taking a random online comment, often a complaint, then transforming it into a catchy and dramatised song. This showcased both Lublin’s humour and his high-quality music production, which introduced people to his music. This online presence landed Lubalin the opportunity to feature on both the Jimmy Fallon and Kelly Clarkson show, providing him with reassurance in his musicality.
Lubalin assisted Charlotte Cardin on her album 99 Nights, which earlier this year won Album of the Year at the JUNO awards. Lubalin was also nominated for Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. As if reaching these impressive milestones wasn’t enough, Lubalin continued to amaze us this year with his phenomenal album haha, no worries.
Throughout his latest album haha, no worries, Lubalin has pushed the boundaries between genres, fostering a distinctive sound that combines nostalgic 2000s soft pop with soulful and indie elements. For this album, Lubalin shifted his conventional creative process, and prioritised crafting a powerful song before enhancing it with layered productions. This was successful and a catalyst in making the album more meaningful. The album title haha, no worries was created by Lubalin’s partner and can highlight both the casual use of the phrase, and the deeper meaning attached to it, implying a sense of isolation. It also reflects Lubalin’s journey of self-discovery, where he has found the importance of not being overly critical or a ‘hater’ of himself or other matters. This is extremely relatable, especially at a time when social media makes it even more accessible for people to hide and send hate behind a phone screen without any repercussions.
1883 chats to Canadian singer-songwriter Lubalin to explore his recent music, his viral TikTok series, and his guest appearances on both the Jimmy Fallon and Kelly Clarkson show.
You were born in Ottawa, Canada then moved to Montreal 13 years ago. Were there any specific aspects of Canada’s culture or music scene that have had a lasting impression on your musical style? Honestly there’s so much great Canadian music I loved growing up. Joni Mitchell, Les Trois Accords… Nelly Furtado’s “I’m Like A Bird” was our anthem growing up. Actually, you know who doesn’t get talked about enough is Prozzak. Go listen to “Suck To Be You” and tell me that’s not a classic. Feist, Chilly Gonzales, there was so much good stuff growing up I feel like we could easily spend a day or more just digging up all the stuff that influenced or inspired me from the Canadian scene. Tal Bachman’s “She’s So High” if we wanna touch on that 2000s soft pop thing… Sam Roberts, Half Moon Run… I gotta stop, you got me on a roll now hahaha.
This album represents a significant journey of self-reflection. What practices or mindset shifts have helped you become the best version of yourself? Additionally, do you have any advice for people struggling with theirconfidence or self-doubt?
Honestly, there are so many, but as an artist, one of the paradigm shifts I had to learn was to stop being such a hater. When I was growing up, everyone judged, loved to criticise, and came up with all the reasons why something wasn’t good or wouldn’t work. I think partly because it felt like there wasn’t enough room for everyone, especially in music. It felt like a zero-sum game, and we needed to rationalize why we were different, and special.
But really all that does is make it impossible to grow, because to grow you have to make mistakes, and to make mistakes would make you a hypocrite.
The critical mindset is a super valuable tool in creation – but you need to tune it and use it in your favor. I think it’s far more powerful when you use it to find what you like, rather than just to dunk on what you don’t like, if that makes sense.(as fun as that can sometimes be…)
So I built a habit over the years – everytime I hate on something, or criticize it, I force myself to find at least one thing I truly appreciate about it. This has helped break the pattern and made me feel a lot more comfortable taking creative risks. If you’re not doing things that don’t work sometimes, you’re not really doing anything.
I love the simplicity and casualness associated with your latest album title haha, no worries. Could you tell us what inspired this iconic title and what message do you want listeners to take away from the album?
Actually it’s my partner, hotgluegone, who came up with it. She’s kinda the goat for naming things. To me it’s just a perfect reflection of the times we live in. It’s got this duality, the surface layer is so simple and casual, but the iceberg underneath goes deep. And I feel like everyone’s been there.
