Audacy Check In: Louis Tomlinson

Louis Tomlinson joins us in the Hard Rock Hotel New York to talk about his new single, “Lemonade,” his upcoming album, and more.

Transcript

00:00It's something I've been trying to challenge myself to more, you know, it's kind of infinite,

00:04the deep dive of being creative. So like with this record, I wanted it to be really ambitious

00:09and I wanted to try and step it up a level. So

00:11All right, we're at the Odyssey Sound Space at the Hard Rock Hotel, New York for your check-in

00:19with Louis Tomlinson. Hello, mate. Bro, the song Lemonade is fire, man. Not only does it sound

00:27sonically like, you know, different for you, I feel like, but just different from anything

00:32on the radio right now. I appreciate that, man. Thank you. Thank you. Tell me how it came

00:36about, like everything, when you first heard it, all that stuff. It was about, I'd say about

00:41halfway into the process of writing the new album. And at this point, it's been a dream

00:46of mine for a while to, I wanted to write and record somewhere tropical, somewhere visually

00:51very different from home and somewhere quite literally far away from home, home being in

00:56England. So we decided to do Costa Rica in a lovely little town called Santa Teresa. And it's

01:02absolutely beautiful. And songs like Lemonade, I don't think would have happened in England.

01:08It just, there was just something magical about the place that we were, the tempo, the way of

01:12living, the freedom, all of that. So I think that is just, yeah, it's a, it's a by-product of the

01:17beautiful, beautiful environment that we're in. And also Nico Ribshaw, who produced it, has done such a

01:22brilliant, brilliant, brilliant job. That's cool, man. So you really draw off the environment

01:26you're in for, for writing and recording. It's something I've been trying to challenge

01:30myself to more, you know, it's kind of infinite, the deep dive of being creative. So like with this

01:35record, I wanted it to be really ambitious and I wanted to try and step it up a level. So,

01:40you know, creatively, you've got to, got to kind of push yourself to do those things. I mean,

01:44you know, I'm saying push yourself creatively while being paradise in Costa Rica. It wasn't all that bad,

01:49you know. So, all right, you, you finished Lemonade, you're pumped about it. Who is the

01:54first person you play it for? I don't know, probably my best mate or my girlfriend, I imagine.

02:02But to be honest, I'm like, I like to keep things like maybe, maybe version four or five,

02:07they can hear. Oh, cool. I like, I just, I like it. I like to get it to a certain place and then,

02:12you know, then it's like, okay, it's ready. That's good, man. Does writing ever feel like a,

02:17um, a chore to you or is it always, you know, you're enjoying it, it's natural?

02:23Like I, I only ever write with other people. So I think it's really based on like the energy in

02:27the room and the atmosphere. There's definitely not with this record, but it's definitely been

02:31times in the past where it can feel like work, you know, definitely. Um, I think to like, that's

02:38why being in Costa Rica was so great because to create, you need that space in your brain.

02:42Right. Um, and I think, you know, if you ever get into that situation where writing can be

02:47frustrating or anything creative like that, I think it's probably an indication that you need

02:51a little bit more space in your brain. You've got a bit too much going on, let life in, you know?

02:55I love that. Do you feel like at this point in your career, in your life, are you more fulfilled,

03:01um, with just the creative process, like writing and recording or, um, you know, releasing it out

03:08into the world and seeing how it impacts fans? A bit of both, but I'd say there's, there's another

03:13part to that and that's going out to play the shows and that's when it feels like it all comes

03:16to life. Um, you know, there's like a moment like right now where I've got the record and

03:21other than Lemonade, no one's heard it. That's kind of nice. And then the next stage, everyone

03:24hearing it and then the next stage is then, you know, bringing those songs to life at the live

03:29show. So that's something that it's always a really, really special time for, for me.

03:34That's when everything becomes real, I think. That's cool, man. Have you found anything at

03:40this point in your life, like a hobby or something that just brings you pure joy that kind of

03:45surprised you? Like, bro, listen, I got to be honest with you. I love taking care of my

03:50house plants, like watering. It brings me pure joy. And I'm like, how the hell did we get

03:55here? But do you have anything? What plants out of interest? Bro, I got all different kinds.

03:59I'm trying to have a green thumb like my mother, but everything from like cacti to, um,

04:04just, you know, uh, I, I got the, uh, the moms in now for the season and stuff like that.

