The prolific singer-songwriter Christian Lopez released his new album The Other Side on October 8th, though you most likely have seen his many singles and videos rolling out over the course of the year, gearing up for all 12 songs to land. Along with them have come no fewer than seven poignant, and at times, quite funny music videos to keep us entertained with cinematic and live play experiences. The most recent, “Sick of Me” takes us through a rocking atmosphere in an airy desert space and really spotlights the emotions on a song that was actually Lopez’ first to record for the album.
The album itself represents a fairly intense journey for Lopez, both thematically and musically and coincides with a period of traveling “inwards” in terms of soul-searching for him. Having worked with producer Dave Cobb on previous albums, Lopez also journeys into bold new territories of indie sound built around a Roots core on the new album while working with British producer Robert Adam Stevenson. I spoke with Christian Lopez about his perspective on the journey so far now that he finds himself on The Other Side.
Hannah Means-Shannon: What’s it been like to watch the singles and videos coming out for The Other Side and watch peoples’ reactions to these new directions for your music?
Christian Lopez: It was a product of the interesting last two years that we’ve all had. I had the record done in full right before the pandemic kicked in but, obviously, we had to adjust. My plan was to dole the songs out one by one indefinitely, literally to put on a show for the people and so I could have something to give. So I kicked it into overdrive making those videos and putting out the singles. It was a transition for me in my life in many ways, and I sort of started fresh from the ground up with this album. Now that the record is coming out in full, I feel like I’ve laid the foundation correctly for the newness this record is going to bring.
HMS: How far ahead of creating the songs on this album did you know that you would be going into new territory?
CL: I think it was when I started working with the producer who produced this album, Robert Adam Stevenson. It was the first time in my life when I wasn’t courted by a producer. I just found this guy through friends and being in LA and we started making songs and dabbling in a very organic way, just hanging out. It blossomed out of that. He definitely helped take things into new territories. But the songwriting itself was about me looking inward rather than the more romantic subject matter on my other albums. It’s a more spiritual look inward.
HMS: That certainly comes out a lot in the lyrics, and maybe even in the sound. Are there things about Robert’s musical personality or creative approach that you particularly appreciated?
CL: I definitely went into it feeling like a co-producer in this case. He’s been on the rise, working a lot of hard hours, but when we started working together, we really found a genuine love for what we were doing. He’s British, from Oxford. There’s something about the Brits! I feel like it’s the British takeover when I’m working with him. He comes from more of The Killers and One Republic kind of world. So when I brought my rootsiness to his indieness, I think we had a great blend that came out and we were able to get a lot of new sounds while keeping that folky heart as a common thread.
HMS: That description really fits my impression of this album. I guess it can be useful, also, to work with someone who doesn’t have a particular assumption about how you should or will sound.
CL: Exactly. We weren’t searching for anything. It was purely looking for the next thing, then the next thing, and in the end it was, “Wow, look what we’ve done.”
HMS: What were the first songs that you worked on together?
CL: We did it at a couple of different studios. We started at a place called Revolver, and we did “Sick of Me”, which is a single. Then we went into “Sip of Mine” and “Who You Really Are”. From there, that’s when we really knew that we wanted to make an album and we switched over to Sonic Ranch in El Paso, where we finished up the next eight or nine songs.
HMS: That’s a really strong start. I’m not surprised that you realized you were onto something with those songs. “Sick of Me” has come out recently, with a video, and I’m particularly entertained by seeing live play videos right now, so I enjoyed it. It’s a great desert, outdoor setting. How did the filming go?
CL: The director is really great, works mostly with rappers, and is one of my best friends from West Virginia from growing up. To me he is the best in the biz right now. I pulled in all my favors for this album. He found a location out in Antelope Valley in a town called Mirage, California. This song was made all among friends. There was no sense of business to it. Friendship was the vibe at all times, doing what we do and having a great time. When I was young and making records for a label in Nashville, it didn’t really work that way. Now, it’s nice to really work that way. It’s kind of inspiring because I think the results are better when you work that way.
HMS: The playing looks very natural, with the musicians. It looks like you might hope to see in a concert, close to the stage. It can be hard to achieve that naturalness when filming, I know, but maybe that climate you’ve described led to that.
CL: [Laughs] We blasted music as loud as we could so it would feel really live. We had like three different car stereos with doors open in the middle of the desert. Plus, that’s the band I play with in LA when I’m out there.
HMS: The lyrics for this song “Sick of Me” are really interesting. It’s like there are different attitudes towards oneself going on in that song. How did the ideas in that song come together for you?