It can mean a lot of things. I’m very conflict-averse. I also hold some people on a pedestal. I’m also very aware of how intense my emotions can be, and I try to shield people from that a bit. And I don’t necessarily think that’s always a bad thing, to be honest, but it can lead to situations where nobody knows how you really feel. It can contribute to that disconnect, or feeling of being disconnected, which I feel is a big theme on the album for me.
With your support on Charlotte Cardin’s album 99 Nights, it won Album of the Year at the JUNO Awards. You were also nominated for Producer of the Year and Songwriter of the Year. How did these accomplishments impact the making of your album haha, no worries?
Yeah honestly that still doesn’t feel real to me, to have contributed so much to an “album of the year”. That’s nuts. By the time we won, my rollout was already underway, but I think it definitely helped legitimize it a bit, you know? It was very validating, anyway.
And actually the timing was great, cause we had just had this super-oversized suit made for my rollout, and it was a hit at the gala. Shoutout to Remi Van Bochove and JB Proulx for that incredible piece. I couldn’t walk 10 feet without someone else complimenting it.
You note that both Charlotte Cardin and Jason Brando inspired you to focus on creating a strong song before adding a layered production. How has this shift in your typical creative process impacted your storytelling through music?
Yeah I mean I think storytelling has always been a big thing for me. I bring up the hero’s journey so often it’s become a bit of an inside joke at this point.
But they showed me how to really make use of that. How to package it, if you will. It sounds dry and maybe “anti-art”,but I think sometimes having the discipline to find structure and coherence, when done right, can actually be a process of bringing out the beauty in something.
Maybe structure is about context. A great line is a great line, but a great line deserves to be in the right place, you know? There’s that Virgil Abloh clip about, you can spend a lot of time designing the candle, or you can design the room it sits in. I think it’s that discipline of like, ok you’ve got a great candle that you love, now design it a room worthy of how great you think it is.
During the creation of haha, no worries you encountered moments where you had to rewrite lyrics, move around parts and completely scratch multiple songs. At what point do you know when a song is truly finished and what guides your decision to revisit aspects of a song like the lyrics or the production? Is there a point where it’s best to leave it as it is?
That’s a tough question, to be quite honest. Some songs it’s like, whatever happened on day one, that’s the heart, and it’s so good, so many things aligned, that your job after that is just to protect that magic while you bring it to the finish line.
The tough ones are the ones where there are things you love, things you know are great, but you can’t quite figure out how they fit. Something isn’t gelling. And then you gotta work it, turn stone after stone, you gotta be a detective. It helps sometimes even to just stop and think. I like to journal about it. It helps me slow down my thoughts and focus.
Sometimes the record will tell you what it wants, other times you gotta solve it like a mystery. Maybe the record wants you to work for it. I do always feel like when I crack a tough one, I end up growing, and evolving in the process.
Maybe some records exist for their own sake, and some exist to help you evolve. I dunno I’m just thinking out loud. And then sometimes you lose. Sometimes you just run out of steam before you figure it out, and you just gotta take that L. You can camp on it for a few months, or see if someone else can figure it out, or, just let it go.
Your released single “dog” utilises contrasting elements such as your soft and almost sad voice, paired with an upbeat instrumental. This interesting dynamic blends together successfully and creates a unique sound. What impacts your decision between writing an upbeat or a slower song? Does the story that you are telling play a part in it?
Yeah, I think for me doing that with “dog” is sorta the best representation there is in the album of “haha, no worries”, because yes, “dog” is really a big sad piano ballad under all the upbeat drums and colourful production elements. But I’ve always loved trying to make you feel two contrasting things at once. I wanna light up two parts of your brain that don’t usually light up at the same time. I love that feeling.
And I think there’s a strange catharsis in that juxtaposition. Kind of an acceptance of it that I think maybe is what life is supposed to be?