04:09Okay. Nice. Nice. I like that. No, I've not, uh, I've not got a growing yet, but, um,

04:15I'm going to get you, I'm going to, we're going to work on this. Yeah. Okay. Okay. Uh, for me,

04:20I, I, this wasn't, it's not really that surprising, I suppose, for a musician, but like,

04:24I'm not a great guitar player, but I love just sitting with my guitar. Okay. Um, I'd say that's

04:29like the closest I can get to like meditation. It's kind of, it feels really free and like,

04:33that's nice. And it's for you, not even necessarily anything to do with recording or

04:37anything. No, I thought about like bringing it to stage and stuff, but to be honest,

04:41it's already a lot to fucking deal with, man. There's already a lot of pressure. So I kind of

04:45like having it just, just, just for me, it's nice. Yeah. Yeah. So, you know, uh, kind of piggybacking

04:50on that with, with all the craziness going on in the world and just, um, you know, you've been

04:56doing this for so long at this point, dude, I, what systems do you have in place? What tools do you

05:01use to kind of, um, keep yourself healthy and happy? Um, it's an obvious one, but I'd say

05:09communication, man. And, and, and, you know, deeper than how you're doing. Yeah. I'm all right.

05:14Thanks. We do a lot of that in England. Um, um, you know, it's just really talking about how you're

05:18feeling and talking about your feelings and not being afraid of doing that. Um, cause it's rarely

05:24not rewarding if you're brave enough to actually tell someone how you're feeling and it doesn't always

05:28have to be something massive, you know, it can be something small as well. Um, it's yeah,

05:32you rarely don't get benefit from that. So I think if you, if you're brave enough to communicate

05:36and you've got friends, family that you can lean on, yeah, those things are, at least for me are

05:41vital. Definitely. So, uh, today, man, what is one One Direction song that you didn't necessarily

05:48like when you guys dropped it, but now you look back on it with fond memories? Oh, that's a,

05:55that's a good question. I still don't like the lead single. What makes you beautiful?

05:58Honestly. Yeah. Yeah. Oh my gosh. Yeah. No. Um, I, I do like now, I think, I think actually

06:07the first couple of records, the first couple of albums at the time, I wasn't in love with

06:13them, but now when I listen back, there's definitely a lot of like nostalgia there. Um, but what makes

06:19you beautiful? I don't think I'll ever get around to that to be honest. Skip, skip, skip. Uh,

06:24I just thought of this now, actually. And I don't know if you ever talked about this.

06:28Are there, are there any unreleased One Direction songs? There's loads. There's a couple that

06:32got leaked over the years, maybe like three or four, but, um, there's loads, loads and loads.

06:36Would those ever come out or? I don't think so. I mean, there's often, I've, I'm kind of

06:41a little bit funny about that, especially when they leak and stuff, cause it's often a reason

06:45they've not made the record, you know, that's often been like a creative choice. Um, so yeah,

06:52the songs were probably not good enough to make the record at the time, you know, probably

06:56still good songs, but there's probably close to like, I don't know, 50, 60 songs like that.

07:01Wow, bro. Don't even, we should erase that. Cause as a fan, man, that, you know, I mean,

07:06you want to hear everything, but I, I totally get what you're saying. Um, we're so pumped for

07:10you, bro. Before we wrap up, I just wanted to, you know, we both got kids. Like what's,

07:14what's the Halloween plan? Are we doing anything? Like, are we dressing up? What's the kiddo

07:18into K-pop demon hunters? What's up? Not so much into the K-pop demon hunters, which

07:23I'm pretty thankful. Cause he gets up at like six 30 in the morning and that would be a lot

07:26at that time. Um, he loves my son, Freddie loves Halloween. I think actually it almost

07:32closely rivals Christmas. He literally, I will say over here as well in America, like you

07:37guys, like we like it in England. You guys love it over here. Um, it says what we're doing.

07:43I've not even got around to that yet. Um, I did ask him about a month ago what he

07:46was thinking of, but he's very much like me. I think he'll probably try and work that

07:50out maybe two or three days beforehand. He didn't really know. I don't think.

07:55Cool. Cool, man. I love the record. I'm so excited for the tour. All that, man.

07:58Thank you for taking out the time.

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