Vive La Rose, aka David Luximon-Herbert is back with his new album For She Who Hangs The Moon this coming October, released via Gestation Records. Ahead of the record's release, we got the chance to catch up with the artist and find out a little bit more about his ambitions, inspirations and more.
Vive La Rose drops new album 'For She Who Hangs The Moon' this October
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
I have a genuine fear of this question because I never know how to answer it – how others describe it is never quite how I hear it in my head, and it does vary from song to song, particularly on this record. Somebody (my wife) once described it as soft rock and I nearly had a stroke. Today, I shall coin the phrase “Astral folk-pop”...
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
The major challenge is simply people either not giving a s*** or not being into what you do – and that really isn’t meant to sound bitter or negative. It’s like any artform or creative output, it comes with a hefty amount of rejection, be it acting or writing or whatever. Not everyone is going to like what you do and you’re going to have to take your lumps along the way. The trick is not to let that dissuade you from the path you’re trying to walk. If you approach your work honestly, if you keep pushing, hopefully people will find what you do. It may not be the audience you were expecting, but that can be a good thing, as it might re-frame your own views on what it is you do.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
It’s probably not been helped by the fact I’ve changed my name twice... It’s difficult to quantify. I have friends who are musicians, some of whom who have grafted and grafted to carve out their careers, and others that have caught the right person's eye at the right time, and that has lifted them up and given them a certain platform. There’s no more value in one or the other. If this is what gets you up in the morning, keep doing it until your organs fail, or you run out of money. Whichever comes first. How I'm viewed or how well known I am has become increasingly less important to me the older I've become. Sustainability and longevity is a better barometer for success.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
I don’t really know how else to work. I am hugely open to collaboration and others creative input; however, I generally have a very clear idea of what it is that I’m aiming for before we hit record. From a management/label perspective, I’m also a team of one – so by necessity, in addition to the music itself, I’m creating the artwork and editing the videos etc (for better or worse), so at this point I have full autonomy on how I’m presented. It also means if it’s rubbish or I look like an idiot, I’ve got no-one else to blame.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
All sorts really – most of my songwriting is from quite a personal perspective, about the different roles I may occupy within relationships, familial or romantic or whatever, and those experiences, but set against a backdrop of the wider world. Family and the meaning of home is incredibly important to me, so I tend to draw on that a lot. I’m not an overtly political writer, but clearly the big issues of the day inform our behaviours and outlooks, so I try to reflect that in some way, without sounding disenfranchised or overly negative. There’s an element of hopefulness to all of these tracks.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
I’ve got a real thing for Young Fathers at the moment. It may not sound like the obvious choice listening to some of my music, but there’s something incredibly engaging and immediate about what they do, the approach they take to presenting the subject matter of the songs, the delivery and the depth of the sound that they create.
Saying that, I can't wait to record with the people that I play with at the moment. Antonin Vanneyre (guitar) MIRI (vocals) and Max Harris Project (everything else) really came on board once the record was finished, and they're all incredible musicians. I'm looking to forward to working on the next record and trying to capture that as live as possible.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
I was once hired as an actor for a film, which was allegedly shut down by the FBI.
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
Simply to be allowed to do this until wiser heads tell me to stop. I am fortunate enough to be in a position now where I can afford to make the records that I want to make and self-release them if necessary. Anything else that happens as a result of this I will take as a bonus and simply enjoy it. I feel very lucky to get to do this in the first place, and my main aim now is to continue to progress and challenge myself as a songwriter. A few record sales and some more radio play would be nice as well though.
Where do you hope to be this time next year?
This time next year I hope to be spending my time changing nappies and watching copious amounts of In The Night Garden...
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
We’ve got the album coming out on October 12, which has been a long time coming and which I can’t wait to get out. We’ll be playing a few dates in support; London (Green Note 18 October) and Edinburgh (Cabaret Voltaire 21 October). Following that, I have an EP recorded and ready to go out some time next year and hopefully some festival dates. I’ve just started work on the next album for 2020 as well, so there’s enough to keep me busy...