Amidst the Historic Fires in Los Angeles, Goldiie Lux Refuses to Cancel Her Interview Appointment with Me to Discuss Her Latest EP, S.I.N.
Determination is an incredibly important part of success in any industry. But, in music and media, one must be constantly doing their thing in front of as many audiences as possible, all the time. Sure, this is an exhausting part of the gig, but - in many ways - it’s mandatory. Based in Los Angeles, Goldiie Lux had an interview scheduled with me during a week where the City of Angels experienced the worst fires the town has ever known.
While Goldiie (born Naomi Simon Summers) was just outside of the evacuation zone, she managed to meet me for this chat, even if it meant sitting in a car parked nearby her home as she checked on news about the fire's progress. As the saying goes, the show must go on, and it’s a showbiz lesson that Goldiie has clearly learned well. She didn’t let a once in a lifetime catastrophe stop her from meeting with me to talk about her recently released EP, SIN (South Coast Music Group).
So, join me for a chat with Goldiie: it’s interesting to speak with an artist right at the beginning of their career, to try and guess the directions it might take. Here’s an artist who is eager to talk about her new music and plans even as the haze from the fires in Los Angeles surrounded her car and threatened the place she currently calls home. That’s determination: that’s Goldiie Lux.
Evan Toth: Where are you? I guess you're in your car. Are you in LA right now?
Goldiie Lux: I am in LA, yes.
ezt: My gosh. Were you displaced or did you have a issue?
gl: Fortunately, no. I'm in Woodland Hills. I'm maybe a block or two from the mandatory evacuation zone. I'm looking every 10 minutes on the watch duty app to make sure that everything is good. I've three cats, so that's really what I'm worried about, is if I have to go on a quick notice that I get them.
ezt: You want to grab the cats. Yes, I hear you.
gl: Yes.
ezt: Thanks for joining me today and I appreciate you joining me from-- Doing this show is a little bit weird in the last few weeks because a lot of the folks that I communicate with and in setting up interviews, everybody has been a little displaced and it's just been a very strange time for everyone in Los Angeles that I've been connecting with. As you just told me before we started talking, I understand you're just outside of the fire danger zone, so thanks for doing this with me today. I do appreciate it.
gl: Thank you for having me. I'm grateful that I'm not directly impacted, but a lot of people I know are, so it's been a journey trying to support them in any way I can, whether it's clothes or maybe a place to stay for the time being, unless I get evacuated. All of that. It is chaos, but it seems like it's brought out the best in people where people are coming together.
ezt:: Unbelievable. Unbelievable time. We're going to talk about the brand new EP that you've released recently. When did that actually come out? Drop. I was going to say...when did it drop?
gl: When did it drop? It came out in September of last year. Now it's last year. To me, it feels recent because it's my baby. I've been mostly focused on those six songs, but yes, September of '24.
ezt: From what I understand, you grew up in the laid-back communities of Santa Barbara and Oxnard, California. How did those environments shape your creativity and self-expression at a young age?
gl: I was born in Santa Barbara and I went back for college, so I feel like being in Santa Barbara shaped my subconscious mind in a way based on the stories my mom tells me of growing up out there. She also went to school at UCSB (University of California, Santa Barbara). Me and my sister went two years ago, so I think that that shaped my early mind and it shaped my young adult mind as well.
The majority of my life I grew up in Oxnard, which is a great town, a great community. I don't know if you've been there, if you've heard of it, but there's beaches right next to strawberry fields, and then there's hiking trails 20 minutes away. It's a lot of different terrain.
I feel like the type of person that brings in or the type of person that raises is someone that's really into the environment, which is what I ended up studying, environmental studies, and I felt like I could be myself there.
ezt: As you mentioned, you did start with the environmental studies, and so what was the shift there? What was the original thought, you fell in love with that sort of an academic direction and then said, "Hey, wait a minute, I think I want to be a musician, an artist"?
gl: It is a big shift, I'll give you that. I've always been into the environment. I've always loved the ocean and going on hikes, being in the forest. My mom is from Humboldt County, Ferndale specifically, so way up north in California. It's surrounded by nature, so it's in my blood. I originally chose that field because I've been in a position where academics come easily to me or it's something I felt I could conquer. In music, it's a whole different ball game and you can't just write an essay, get an A, or get a B and then move on. It's not something you pass or fail. It's something that's always evolving and you have to almost give a part of yourself in order to really gain what you're looking for in it.
