You’ve Got Mail: A Virtual Interview with LAIVY
Image courtesy of Robby Zacharias
Over Thanksgiving break, I had the opportunity to interview Laivy Miller, professionally known as LAIVY, via email. The eighteen-year-old is a thoughtful, up-and-coming pop artist with a whole lot of insight and a whole lot of love for humanity.
Ally Giust: Can you share your childhood memories of music? From being on drums in the living room to writing the songs for your Power Ranger action figures — how did those early experiences shape your musical journey?
Laivy Miller: That's a good question. Back in the good old days, my childhood was pretty much just like one big concert. Before I could even talk, I was having dance parties in my living room, making beats by banging literally anything I could get my hands on, whether it was a pan or my brother. My musical journey began with creating songs about toys, food and everything around me. Despite occasionally being the loudest — and perhaps a bit annoying — I realized that music was always present. I didn't need to search for it like a lost item and all I had to do was sing. As I grew older, I continued to embrace this connection with music, understanding that it was a constant companion throughout my whole life.
AG: COVID lockdown was a turning point for many people. How did the lockdown, specifically, impact your decision to download GarageBand and dive into writing and producing original music? Were there any challenges or breakthroughs during that period?
Miller: The lockdown hit pretty close to home for me. I was navigating through all the chaos of my freshman year in high school, that critical time of figuring out my career, my hobbies and dealing with all the teenage emotions I would say a freshmen goes through, honestly. Suddenly everything got flipped upside down. No hanging out with friends. My hockey season got canceled — I was a big ice hockey player, by the way — and staring at a screen for classes at home felt like a nightmare. I wasn't able to focus in class [before], so there wasn't any chance I was gonna be able to focus on my bed, listening to a teacher through my screen, you know?
Image courtesy of @calmjungle.world on Instagram
Amid the chaos, I found peace in my music. I started pouring my feelings about being a freshman stuck at home into songs, vibing with beats I snagged from YouTube until I started making my own and collaborating with other producers who could help me make beats. As the desire to turn my lyrics into proper recorded tracks grew, I decided to take the plunge, download GarageBand and literally record myself through a virtual studio, allowing me to bring all my songs to life. Sure, I had a lot of challenges. The virtual learning thing was a struggle and the hockey disappointment hit hard, but diving into music production during lockdown became the best thing I ever did. I think, honestly, it was my breakthrough and it gave me a creative outlet and a way to express what I was going through — and, ultimately, a chance to share my music with my friends and be able to jam out virtually and have dance parties at 9 a.m. before [class] on Zoom. It gave us a way to all connect with each other.
AG: Collaborating with a producer is a significant step. What led you to team up with Aiden LePretre and how did you — and that collaboration — influence the sound and direction of your music?
Miller: At the time, I was just doing my thing. We were just getting out of COVID and I was making all these tracks on my laptop. They [were] building up. I had hundreds of tracks — literally, and I started playing my songs for friends and family. Suddenly, a week later, my friends and fam would just start… singing all these songs back to me and that got me thinking: “You know what? Maybe I got some skill.” Maybe I'm onto something if all these songs were just repeating in their heads, constantly. I wanted to mix things up, I wanted to make better music, I wanted to try new stuff, I wanted to collaborate. So, I wanted to team up with someone and I hit up my dad. I asked him to send my demos over to the youngest producer he knows. I wanted to make new music, I wanted to hear a new sound and I thought that anyone who was in the scene for too long might have a different direction they were going in. I just wanted to create something fresh.
[My dad] asked the youngest producer he knew, a 19-year-old, Aiden LePouret. I remember seeing him recording at my crib with my dad and I was like, “Yo, like, this kid's legit.” If he's doing that at 19 — that's what I want to be doing at 19. So, when my dad recommended him, I was just super thrilled. All I had to do was pray that he liked my demos. Thank God, he texted my dad. He's like, “Yo, these demos are super dope, let's make some music,” and Aiden being crazy talented brought this whole new vibe to the table. We mashed up all the new genres, creating sounds I never even knew existed. Our collaboration turned my music into something next-level. It was a complete game-changer and it was the start to my first project.