CL: That song is definitely a mental problem for me. Sometimes when I try to write fast songs, I have to try to channel the angriness, the weirdness, and the mental problems. If I do anything else, it comes out slow and sappy. For that one, the single cover was a shirt on fire. The last album cover was me in a red shirt. So for this song, it was me letting go of my past. It was me letting go. In a nutshell, it’s about going through a relationship, and you don’t understand how someone would want to stick with you at that time. It’s putting yourself in a situation of comfortableness over what’s best for you. And the mental problem is that you’d be miserable if you didn’t, because you don’t want to be alone.
I hated it, but that was me at that time. I was having to come to grips with that. I wanted all this individual strength, but I felt that I couldn’t have it without having someone there loving me. There’s also a second perspective, looking at it from the standpoint of the music industry. How do I continue on, pushing through, making music as an indie artist? And at the same time, hating it as much as I love it. It all stems from that relationship of fighting through something that maybe doesn’t feel right, but then again, you’re not strong enough to be on your own. It was a conundrum.
HMS: That’s actually exactly what I thought the song was about, but I didn’t want to read too much into it, so thanks for explaining. It’s also just really brave to be self-critical in a song in such an open way. There are famous songs, like “Creep” that rip into internal conflict, but this song almost gives permission for self-examination and suggests that we should be able to handle it.
CL: It’s trying to find some kind of pride in yourself by putting it out there, since that’s the only way to summon strength.
HMS: “Who You Really Are” is also a song that really impressed me. I think sometimes when you tell people that they are valuable, it’s hard for them to receive, and that song really delivers that point. I haven’t really heard other songs that do that. The line “There’s always someone searching for you”, is really powerful.
CL: I was kind of talking about myself in that song, trying to find myself. It’s a more reflective song. It’s an ode to keeping the faith, enough to get you to the next day. And hopefully if you get to the next day, you’ll have a little more. I feel like my life is a battle of faith, and hanging on, and having perseverance. It’s a very important characteristic for any artist to even do it at all.
HMS: I know that you really love making videos, in fact, there are already seven for this album.
CL: I think that’s it for now!
HMS: That’s plenty. The crazy one is for “Nothing Wrong”, which is full-on B-movie horror. How did you decide to take that approach for the video?
CL: I love horror. I’ve also always loved being super-involved in the concepts when we make these videos, even though I call on my favorite directors. I knew that with this song, the lyrics kind of worked for a zombie video. I knew it was about feeling like you’re alone in the universe, feeling a little miserable, and then having the realization that you can snap into some happiness right now, or at least some peace, by knowing that everything is as it should be. There’s nothing we can do other than enjoy the moment.
I thought the zombie reference worked because it was about feeling like a zombie in the world, especially in 2020. It was also an opportunity to have fun, dress up, and put in the contacts. I could also utilize my fiance’s acting skills and illustrate that love can be something that helps us break the spell in our heads and helps us enjoy our day. Plus it was my seventh video of all seven, so I had to think of something extra creative! We filmed it in Nashville.
HMS: The little main street feeling really works. Could you see through the contacts?
CL: No, I couldn’t see all day! I was completely blind. The thing is, I kind of liked it by the end. I felt a little more peaceful and I always had someone guiding me. It took two people to put those contacts in my eyes.
HMS: I could not have done those contacts, even though I love horror too. I would’ve been like, “Nope, I’m out!”
CL: It was dark, in the woods, and I was blind. It was a real learning experience.
HMS: I wanted to call out “Finish What You Started” as a really great song. I love Rockabilly and early Rock traditions. I’m really overwhelmed by how authentic this song feels to the spirit of those times as well as being modern.
CL: I’m glad it came across that way. We cut it completely live in a room, just me and the drummer, and I played everything else. We just got the guitar part, the drums, and the voice. There’s a video for that online that really is the take of us recording it live in the video. I knew if we were going to do that song, the last thing I wanted was a polished sounding song. I wanted something real. I wanted no post glisten. I wanted that feeling coming through.
I was trying to channel working with some great producers in the past, like Dave Cobb, who made my first two records. That was his mentality, to do things as live as they could be. It’s funny, because that was a departure for my producer Robert, whereas everything else was a departure for me working in this more European indie style. But on that song, I said, “Robert, you gotta hand me the reigns on this one.” I told him to just hit “record” and put some mics in the room down there. And that’s what we did.
HMS: It sounds like something that could have happened at Sun Records, including the description you just gave.
CL: That was the goal! Just keep it rolling, don’t miss anything. It’s good magic.
HMS: What made you write that song?
CL: I was in Nashville and I was writing with a good friend of mine, Dave Dixon, who is an incredible Rockabilly and Blues piano player. I told him that I had a Rockabilly thing in mind and his Rockabilly piano playing just sent me through the roof in terms of inspiration. We just sat in his basement, with him at his piano, and we just took it down that path. The idea was like being at a bar and having someone tease you, and it messing with your brain. I also got to try to create rhymes that could make you chuckle.