I feel like a similarity among all artists is they're trying to share a story and it is not always easy. You see with trends and different things that people try to be someone they're not, but the people that I've seen garner the most success are the ones that are unapologetically themselves. That's something that I wanted to embody in my music, is showing a version of myself that I can't just write in an essay or post a perfect aesthetically pleasing picture online and gain someone's trust. You have to be vulnerable in order to gain that trust and that support, which is why being a musician appealed to me because it's not something that you can just right away and give a superficial version of yourself in order to succeed in.
ezt: Sure. How was your family? How did they take that? They're supportive of the shift or are they like, "You have a whole academic career. What are you going to be? What are you doing here?"
gl: A bit of both in the sense that my mom, she's a little bit crazy. I was very much by the book, but I was always like, "What's the next thing I'm going to do?" COVID, which impacted a lot of people, but I took the opportunity. Because a lot of my classes were online, I'm like, "I'll move out to LA and see what I can do there." My sister, who's a year older than me, super supportive. She is my number one fan and my younger brother as well. They're just like, "Okay, I believe in you regardless of what you're going to do." They're there to support me, which I'm really happy about.
ezt: Hey, you can always go back to it. That's what my mom always said, you can always go back to it.
gl: Yes, but in music, I feel like if you have a backup plan, then it's not going to go the way that you want it to, so I'm not thinking of it as a backup plan. I'm thinking of it as life experience that I can now put into what I'm doing now in my music, in my videos, in the message I want to create in my online presence, and all of that.
ezt: You're absolutely right. Don't let me give yourself that out.
gl: No, no outs. All in.
ezt: Don't let me do that.
gl: 100%
ezt: I understand you are a Gemini. I'm a Scorpio, but you are a Gemini and the Gemini is the duality and you've got a bit of a duality to your sound. Are there certain influences from maybe your sign that maybe go into music? Is there something about that? You just did talk about that into intellectual and creative side, but is that a theme through your life and do you see that in your music too?
gl: Absolutely. A lot of people I meet, it's weird because the people I tend to gravitate towards are either a Gemini or a Scorpio, so-
ezt: There you go.
gl: -this whole thing makes sense. Most of the Geminis I know, they're very much, I wouldn't even say bipolar, but they're this and then they're that and very strong-faced about everything. For me, I feel like I embody it. When I was younger, I would get, not in trouble but caught in the middle where I see your side of the argument, but I also see yours. I got from both sides by not wanting to be the pick-a-side type of person. I feel like in my music, I embody the Gemini by seeing everything and bringing them into a melting pot. That's why I also chose the name Goldiie Lux because it's not too hot, not too cold.
ezt: Oh!
gl: It's just a perfect balance of both sides. That's very much been me since I was little.
ezt:That can frustrate people sometimes, right? Like, "Don't think too much. Why are you thinking so much?" I get that too sometimes from people like, well, you want to see this side, you want to see the other side. Especially in this day and age, politically or any other thing, sometimes there is a middle ground and it frustrates people. Have you had that experience?
gl: Definitely. Like I said, growing up, I have that experience in little middle school disputes. I remember a specific instance. I was at a track meet and they're mad at each other and then they talk to each other and they're like, "Goldiie said this and that and it sounds like she's advocating both sides," but it's not as much about advocating both sides as much as seeing the reason in two sides of the story because every story has two sides.
ezt: You mentioned that, and again, we're just following the path the story of your life here a little bit, you decide to move to Los Angeles, you're taking a break from the academic thing, and your big sister is out there, I guess. Why don't you just describe, what was it like entering this different world, this entertainment world? How did you decide that that's something that you wanted to do? That's something you'd been doing all of your life up to now or what was your experience really taking it seriously and doing it professionally as you are right now?
gl: Being part of that COVID era in college made it so I had the opportunity to move out here. Luckily, I wasn't heavily impacted by that. Once we did start going back in person, I would do the two-hour drive to Santa Barbara and back at 5:00 AM and figure that out. I happened to meet a few people in college who were in music and they were around other people who had success. Some of the people that I ended up being friends with, they rapped and stuff. It was cool, but I'm like, "Wow, if that's what people are into, I feel like I can do this too." It seemed easy at first. Originally, I started out rapping, and then I met some people that are like, "That's not it."
