Exclusive Interview: Pop Culturalist Chats with Lucy Daydream

Lucy Daydream is the brainchild of songwriting duo Paige Duché and Ross Ryan. The Colorado-based team have mesmerized the industry with their signature indie psych-pop hybrid sound. This August, the pair dropped not one, but two new singles. We caught up with Paige and Ross for a fun chat about the new releases.

PC: How did you each discover your passion for music?
Paige: I’ve been involved in music my whole life. My mom made me take piano lessons, which I didn’t like in the beginning. [laughs] But it ended up working out. Now it’s my favorite thing in the whole world.

Ross: I got a Michael Jackson CD when I was a kid and a guitar. That was pretty much it.

PC: Who or what has had the biggest influence on your careers?
Ross: Wow, friends and a good support system have had a huge influence in having a sustainable, successful career.

PC: There’s an interesting backstory about how the two of you met and how this duo came to be. For readers who may not be familiar, can you share that story?
Paige: I covered one of Ross’ songs from his StéLouse project. I put it on YouTube and I DMed it to him on Instagram. I didn’t even think he’d see it. He liked it a lot. He messaged me back and it turned out that he lived fifteen minutes away from me. That’s when we hooked up and it worked out great.

PC: You two have a pair of new singles out now. Tell us about “No Perfect Love” and “Trouble,” and the inspiration behind the songs.
Ross: We’ve had “No Perfect Love” for a long time. It was probably in the fall of 2018. I sang this new wave demo over this pop beat and sent it to Paige. Then we got together and we sat on that one for a long time until we finished it. It took us almost eight or nine months to finish it. Then “Trouble” started last October. I started a beat on an airplane. It was just a baseline and drum beat. I sent it over to Paige. She came over a couple of days later with some lyrics and melodies.

Paige: I took a lot of inspiration from villains in movies like the Joker and how they think they’re doing the right thing, but it’s not the right thing for everyone else. Trouble is always going to get them. It’s always going to be following them.

PC: You guys released your debut album last year. How will this next body of work differentiate itself?
Ross: The sound is more refined. The songwriting is a lot more matured now. I feel like we’re starting to get it. There’s a lot of different genres on the first one. We narrowed to only a couple on the new record as opposed to every song being a new one.

PC: Of all the songs that you’ve released thus far, if you had to pick one that best encompasses who you are as a group, what would it be and why?
Ross: I would probably say “Trouble.” It’s new and we love that song. It’s got some hip-hop, alternative, and ’90s influences. I grew up in the ’80s. I feel like that one’s got a lot of everything that both of us really enjoy about what we do in particular. Aside from that one, maybe “Red.” It’s the first song we wrote.

Pop Culturalist Speed Round

PC: A band or artist that fans would be surprised to learn is on your playlist?
Paige: I feel like my playlist is pretty basic.

Ross: There’s some death metal on Paige’s playlist. I really like ’90s rap. I really like Tupac and Biggie.

PC: First album you bought?
Ross: Metallica’s Black Album with some allowance money.

PC: First concert you attended?
Ross: My dad took me to see this band called America when I was like really little.

Paige: I saw Train with my mom at Red Rocks.

PC: A venue on your bucket list to perform at?
Ross: Red Rocks.

Paige: Red Rocks.

PC: A must-have on the road?
Ross: Clean socks and an iPhone charger.

Paige: Peanut butter.

To keep up with Lucy Daydream, follow them on Twitter and Instagram.