AG: Playing at PinkFROG Cafe and SOBs in Brooklyn must have been exciting. Can you share some highlights and challenges of breaking into the NYC music scene, especially as an emerging artist?
Miller: Those shows were the best start of a career I could ask for. Performing at PinkFROG and SOBs marked a huge, huge milestone for me. It was my first show at PinkFROG. The memories stand out vividly to me. The audience, at one point, was singing my own lyrics back to me. I remember, in this moment, just pausing — literally choking, not being able to sing. Letting them finish the lyrics and just embracing [this] moment that could go away at any second. I just wanted to be in the moment. Stay there and live there. It was just a moment of realization, witnessing people connect to my art, and it influenced my confidence that night. My confidence onstage, my confidence in my voice and [my] confidence in my music. It's an unparalleled feeling to experience someone's genuine appreciation and love for another person's work.
This encouragement helped me be myself onstage, overcome all the nerves that I had, which were a lot. It was crazy. I miss it, honestly. I hope to have more shows soon. It's crazy being an emerging artist, especially in a crazy city like NYC because there are singers with crazier pipes, writers who have better tunes and dancers with, probably, better moves? Nah, I think I have the better moves.
He laughs goodnaturedly.
But, having folks genuinely love my stuff; that's the feel. That's what made me be like, “There could be people who are better than me out there, but I'm doing my own thing. I have my own community who likes it and all I need to do is keep doing my own thing.” It's a push that I had to just keep going.
AG: You mentioned being inspired by soulful artists with relatable lyrics and sound. Can you name a few specific artists who have had a profound impact on your music? How do you incorporate those influences into your own style?
Miller: There are a bunch of artists who significantly shaped my sound, I'd say. They each bring something unique to the table, something that they each do better than the other, in my opinion. At the top of my list, I would put Jon Bellion, I'd say. Matisyahu, for sure, and Break Ins. I could break it down for you.
Jon Bellion, in my opinion — he's a genius. I mean, you just listen to his lyricism. It's seemingly simple on the surface, yet deep and it has meanings within every word. That skill of crafting words that resonate with everyone, yet have deeper meanings for everyone, is a skill that I, for sure, try to bring into my own projects.
Then you got Matisyahu, who also happens to be my father. I'd say He's the master at blending melodies from all these different genres. He has a crazy approach to genre fusion and that has also been a major influence, inspiring me to experiment and push boundaries that [hold] me back.
Break Ins is the guy who knows how to shape music around his incredible tone. Learning from his ability to craft a musical landscape around his unique voice has just been a game-changer for me. It's just crazy hearing his beats and the switch-ups, how his voice is just the main [focus] the whole time. It really shines through his tone. All these artists have provided me with this toolkit of skills — I want to take each of those skills and carve out my own distinct style in the mix.
“All these artists have provided me with this toolkit of skills — I want to take each of those skills and carve out my own distinct style in the mix.”
AG: Question 6. Your latest release, “Serenity” explores the idea of becoming excessively entangled in a relationship. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind the track and message you aim to convey regarding inner peace and contentment?
Miller: A big thing that, I think, plays a part in people's lives is happiness. Happiness affects your life. It affects you waking up in the morning, whether and how you're going to approach the day, or it affects if you want to be in this world and be a living human who appreciates the world, or you're not happy and you don't like it here and you maybe want to end your life — that's a horrible feeling and I really think true happiness lies from within. You can't rely on anyone else to give you hope throughout the day, you know? You need to know that you're a living human in this world. God put you here for a reason. That in itself — you waking up in the morning — should be enough happiness to get you through the day.