Because at first, it's easy to throw money at something when someone records you or someone releases a song for you and you are like, "No one's tell me it's bad. My mom thinks it's good." Luckily, I found someone that cared more about honesty than hurting my feelings, and that's how I got into singing, which I feel like shows a bigger part of my soul and who I am. It's been a journey and not an easy one. The further you get into music, the more you realize how much because you always hear the phrase, "it takes a village," but it really does. It takes so many people.
Someone might be an artist development or management or helping you perform versus helping you dance. There's so many different pieces to the puzzle that from the outside, you just see the final product, but you don't realize all of the different things that go into it from the ground up.
ezt: Tell me a little bit about your team. Who helped you with the EP and the recording and the sound? Who is formulating this sound that you're making now?
gl: I've had so much help from so many different works I don't even know where to start. Obviously, my label, Southwest Music Group, has had a huge part in putting it out and helping me create my vision. I love my label. I feel like it's because if I want to call up Arnold Taylor, the CEO, the president of the label, he answers and I'm like, "Hey, I have this crazy idea. What do you think?" and he's like, "Yes, if you want to put that out into the world, if this is a vision that you want," he's a 100% behind it. Or he's like, "I have more experience in this and this is how I've seen it go before, so maybe rethink that."
It's a lot of hands-on open conversations and it's been a lot of back and forth and conversations about what I see myself as and what I want my vision to be and how that might come across in a social media aspect or in my music videos or in the way I deliver the song because everyone on my team sees from the concept, the making of the idea to when it actually comes out, and when there's the video, and when I'm performing it. There's so many small things along the way that makes the story that much clearer and it's so much fun to be able to work with people that believe in my vision and that have the insight to help that vision become reality.
ezt: Working with the team is good. You have a lot of different people who are doing different things and helping you in different ways, but sometimes have you been able to keep your own voice and keep your own vision and make sure that you're doing things the way that you want to do them? Have you had that kind of experience of saying, "Hey, look, thanks for that feedback, but the Goldiie Lux ways is this way, not that way"?
gl: Yes, I think everybody has that moment where they can either become a product of their environment or they can stand up for what they see as their future. There's been moments where I've been in a room of like 10 people and we play a few songs and there's one that I absolutely adore, and then there's one that they think is going to be the one that goes up, or however you want to say it, the star of the thing of the EP or any project that comes out.
When I first started releasing videos, I have an opinion, and I loved the song and I recorded it because every song to me is a piece of me, so I love them, but I think that some of them I wasn't strong in voicing like, "Hey, maybe not that one. Maybe let's not do so much with that." It can be part of the project and part of the story without having as many things behind it. Once I got signed, that open conversation has, in my opinion, saved a lot of face in the sense that they might love a song, and then I don't, and they're like, "Okay, well, maybe we'll come back to it."
Or, "If you're not feeling it, they're going to hear when you perform it or they're going to hear it in the video. They're going to see it in the way you perform, so let's not go with it. If you're not in love with it, let's not do it." I've been lucky to be able to keep my voice while still learning from other people's opinions and experiences.
ezt: "Vertigo" is one of my favorite songs on the EP. Again, folks should realize it all works together, but you have a lot of different styles and things that you are exploring musically on the EP. This one's a little bit maybe more on the pop side of things, but maybe you could talk about that song and just overall the the different styles of music you're interested in and maybe some influences that you have.
gl: Absolutely. It's so funny, I just came from almost performance lesson for Vertigo, so that song is stuck in my head right now.
ezt: There you go.
gl: I love it. It's one of my favorites as well. I think part of that reason is because it is pop-leaning. I think I have other songs that are pop-leaning, but they would be classified more towards alternative because they're not as upbeat. I have mid-tempo, I have slower songs. Vertigo itself is about letting go, calling someone out on their wrongdoings, and seeing that even if you're in a situation for a certain amount of time, you can still snap out of it and be like, "This isn't what I want," and turn that around into something positive for yourself or walk out because it's never too late to move on and realize that you can do better for yourself.
