Based in New York City and Washington, D.C., where she studies philosophy at Georgetown, the singer and songwriter Lucia (full name: Lucia Zambetti) makes intimate music that washes between indie folk and sprightly rock, anchored by a lyrical sensibility that can be either droll or confessional or both. After years of writing songs and maintaining an internet presence, her debut EP, In Love & war, hit the net late last year. We sent some questions over to the artist, questions about college and music videos and Substack and more. Give it a read, and listen to In Love & war, below.
Could you talk a bit about “Wash You Clean” and its adjoining music video?
Lucia: I'm super into storylines and making low-budget clips or films, and animations. My boyfriend Sam and I wanted to film a video to wash you clean in his hometown in central PA. My idea for the storyline was an Avon Beauty seller who got placed in a desolate town. My all-time favorite movie is Paris, Texas by Wim Wenders, and I love all the scenes of Harry Dean Stanton’s character walking throughout the desert. Anyways, we ran into some roadblocks, ultimately deciding to make it more of a visualizer, playing with the predator and prey tone of each shot. It is hunting season, and it felt better for a song that already has so much abstract imagery in its lyrics. I didn’t want to take away from that.
What prompted you to start a Substack? How does writing complement your musical practice?
I had a Blogspot website before I joined Substack, so I decided to move everything over there. I started it at the end of high school. I think, on the one hand, I thought my lifestyle would be entertaining and could be commodified, but on the other, I do spend a lot of time fleshing out random arguments in some ditch effort to see if people feel the same. I love it, I think writing and daily publication is the best, and there are so many writers I'm obsessed with reading on there. I'm finishing up my philosophy bachelor's degree right now and I'm already a huge over-thinker. So, if I don't write stuff down, I feel like I'll throw up or explode or something. I like to keep my lyrics illustrative and artistic in their own sense. Writing something like a blog post can be about the same topic, but it helps me make sense of the situation as a whole before I try putting it all into a pretty picture.
Are there any philosophers that have been influential on how you think about making music and writing songs?
I’m hesitant to credit any philosophers as they all dabble in controversy of their own. But in lieu of separating the philosophy from the philosopher … I'm big into the French existentialists, partly because that had been one of my first introductions to philosophy as an academic subject. I’ve read a lot of Beauvoir and Sartre's writing and their plays. I’ve read a bit of Camus as well, just to name the big stars. I resonate a lot with absurdism and skepticism. I think that's super important in going about life and viewing the world; being able to break things down into terms as simple as their function or creation, opposed to these different societal pressures and values. I think that's important because it fuels things like activism, questioning powers in place, and overall just fuels a sense of purpose and ability. I think I talk a lot about those things in my songs.
What is your favorite way to start a song?
One of my biggest musical inspirations is the Brian Jonestown Massacre, so I love a nice drone. Just a nice, solid sound. Almost like the old Lucas film THX sound. It's like OK, we're getting started ... My own personal loading sound effect. I think it's grounding and a really nice musical line to deviate from in writing. Then I start fiddling with my guitar and tuning and end up making really weird shapes with my hand until something sounds right. At that point, if I'm feeling inspired, the words start to flow out until there's a consensus on what the song will be about, which is when I start to think more strategically about my lyrics.
What songwriters have been influencing you lately?
Bill Callahan always. I'm so excited for his new record. I love Maxine Funke's writing, it is so transformative. You can close your eyes and see the world she creates around you. She has such an amazing way of describing such intimate feelings and a way of putting that into words in such a beautiful, abstract, yet nostalgic way. I haven’t told this to her face yet, but I’ve had the pleasure of seeing dear quinnie in concert twice and got to see a little behind the scenes process of her new record, Paper Doll. I'm so in love with her writing and sound. I think we think of a lot of the same things like religion and love. I think we think about it in different ways, but see how both frameworks can be confused with one another and she has such a poetic and witty way to talk about these things.
Are you interested in making a full-length record? Do you think that singles and EPs make more sense within the current musical landscape?
First, I think I need to make sense of the current musical landscape… lol. I definitely would love to make a full-length record. I keep my listening habits and inspirations in the era of when records were stylistically made as a full experience: back when they were made to listen from start to finish. I think that's why I loved the last Blood Orange record so much. In its construction, it reminds me so much of that stylized emphasis on the record as a linear cohesive relationship between songs. Andy Shauf also does a great job of that cohesive theme within an album. He is amazing and a big inspiration of mine.
Do you have a favorite era of the internet?
I was a big virtual world kid. Poptripica, Club Penguin, Toontown, Minecraft, moviestarplanet, you name it. They're all gone now. I sometimes check the Reddit pages for people wanting to recreate them in hopes that I get to play them again in my downtime. I'd definitely say that's my favorite. That and the DIY YouTuber era, I used to loooooovveee DIY videos. I loved the 2019/pre-COVID TikTok. I loved when dance trends were more popular and all of these role-play TikToks. I watched a compilation of them the other day with my friend, Anya. Some of them are super cringe, but as I did it too so I have a soft spot for it. I also think in comparatively analyzing TikTok's current state, and then, there was a lot more emphasis on community, like there would be long strings of duets between creators.
Where is your favorite place to eat in D.C.? Bonus if it’s open late.
I honestly don't eat out that much and mostly cook or go to the dining hall when I'm here for school. But the couple times my band and I have played at Songbyrd, they give you tacos after soundcheck, and those are always sooooo good. And my #bestie and bassist in the band, Annie, works there, so she always makes me some exotic cocktail of her own creation. Also shoutout to Wisemillers Deli in Georgetown. I really think I've built a strong friendship with Steve, who runs it there. He's up to date on my music and asked me to make a sandwich that will be a part of the menu in my legacy once I graduate.
Photo Credit: Millie Auchard
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