This song is just about [not] relying on another or a lover to complete you. It's about discovering inner peace and contentment, aka serenity. It explains my personal voyage — underscoring the importance of loving and finding harmony within myself before embarking on the quest for love with another. This message resonates with everyone, you know? “Serenity” must be unearthed within ourselves before it can be sought in others. That's my message to the world.
AG: Securing a distribution deal with 10K is a significant achievement. How has that partnership impacted your approach to releasing and sharing music?
Miller: Hell yeah! It was super exciting that I was able to sign the deal with 10K. That's just what I needed to get to the next level in my career. It's not just about the contract for me, really. It's about having a squad of people who genuinely believe in what I'm doing, and, yeah, the deal isn't just ink on a piece of paper — it's a solid green check that I've got a team backing my journey and believing what I believe in. In this industry, you've got to prove yourself. Show people why they should believe in your craft, why they should invest in you.
Inking this deal wasn't just a business move, it was a realization that I'm not walking on this road alone. I [have] great people who are right here by my back, including, by the way, my day ones: my managers, Emma and Hunter, who literally help me with everything. I don't know what I would be if not for them, so I just want to shout them out real quick. They really helped me sign this deal and we're gonna share incredible things in the near future. Having a crew that's vibing with your goals, supporting the vision and that is your friend is just a special feeling. It's not just a distribution deal, it's a stamp of belief and support that keeps me pushing forward from here on. My audience should be expecting the same. A whole lot of mu-sic. Let's go!
Image courtesy of Jon Premosch
AG: Your artist statement emphasizes the importance of self discovery and inner peace. How has creating music served as a tool for your personal growth and how do you hope your message resonates with your audience?
Miller: Music, for me, is more than just creating beats and lyrics. It's my therapy. I had a therapist at one point and we both agreed that me making music is a better way to spend my money. It's a channel where I can lay-bare my feelings. I can share, do whatever I want. [I’ve also] had the chance,opportunity to build a community where we're all in sync because music isn't just for me, it's for the people who listen to it.
Supporting and uplifting each other through shared emotions — we can overcome these hard feelings and hard times, or even good feelings. I want my music to be more than just the sound in someone's ear, I want it to be a tool for personal growth. I hope people can listen in, connect with my tunes and turn them into their own therapy as well — just like I did with mine. It's about resonating on a deeper level, finding solace and realizing that, “Hey, we're all in this together.” No one's alone in this world. We're all human.
AG: “Serenity” is praised for seamlessly fusing diverse musical genres. Can you elaborate on your approach to genre blending and how you can maintain this distinct sound, entirely your own?
Miller: Cool. In today's music scene, I honestly think blending genres is the name of the game, especially in my generation. We all have different backgrounds and diverse cultures colliding, it's all woven into the sounds that we vibe with now. For generations and generations, there's been particular sounds — and when those generations pass, they [pass along their] sound, but [the music] never really stays the same. The sounds all get mixed, in a way. The DNA collides. For me, genre blending is practically in my own musical DNA. I mean, I come from a mashup of backgrounds and that fusion is what crafts my unique sound. It's not about fitting into a box. It's about embracing the mix that makes each of us stand out. So, when I'm cooking up tunes, I'm not thinking about sticking to one genre. I'm literally diving into this melting pot of influences, creating a sound that's uniquely and entirely my own.
AG: Question 10. You aspire to be a voice of hope for those who listen to your music. In what way do you see your music providing hope and connection for your audience and what themes or messages do you plan to explore in future songs to foster that connection?
Miller: I envision my music as a force — a big force that can unite a bunch of people across diverse cultures [by] fostering awareness and addressing the common struggles we face in our daily lives today. It's about recognizing our shared humanity. We all have issues, but at the end of the day, we're all human. Moving forward, I aim to explore themes that resonate universally, creating songs that not only connect with individuals on a personal level but also serve as a platform to collectively confront and overcome the challenges that bind us together as humans. My next song is entitled, “We're Human,” and I'll leave it at that. Thanks so much. Peace out.