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Patrolling our most special playlist for a while now, Lucy Park is a veritable OnesToWatch favorite, an artist who seeps melodic & lyrical entanglements that quickly become the backdrop to seasons of our work. Pivoting from the sunny, but isolating excess of LA, to old world London, Lucy has clearly put her writing on good graces because her latest EP of the same name is properly some of her most gorgeous compositions. It's confident, embracing her R&B sound but with completeness that feels like fog warming your glasses, a comfort in craft that pulls the listener in to a participant. Wanting to know more about what Lucy has been up to, the root of all these wondrous changes, we pulled up to outside of London on our digital carpet and asked the following:

OnesToWatch: Where are you right now? I'm in L.A. 

Lucy Park: Oh, nice… it looks like decidedly English weather. 
It's cold and rainy. 

Yeah, it’s messing with us. 

When I lived in L.A., I felt like there'd be one bad day of weather and everyone would be so upset. And here (in London), it's just like 360 days of bad weather, and one good day, and then on the good days, everyone is having a party.

Maybe the reason for happiness is denial. There's something to that. We're spoiled. 

I moved to California to get over my seasonal depression. So it's fairly good now. 

I get it. Well, my first question, as always, is: why are you an artist? 

I don’t know any other way. Making music has always been my way of recording my thoughts and feelings about my life. When I have lapses of time where I don’t make music, I start to feel insane because it all gets bottled up until I write again. I think it helps me figure out how I feel, so it’s sort of my therapy. I also don’t know how to do anything else. But I love it, it’s such a fun thing I get to do for my job. So, I’ll do it until someone tells me I have to stop. 

I love asking this question because it gives me so many follow-ups. Number one, what does insane look like to you? How does that manifest itself? 

I just have a difficult time sorting out how I feel about things until I’ve either said them out loud or written about them. I’m able to frame things in metaphor, lyrics, or the structure of a song in a way that helps me understand better than any therapy. I can see the beginning, middle, and end of whatever it is, conflict or something positive, although I normally write my little sad songs. But it feels different than complaining to a friend about what I’m going through, or writing it in my journal… I don’t feel the same kind of conclusion or well-rounded understanding that I do when I write songs. Even if it’s just for the catharsis, to be able to create and express myself musically is enough to get that feeling out. I know what I feel from the melody I write, and maybe that’s attaching too much meaning to it, but it’s a fun stress reliever in general. It balances my head, where I’m able to check in momentarily and understand how I feel about a situation that I might not have had a moment, or a day, or a few hours in a studio by myself to take stock of the situation and paint a picture of it in a way I can understand it. I don’t do that without music, unfortunately. I’m just one of those people that keeps going, although I wish I wasn’t. But I’m very happy I found music as an outlet. 

It’s funny when you say you may have attached too much meaning to melodies, because in my mind that’s basically what artists are. Attaching meanings to things, words, and lyrics that no one else could. If, for whatever, your musical talent were to be removed for some reason, is there another creative outlet that speaks to you? 

Definitely. I came into wanting to be a songwriter because I didn’t think I’d be good at the artist side of things – the forward facing aspects, doing interviews, performing, all that stuff. I now know that’s not true, but the writing is the part that I love. I don’t do this to be in a music video, or to be on stage, and I know a lot of artists love that. I wish I was drawn to it, but I really struggle with those things. But, when I was sitting with that idea of just writing for other people, I was trying to be honest with myself of whether I’d be able to let go of the things that I wrote, to give them to someone else and have them deliver them into the world. And I realized I don’t know if I’d be able to. So everything shifted when I realized I do have an attachment to what I’m saying. To answer your question, then, yes, I would be able to just write if I couldn’t sing or be an artist. 

Have you had anyone cover your music? 

For sure, people on Instagram or TikTok. I made a very good friend through her doing a cover of one of my songs, actually. We lived together for two months in LA. 

I figured, based on the way you write, that other artists would be motivated to cover your music. Now that you’re deep into the evolution of your songwriting, do you have a method for writing that is more solidified? Have you settled into a songwriting routine? 

Definitely. I try to have more balance in my life, and I think moving to London did a lot to help that. In LA, I was making music every single day, but most of it was shit. And I didn’t enjoy music often, it felt like I was just making it because people around me were, and it was fun, and it felt like I was supposed to. Now, I’m really precious about the time that I take to actually write and be in the studio. I often will go a few weeks without writing any music, and then go in for a few days with real focus and intention. LA just has a different culture, where if you’re not making music all the time, you’re behind somehow. Living in London has taught me to take a step back from that, and notice that everyone has a different capacity for creativity. That’s the main difference in how I write now, just how precious I am about my creativity. 

Also, since writing this project, GOOD GRACES, that’s come out, I used to be really focused on making songs that were “good,” like structurally and conceptually correct. That felt important because I was dabbling in a world I didn’t know very much about, and those felt like the rules. Now that I’ve been in music for longer, I’m finding myself drawn to very different structures and alternative interpretations of the rules. I’m now challenging myself to make music that is not so pretty and pleasing, but moreso interesting to my musical ear, and trusting that more. Before, I’d say, “How can I make a song that is nice to listen to?” Now, I’m like, “How weird can we get today?” It’s exciting. This project, GOOD GRACES, feels like an in-between of those things, it’s not so safe as I used to play it, but not entirely weird. 

