“I’ve always felt the most comfortable in my own skin in a queer crowd,” Tove Lo tells PAPER.
Pride celebrations have swept the country this month, and the hitmaker — with more queer anthems under her belt than most contemporaries — talks about the influence of her community on the music, the performance. “My stage presence has been heavily influenced by watching drag performers,” she says. “Bringing that kind of confidence and moments of humor to the stage has really elevated my performance. As my queer audience has grown I feel very inspired to keep creating a space where they can come and be completely themselves.”
Hot on the heels of her eagerly anticipated Heat EP with SG Lewis, Tove Lo has teamed up with Spotify’s groundbreaking global music program, GLOW. The program offers a platform for LGBTQIA+ musicians and creators to highlight their important, even foundational, contributions to the world of music. Podcasts and audiobooks, too! SG Lewis, who also sat down for the chat, says: “I have been privileged enough to be a guest in queer spaces when DJing at queer nights, and the freedom of expression I have witnessed has been massively inspiring as a musician.” He adds, importantly, that “dance music's history is rooted entirely from its queer Black origins, and so it’s important to me to amplify the voices of the community with a project like this.”To celebrate these contributions, year-round and for Pride, Spotify curates playlists and content from LGBTQIA+ artists around the world — over 10,200 in the lifetime of the program to date, which launched in January 2023. Previous artist collaborations include Arlo Parks, Villano Antillano and Troye Sivan, with spotlightartists this month including Orville Peck and Karin Ann. Some playlists have also been co-curated alongside the artists highlighted, like Club Resistance, from Tove Lo, Catz ‘n Dogz and SG Lewis.
Lisa Ritchey, Lead of Pop, Dance, and Indie Music Artists Partnerships at Spotify, told PAPER of GLOW and Tove Lo: “Tove has such a dedication to our community and was one of the first phone calls we made when launching GLOW as a program last year. We share a belief that music is a crucial part of liberation and freedom.” Ritchey also notes that “liberation also happens on the dance floor, and has historically.”
Ahead of CLUB HEAT at Heart WeHo in Los Angeles, read our full conversation with Tove Lo and SG Lewis below.
Spotify launched GLOW to celebrate the queer community’s impact on music, and uplift those contributions. How has your relationship to the community influenced your own music, or artistic process?
Tove Lo: Being part of the queer community myself, I’ve always felt the most comfortable in my own skin in a queer crowd. I definitely feel like my stage presence has been heavily influenced by watching drag performers — bringing that kind of confidence and moments of humor to the stage has really elevated my performance. As my queer audience has grown I feel very inspired to keep creating a space where they can come and be completely themselves.
SG Lewis: I have been privileged enough to be a guest in queer spaces when DJing at queer nights, and the freedom of expression I have witnessed has been massively inspiring as a musician. Dance music's history is rooted entirely from its queer black origins, and so it’s important to me to amplify the voices of the community with a project like this.So many of your songs have gone on to become bona fide queer anthems. My favorite being “disco tits.” When writing and working on them, do you ever write with the queer community in mind, or do you think that relationship happens more organically?
Tove: First of all, thank you! Makes me very happy to hear. I would say HEAT is the first project that has been intentionally for our queer fans. It’s kind of because of them demanding it from us that it’s even coming out haha! Sam and I share a lot of fans in this community and we wanted to make something to celebrate and thank them for all the sexy support and love they’ve given us. I think most of my songs have gay energy though. That’s just me.
As part of the GLOW Hub, you’re featured alongside other artists like Orville Peck, Arlo Parks, Troye Sivan, and more. Alongside and/or beyond them, what queer artists currently are you drawn to, or inspired by, or feel motivated by?
Tove: So many!!! One queer artist I have on repeat at the moment is Chappell Roan. Chappell coming out as the Statue of Liberty at her show - I will never get over it.
SG: There’s so many incredible queer electronic music artists dominating right now — I’ve been obsessed with jamesjamesjames’s production, and am a big fan of ABSOLUTE.’s sound.
What are you most excited for fans to hear from Heat, or take away from this collaboration?
Tove: The whole EP! Maybe the soundtrack to the night you fully got to be your real self for the first time. Spiritually, sexually and emotionally.
SG: I think it’s a dream for any DJ to be able to provide moments of euphoria and liberation, and I hope that the music can allow people to express themselves in their truest form.
You are also performing at Heart in WeHo for the release party. What do you look forward to most about performing in gay clubs, especially ones as iconic as Heart?
Tove: I love playing in places that carry a legacy as being where you go to liberate yourself and have the night of your life. I’m so looking forward to the sweaty chaotic happy place that is Club Heat!
SG: There's a freedom of expression that is witnessed in queer nightlife that adds a layer of energy to the dance floor that can’t be found in straight clubs. Heart feels like the perfect place to launch the EP, and I’m so excited to see how the songs sound in there.
You two are also taking over Spotify’s “Club Resistance” playlist this month. What draws you to each other creatively, and why do you think you work so well together?
Tove: Me and Sam are really good friends but that doesn’t mean we automatically make great music together. But we have that rare connection, it’s a combination of being able to be completely vulnerable creatively with someone but still wanting to impress them.
SG: Our studio chemistry is really special — Tove is an expert song crafter and I know that whatever I bring to the table, she is going to be able to deliver the perfect counterpart. It makes for such a natural and exciting song writing process.
This article is a sponsored collaboration between Spotify and PAPER.
Photography: Blair B. Brown
