Last month Ruairi Richman aka Lemonade Shoelace was announced as the winner of Vans 2021 'Musicians Wanted' competition; a search for next-gen, undiscovered talent spanning continents and diverse musical styles.
Lemonade Shoelace's brand of sun-kissed psychedelia seemingly struck a chord with the judges who noted the synergy between Richman and his band, as well as the quirky idiosyncrasies in his vocal production.
Clash caught up with the musician who opened up about his formative years growing up on the coast of Northern Ireland, redefining his sound against the backdrop of the pandemic, playing the long game and what the Vans co-sign means for his future.
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Congratulations on winning the Vans 'Musicians Wanted' competition. It was a highly-contested global search and you prevailed! How does it feel?
Thank you very much! To even be chosen as one of the finalists is insane to me, but to come out of the competition as the winner is nuts. I've put in a lot of work these past two years and to see it pay off in such a way feels amazing. It probably won't really sink in properly until I'm on the flight to Mexico though, but as of now I'm just delighted to have this opportunity. It's been so surreal since I won, the local support has been insane and everyone's proud that a local dude came out as the winner!
What are some of the judges' comments that resonated most with you? Anything they referred to with regards to your sound and your performance that you really appreciated?
They were all saying a lot about the vocal effects which I was delighted about as I wasn't too sure about it beforehand! Yungblud called Pete the bass player cool which he was delighted about and Julia Michaels complimented my melodies which was I super happy about. She also gave me some advice about vocals and singing too high at certain parts which is constructive feedback I will take on board. All in all, they said they'd listen and vibe to my music which is amazing.
We live in an instant grat culture and there's a wealth of music competitions out there that promise instant infamy to musicians and not the kind of artist development you need for a long career. What's different about Vans 'Musicians Wanted' and the route you've taken?
Well with the Vans competition, they're taking artists and bands that are at a promising stage of their career and have had some time to develop their project, sound and artistry before going on the bigger stages. All the artists I've seen in the competition definitely have a unique style, and Vans have chosen a good mixture of genres and styles of music to broadcast.
I was actually part of a talent development scheme in The Oh Yeah Centre in Belfast last year, which gave me the unique opportunity to take on industry advice and apply it directly to my project. It's really important for an artist to develop and take time to understand their music as a whole before launching themselves into such a career, as more opportunities come to projects with a clear trajectory, image and sense of sound. My advice for anyone applying next year is to stay true to yourself and really think it through, but at the end of the day it's all about the music and the connections you build with the people listening to it.
You're from a small coastal town in Northern island. How does it feel to represent Newcastle on the global stage? And when you were younger what music were you surrounded by?
Growing up in Newcastle was the best! Living at the foot of the mountains and the shore of the sea is a great atmosphere for anyone to grow up in; you only have to see it in person and meet the lovely people there to understand it's magic. I really think it'll be a huge hotspot one day and it's been great to see it grow as a community. I was actually born in London and moved to Newcastle when I was quite young, but it's where my home and memories reside. It feels amazing to have this overwhelming support from the town.
As for the earlier musical influences, my parents used to play a wide range of music by artists such as Air, Moby and Portishead. I have great memories of the Ministry of Sound's 2003 Karma Collection compilation album too!
What's the meaning behind the moniker, 'Lemonade Shoelace'?
So the name was derived from a lyric I wrote a few years ago: "cigarette shoelace." I was thinking a lot about the word 'lemon', as I wanted to come across as fresh. Whilst flicking through my lyric book one day, I came across 'shoelace' again. I put the two together and there I had it: 'Lemonade Shoelace'. It really does capture the music, it doesn't make sense but has a trippy vibe to it which coincides with the feeling of the music I'm creating.
Define your sound and your artistic ethos?
You're eating a psychedelic sundae on a sunny afternoon, listening to Alan Watts talking about the illusion of money, time and ego above the sound of waves quietly crashing on the sea shore. You look at the clouds and suddenly notice that one is in the form of a UFO and think 'what on earth'…before taking your glasses off and getting hit in the face with a Frisbee.
And which artists are primary influences of yours now?
Tame Impala is an obvious choice for me. That swirly psychedelic sound definitely helped me approach music production the way I do. Temples and Pond are big influences as well, but also John Lennon and The Flaming Lips. These artists all make amazing music and inspire me in different ways, lyrically and sonically.
You're a graduate of the BIMM institute. What was that experience like, especially having to refine and redefine your craft during the pandemic?
I went into BIMM Dublin as a guitarist, but soon found out that playing the guitar wasn't my strong point. I never learnt scales before BIMM and I found the class quite daunting as everyone else was far more accomplished. I started teaching myself music production, making house and techno as well as trippy, left-field songs. The whole experience was amazing though, it's a great place to focus solely on music, whilst making friends and connections.
Over the course of the pandemic, I had even more time to focus on my music and came out of it with an album's worth of material. I actually only started singing properly on my songs during this time. Before Covid, I had very few songs with my vocals on it and it was usually quite mumbled and wasn't in song form. My song 'Autopilot Paradise' was the first tune I recorded over lockdown and it was actually part of an assignment for BIMM. It sent me further down the psychedelic trajectory that I'm still on today.
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You mention the psychedelic sound you explored on your song 'Autopilot Paradise'. What's the story behind the track?
So the song is about cheating on your partner, but not in a romantic sense. It's feeling as if you're cheating on them by spending time in solitude or your paradise essentially. It's a bit of a weird one where I wrote the song as I was producing and recording it, and I only realised it's meaning after it was finished.
I didn't want to take it too seriously and I wanted to just make something that vibed out and reflected my emotions and thoughts about previous emotions. I've been cheated on in the past and never really dealt with the emotional trauma of it as I tend to put my emotions on hold and leave it for another day to deal with. I was intending to write a happy-sounding song with some sort of mind-twisting meaning behind it, and I suppose in the end that's how it turned out.
Were the songs performed during the Vans Livestream concert unreleased songs?
They are indeed. The first track is called 'I Think My Heart Is Set On You' and the second is called 'Do Whatever Makes You Happy'.
On that note, looking to the future, are you building a body of work? What can you tease?
Well, the next single may have been been the first song performed in the Vans 'Musicians Wanted' stream…
I've got lots of tunes recorded, you'll probably hear another single before the end of the year, a few more early next year and an EP by next summer. I'm currently working on EP number two or possibly the rough sketches of an album, but I'm just going to play it by ear and see how these releases go for now.
Your music has this escapist vibe, like an inhibition-free zone. Is that the kind of feeling you want to convey to your listeners?
Yes, just that. To feel the vibes. Maybe a bit of head nodding like the Churchill dog in the car in that insurance advert but if he was on a skateboard instead.
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