When did you write the songs that are on this EP? 

They’re all written in the past year and a half, but it was a pretty defined start and end of a chapter that I was writing about. 
I moved from LA to London, went through a breakup, turned 25, and made all of these changes at the same time. The aftermath is this EP, with lots of ups and downs, emotionally and musically. I wrote two of them before I left LA, and the rest when I came to London. I think only now am I done writing about that chapter of my life, and I’m glad I wrote about it while it was happening so I could reflect on it honestly. It was such a tumultuous time of my life, and now I, thankfully, live a much more balanced life and have settled into my new chapter. So that weirdness and freedom to explore that I’m feeling comes from that, whereas the EP was me trying to settle myself in an unsettled time. I feel like I can go any direction from here.  

You've created your own roadmap… you can go anywhere. I’m curious what your next sort of sound will be? 

I’m taking a lot of inspiration from Saya Gray in the way that she leans away from genre and traditional song structures. I’m recording at home a lot more, so that affects my vocals in a cool way that I’m playing with. There’s just a roughness to my new stuff, and I’m excited by that prospect. 

I love the raw energy of artists’ demos, so I’m excited for this sound. Another question about GOOD GRACES – is this project setting you up for any future releases, or is it a standalone anthology of what you were experiencing? 

I’m not deliberately setting myself up, but I think there will be a throughline. I’m excited that I don't know what the next project looks like, yet. That is what was so exciting about making music during the time of GOOD GRACES… I was throwing a bomb in my whole life and I made art out of it. I thought, at least I’ll make some good music out of these insane decisions. But now, I feel so stable and happy, so it’s a beautiful time of exploration. 

I think I’ll put some singles out after this project, and that will help me figure out the next one. I’m not going to change personalities, but I’ll be growing. 

I’m just always curious how an artist thinks – is it like writing a book, where everything is a chapter, or is each song here and now, you know? Let’s dive into some more fun questions. What is something you now do in London that you never used to do in LA? 

I spend time with my family and in nature. I live next to a big park here, so I’m walking in it all the time. It’s like a fairy forest, so I’m always finding myself going on walks with my mom, or friends, or by myself, listening to podcasts and music or just unplugged, no phone. That is the crazy part, I could have never done that in LA. Tuning out isn’t something you can do there. This hasn’t been an exciting answer, but I just feel a calmness and a balance that I hadn’t felt in my life before. A lot of that is living at home with a good support system, and just growing up a bit. Another thing I do now is listen to music. I went through a long phase of living in LA where it stressed me out too much. It felt like everyone around me was making amazing music, and I was just overwhelmed and defeated by that. So I only listened to podcasts or watched movies. Now I listen to music all the time, it’s a huge part of my day and I really enjoy it. 

You’re underestimating the caliber of your answers, because it is so remarkable to have found peace. There was a time when chaos was exciting – living on the edge as a frenzied artist – but now life is so chaotic, that anyone who can find some sort of resolve… THAT is exciting. 

Yes, it just makes more sense for me, I was overextending and now I’m finding balance. 

You’ve already kind of answers, but do you have any other hobbies that have helped changed your perspective? 

I cook a lot with my friends. It’s a nice adult way to spend time together, because other people have jobs. Of course I’m around on a Monday in the middle of the day, but these dinners have been a good, consistent way to check in with each other throughout the week. I’ve also just been exploring the city, there’s so much to do. I watch old, cool films. There’s this cinema here that plays only old movies, so I go there a lot. I felt like I didn’t have time for that in LA, which is not true at all. But, overall, just basic things, like enjoying making music on my own and hanging out with my dogs again. It’s a grandma lifestyle. 

So when your friends come over for dinner, what do you make? 

I’m a stir fry girl, and we also do dumpling nights a lot. But mostly we just go to each other’s houses and cook in all of our different kitchens, and let someone cook some elaborate meal they have the desire to make. Tomorrow I’m making pistachio cake. My mom’s been making it and everyone’s obsessed, so I’m making it tomorrow. 

Oh, you’ll have to send the recipe. What’s a place in London that maybe felt touristy, but now you love visiting? 

Walking along the canal is a necessary part of my life. At first it felt super touristy, but I love it. I walk it and always end up somewhere different and cool. 

Is there any part of London that reminds you of LA? 

There are some random bars that have the scene-y, stressful energy of Silverlake. But even so, I don’t experience those environments the same because I’m American. I know nobody and I’m just here to have a good time, whereas in LA there’s a layer of industry to it. I’m glad to not have that in my life. I do go to this chess night, here, though, which is a bit LA vibes. It’s a chess / book club where people dress cool and drink their cocktails and play chess on a Wednesday. I enjoy it, it’s a funny scene. 

How strong is your chess game?

Not strong at all. I have gotten great at Mahjong though. My family is big into games, and my mom taught me. That’s a big part of my week. 

Amazing. Last question, at OnesToWatch, we love for artists to put us on to other artists, so are there any musicians you’d like to give some flowers to? 

Obviously Saya Gray. Also Botaii, he’s got a really cool thing going. LULU, I really love. A band called Hildegard. I listen to a lot of old school Brazilian jazz so I’m not being helpful. 

These are all great. Thank you so much for your time!

Thank you.