The EP as a whole feels almost since there are so many different tempos within it, stages of grief, and stages of loss, and that you don't win every battle, but winning a battle doesn't necessarily equate to a win, losing a battle doesn't necessarily equate to a loss. There's always a gray area where it's more of a lesson than anything else. That's how I feel about this. There's the slower R&B stuff, there's the pop, there's almost with wake up, there's almost reggaeton vibes in there. It's all over the spectrum and they're all a piece of me, which is another thing I love being able to not just stick to one specific category, but to really show who I am within my music
ezt: What things did you like to listen to growing up and what things do you like to listen to now?
gl: Growing up, my mom played a lot of oldies. She loved Aretha Franklin, she loved reggae. She definitely influenced the way I listen to music now. My stepdad, I remember I was eight or something and he got me an iPod Shuffle for Christmas and it had Jay-Z, it had Rihanna, it had Fiona Apple, Lily Allen. A lot of those tastes, I feel like, influenced the way I listen to music now. All those are classics and you can always come back to them. People always want to remix them. They've reached the status where, even if it's not your vibe of music, if it's not your favorite genre, you can't deny that it's great music.
ezt:Just as I'm listening to you, I'm looking out the window of the car there, and everything looks hazy. It seems like you have a really interesting little snapshot of Los Angeles right now there.
gl: Absolutely. It's so weird because if I go on my weather app, it says the air is fine, but then when I'm walking around, I see people in masks and stuff. It says the air quality doesn't necessarily pick up on things that aren't normally there, so I'm just being extra cautious and making sure I stay safe and my lungs stay healthy because I don't want any problems down the road.
ezt: How could the air be okay? I'm here in New Jersey and last year we had those crazy
smoke coming down from Canada. I remember the air quality was 99 or whatever, it was something terrible. I would be surprised to hear that the weather app says that there in California.
gl: Mostly from what I've seen on people picking up on that is that it doesn't pick up on things that aren't normally there. Even if there's blue skies, it might not actually be good because there's particles of all the stuff that got picked up and things burning down from years and years ago that are more regulated now that are being released, so it's scary.
ezt: Yes, the things that nobody expected to be on fire.
gl: Absolutely.
ezt: Sorry for that tangent, but I just wanted to comment on the world going on outside there. Another angle of your career here is also fashion-related. You were photographed by the New York Times during New York Fashion Week, and it gives you this stylish style icon direction as well. How do you see fashion and music intersecting in your career? Do you think they work with each other? How do you think about that in this career that you're beginning to build here for yourself?
gl: I think fashion and music are forever intertwined. I have been going to Fashion Week in New York for a few years now, and every time I go, it influences maybe a song I'll make or the way I dress. I recently came back from Tokyo, Japan, and the fashion out there is completely different and I feel like that has influenced a few of my pieces now or things that I look out for. Music is an expression of yourself and fashion done right is an expression of yourself. It's easy to get caught up in trends or what you think is acceptable. Especially as an artist, I feel like I have more of a platform to be able to show different sides of myself in my fashion as well as my music because they're extensions of each other.
I love sharp angles, I love statement pieces and crazy patterns, and it's just different ways to meet people like, "What is that? What are you doing?" A lot of people will come up to me like, "You must do something wearing that" and I'm like, "I could just be walking down the street." I feel like I'd be dressing how I dress regardless of whether or not I did music, but it's definitely a conversation starter and it makes people see a different side of myself.
ezt: I know we were just talking about Vertigo. Is there another song on the EP that you feel really turned out just the way you wanted it to or that you really love particularly?
gl: I love all of them obviously. To me, they're all mine and they're different parts of myself. The final song, the sixth song on that project is Pretty Little Liar, and to me, that one came out awesome. It's a bit different than anything I've done before. It almost has an EDM vibe to it in some parts, the way that the vocals are broke down. Not completely. People that are totally into that music would disagree with me, but I feel like in some ways, it does hold a place for that. I love the arrangement that Maly did on it. He did the final mix for it and he really brought to life what I was envisioning and put his own sauce on it and made it beautiful in my opinion.
