Interview: Lupe Dragon - Distance

Lupe Dragon is a guitar and ukulele-playing singer-songwriter. Lupe Dragon began creating songs when she was 14 or 15 years old, although she has been performing since she was 2 or 3 years old. She is an all-around powerful performer, singing in numerous school choruses and theater club shows. Ed Sheeran, Logic, Watsky, Andrew McMahon, Dashboard Confessional, and Paramore are among her key influences. 'Distance' is a music that many people require. We've all had a terrible year and experienced some terrible things. This song is sorrowful, yet it is also peppy and sympathetic. It's something that everyone has to hear in order to come out of a funk.

By Kamil Bobin

Discovered via Musosoup

Kamil) Hey Lupe Dragon, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What strengths do you have that you believe make you a great musician?

I think what makes me a great musician is my drive for success and love for music and songwriting. It takes a lot of passion and love for music to do something like this. If you don't love the music that you make or music in general, you're in the wrong industry. I'm here to connect with people and show my passion for what I do.

What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?

The feeling I get when I get to create a song from scratch. Its my favorite part of the creative process. Being able to work with my engineer and lay down vocals, guitar and even build a beat is thrilling to me.

Your latest track is 'Distance'. Can you share with us the background of its creation and did any unusual things happen during its creation?

So I wrote this song about 2 or 3 years about in about 5 minutes or less. I had the guitar part and lyrics done and then fast forward a couple years later I befriended Samad Savage and got him to lay down a verse on the song as well. It was a fast paced time frame but it was so collective as well.

What accomplishments do you see yourself achieving in the next five to 10 years?

Be signed to a record label, record a voiceover for a show or movie, make a collab album or mixtape, adopt a puppy, meditate more, etc.

You live in United States, Wayne. What do you like most about this place?

My university is in Wayne NJ and I really love William Paterson University. I love the musicians that I've been able to meet and network here on campus. Being that I'm not a music major I had to really squeeze my way through to be heard and luckily I made some good friends out of that. I also met a lot of talented videographers and photographers.

Does your family share your passion for music? What do they think about your work?

So actually neither of my parents really had any heavy involvement in music. My mom took piano and guitar lessons growing up and my dad took piano lessons as well but never really continued on with it. My parents love my music!

Do you prefer to work alone or collaboratively?

It depends on the project. I usually start working on the song by myself (the lyrics and the rhythm guitar) and then meet with collaborators.

If you could change anything about the industry, what would it be?

The amount of gatekeepers we have not showing support for local music until it goes viral. Give someone a chance!

What's the best piece of advice another musician ever gave you?

To remember that I'm the sh*& and never let anyone tell me otherwise. Also that others will always be jealous of your success and those people don't matter.

What are your plans for next year? Do you have any productions ready to be released?

I have another song in store and hopefully will record more over winter break.