Singer-songwriter, producer, and multi-instrumentalist Lola Bates joined Matt Pinfield for a live session and conversation on The SoCal Sound, performing songs from her debut album Love and Power.
Performing “Girls Girl,” “Power,” and “Average Girlfriend,” Bates showcased a cinematic blend of raw songwriting, layered arrangements, and emotionally direct lyricism — drawing from influences ranging from Tori Amos and PJ Harvey to orchestral film composition.
In conversation with Matt Pinfield, Bates reflected on growing up in a deeply musical environment alongside her father, acclaimed composer Tyler Bates (who appeared on two episodes of The Soundtrack with Lev L Spiro), and recording on the Guardians of the Galaxy soundtracks at a young age — including performing with the London Symphony Orchestra at Abbey Road Studios when she was just 15 years old.
The interview also explored her time touring with Jerry Cantrell, stepping into her own identity as an artist, and the deeply personal themes behind Love and Power, including self-worth, empowerment, relationships, and creative independence.
“I find that I don't like writing if it doesn't come from a really raw place. It just doesn't feel like my song and it's not like super raw. So definitely all the lyrics on this, on the song are about very personal experiences and bringing those to life. And I always, from a performance perspective, even if it's a song about heartbreak or something dark that happened in my past, like bringing that to light with a newfound strength and inner power, I like performing the songs in that way”
“The whole album is very personal to me. And it's just about, you know, myself, like taking agency over my life and love and relationships and coming to terms with things that I wanted to change and how I wanted to be in the world and the person I wanted to grow into”
Throughout the session, Bates discussed her hands-on role in every aspect of her work — from songwriting and production to visual direction, styling, and music video concepts — describing the album as a reflection of fully stepping into herself creatively.
“I worked with my friend Zev Deans, who's an amazing music video director on it. It's got some cool Lynchian kind of vibes...all the videos I'm also extremely involved in. I'm mostly producing all of them. I do a lot of costume design. I come up with makeup concepts. I work directly with the director, producers, editor. Like I'm very involved in my visuals as well. That video was super fun. We decided to have a clown character that we kind of dressed up very horror-like, black and white sort of 1920s vibe"
Lola Bates’ Love and Power is out now on Gravel and Echo Recordings and available on Black 140g Vinyl from her website: https://www.lolabatesmusic.com/
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- · Filmed & Edited & Photographed by Matt Blake
- · Audio by Tristan Dolce
- · Host: Matt Pinfield
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