LOUCIN

Loucin is a London-based vocalist and songwriter with her influences rooted in jazz, neo-soul and RnB. Loucin was first able to express her love for jazz and swing when vocalist for Leeds University Union Big Band for three years. Loucin has performed at festivals and venues across the world as part of several projects including lead vocalist for Tomorrow’s Warriors Female Frontline.

Taken aback by the crowd’s hushed reaction at her first public performance at the age of 14, Loucin realised her voice could command an audience’s attention. Her original project has been a way for her to connect with her audiences and reflect on issues like marginalisation, identity and oppression.

Watch and listen to her performance from south London’s Albany venue:

How did you get into music? Was it always something you wanted to do?

Music has always been a big part of my life. I grew up in a household where a range of different genres were appreciated, from jazz to soul to trance. I started singing from a young age, mostly at school and sometimes the Armenian Church where my Granddad conducted the choir. My sister, who is a flutist and on the EP, was a big influence and got me into other genres like hip hop, grime and rock. I’ve gone back and forth with different career paths but creating and performing music has always seemed to find its way back to the forefront of all my decisions. I can’t escape it!

Can you tell us a little bit about how your ‘Anoosh’ EP came together?

The pandemic was a real factor in bringing ‘Anoosh’ to life. ‘Anoosh’ means ‘Sweet’ in Armenian. I wanted it to reflect the bittersweet parts of our society, the challenges faced by marginalised communities and the positivity in coming together.

I wanted to build something out of the year, even if it was just a blueprint for the EP. I was lucky enough to receive some funding from Mobo Help Musicians in 2020 which enabled me to make the EP. I collaborated with Lorenz Okello Osengor and Jelly Cleaver for the production of the tracks and experimented with the songs. We were also able to create an animated music video, created by Jenny Wright, for my first single release Warm Mountain.

Were there any challenges you had to face? If so, how did you overcome them?

It was definitely a strange time to release music. No face to face meetings during the peak of the pandemic made things difficult in terms of recording and generally interacting with others to bounce ideas around. I’m definitely a person who thrives off those moments. But I worked with an amazing team who were communicative, positive and really up for trying to make it work under the circumstances.

Do you have any advice you could give to people who are trying to release their music but don’t know where to start?

I would definitely say trust in yourself and your sound, even if you’re not 100% what that is yet, be unapologetic about what you have to say in the here and now. Don’t be distracted by what others are doing, music is a way of expressing your truth and no one will be able to do that the way you do. Lastly, I would say to reach out to people you trust and want to collaborate with. They can offer you real gems.

Tell us more about your band?

My project consists of people I met through Tomorrow’s Warrior’s in the Female Frontline group. The band is made up of Jelly Cleaver on Guitar, Isobella Burnham on Bass, Lilly Vasil on flute and Tash Keary on drums. All of them have their own projects outside of mine and are all truly talented musicians.

Can you tell us a little bit about any plans you have going forwards for 2022?

My plans currently are gigs, gigs and some more gigs! I have one coming up at PizzaExpress Live Soho on 21st September as part of the Heads Up series alongside Sophia Grant and performing as part of the Tomorrow’s Warrior’s Presents Live at the Albany on 24th October.

You can listen to Loucin’s EP on all streaming platforms and follow her journey on social media. Keep your eyes peeled, you will be hearing a lot more from her!