But doing that with “dog” was also a long shot. It was one of those, I don’t really know that this would ever work, and that’s what’s interesting about it. And it was a real fight to make it work. And then right at the end there were one or two little moves that sorta unlocked the rest of the puzzle, and then it started flowing, finally, and it became clear what I needed to do. It was quite the journey, that one.
Since your TikTok parodies “Internet Drama” went viral in 2020, you have bridged the gap between your humorous internet presence and your high-quality music production. Did you encounter any challenges during your transition from being known primarily for comedy content to establishing yourself as a musician?
The Internet Dramas brought me an audience I just didn’t have before, and I’m super grateful for that. And I think on some level what I did there is what I’m always doing. Bringing out the beauty in the mundane, making you feel two or more things you don’t usually feel simultaneously, and just remembering that people are people. We’ve all been on both sides of those conversations in some shape or form.
Of course I don’t expect everyone who loves those to love the music I make, but a lot of people do.
Now it’s just about where do we go from here? And that’s something we’re figuring out, one step at a time. For me it’s all about exploration and learning. I’m always looking for something new to try.
Probably the biggest challenge is when you go from making content that exists for its own sake, to making content where you’re trying to get the user to do something. Trying to get people to leave a social media platform is like swimming against the current. The users don’t wanna do it, and the platforms don’t want the users to do it. So you need to have different expectations vs something like internet drama which is more surfing the wave than fighting the current. And it was quite the wave we were surfing.
This soaring TikTok virality landed you an opportunity on both The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon and The Kelly Clarkson Show. How did this moment propel and influence the direction you took your music, engage with your audience or inspire new projects?
I guess it made me trust myself a little more. In the melodies but also in the content we create around the music. To be honest at this point it’s been long enough I’m not sure I could tell you what it did or didn’t influence, you know? Surely it influenced everything, on some level.
I guess what started as this idea of like, hey maybe I can get a few more people to listen to my music by making this,when it became the hit that it was, well it became the center of my career for a second there. And it’s still how a lot of people see me, right. It was my identity for a while. So inevitably, we see ourselves in the way the world reflects us backto ourselves.
It took some time to sort of back up and think, hang on, what is it I’m really trying to do?
Your single “bullet time” represents the idea of breaking away from a matrix-like society, with your lyric video directly referencing the 1999 film, The Matrix, through the recreation of Neo’s room. What do you do in your day-to-day life to combat the feeling of being in a real-life simulation?
Every now and then I just have to do something weird. I have to break the pattern. Sit for an hour and listen to bagpipe music and cry. (that sounds like a joke but I’m serious, go surrender yourself to Brighde Chaimbeul’s “Carry Them with Us” and you’ll understand what I mean)
Also, I never could quite live a “normal” life. I tried, tried hard, but my body fights it. I don’t think it’s a virtue or anything either. I’d probably be better off letting go of some things… but I’m all the way in now. I just gotta ride the ride, I think.
The single “bullet time” has a lot of drum & bass inspiration. What is it about the 2000s music scene that resonates and influences your creative process?
Yeah I mean the 2000s soft pop thing sort of emerged on its own. I guess it was just the music that I heard growing up. That stuff is always somewhere in your mind, just hanging out. There’s something there, the Vanessa Carleton, Sixpence None The Richer, it’s cheesy but it hits. It hits so good. I’ve been really into things that are almost cheesy but still hit. Onthe edge of cringe. That’s where I wanna live. Maybe because it’s vulnerable. It’s not protected by layers of coolness and self-aware irony and whatever else.
And as for the drum and bass thing, I think for me it’s really that sense of motion. That tempo just speaks to me. I reallyenjoyed exploring that world, experimenting with its elements and finding ways of telling my story through it.
In three words how would you describe your new album haha, no worries?
”I would not”
sorry couldn’t help myself lol ok let me try for real:
“Who am I?””
“questions without answers”
“never quite enough “”
Eh yeah I dunno, something like that. I was never good at being concise, sorry!
haha, no worries is out now
Interview Issy Dimauro
Photography Top Image Aime-Elle