ezt: What was the inspiration for that? There seems to be a lot of betrayal and dishonesty and stuff on that track.
gl: Yes.
ezt: You don't have to get too personal. I'm just saying.
gl: I think that that one is more if Vertigo is being over someone and calling them out, then Pretty Little Liar is the stage right before that where you feel like almost defeat. I've heard the phrase, if you're in a relationship, you can't change someone unless they want to be changed. That song is realizing that someone doesn't want to be changed. Almost, like you said, betrayal or defeat that comes with that.
ezt: The EP has been out for a few months, what have you heard about people's reactions to it? What do people say to you? How have you been getting it out to people? What are the ways that you've been sharing it with people and what's been some of the feedback that you've received?
gl: I've been able to get it out in a lot of different ways. Luckily, we're in an age where all social media is a way to, not only promote yourself but your brand and your music. There's Instagram, TikTok, YouTube. I have a few videos out for this EP. Also, the feedback I've been getting, a lot of people love Wake Up, so it's really cool to see people from different parts of the world and their interpretations of the song, especially when they make TikToks to it and stuff, seeing this is how I feel when I hear the song. Or whether it's their morning routine or seems like they're talking to someone through the camera, it's really interesting to see all the different reactions and responses to the songs that are out versus how I feel about them.
ezt: What do you think is going to happen with TikTok?
gl: I have no idea. People have said it's shutting down, on the other side, I've heard that they extended the deadline, maybe.
ezt: Oh, I didn't hear that yet.
gl: I heard that this morning. You never know. I've heard of people getting on RedNote or Lemon8 and all of these different apps, but I think if it's somebody that loves to release content, they're going to find a way to do that regardless of the platform, and people will find them and fall in love with them regardless of what platform they're releasing it on.
ezt: It's interesting, of course, with the artists like yourself, everybody has a marketing plan that they've worked on really hard and now there's a part of it that may not be viable, so you'll have to figure out. Everything is like TikTok-ish nowadays anyway, I guess, all those reels and things, but-
gl: Agreed.
ezt: -we'll see.
gl: It's easy to pivot. You just got to be willing to.
ezt: You're starting to see the fruits of your labor here from fashion to your fan base with your music, what are we seeing in the future? Of course, we're talking about an EP here. I can only assume that you've got a full length album maybe in the works that you're thinking about. Is there any sneak peek you can give us into your plans for the future?
gl: Yes. It's all a process. I am planning on dropping a video on January 29th for the EP that's out. It's actually for "Vertigo".
ezt: Oh, cool.
gl: You could look forward to that. Sometime in the first quarter of this year, I want to drop maybe a deluxe version of the EP. Two or three more songs that get people excited for the project that I'm currently working on, which will be longer and a different storyline. It's going to be really fun to see the progression and the different ways that I can show people different sides of myself.
ezt: Cool. Do you think that might be out before the end of this year? Here we are at the beginning of the year.
gl: Yes, that is the plan. I always want to drop more music and my label is super supportive of that. I would love to start with just a few songs, little teasers, a few singles, and by the end of the year, definitely have another full project go.
ezt: Oh, cool. Where are the best places for people to learn more about you and where can they find out more? Why don't you tell everybody?
gl: I like to start with social media, the Instagram, who knows if TikTok will be around, but also YouTube so you can get a sense of my personality. Something I've always heard is the music is supposed to be good, especially now that things are so front facing. That the music's supposed to be good, so I feel like you can see my personality more on Instagram and social media apps. Then for my music, once you fall in love with me, [chuckles] you can go to Spotify, YouTube, Apple Music and all of that to listen to the bodies of work that I've put out thus far.
ezt: All the usual spots, well, cool. Listen, thanks again, especially given the circumstances in your hometown where you're living right now. I do appreciate you sticking to the sea. Now we can tell how dedicated you are to this career choice because you're not going to let a fire get in the way of an interview with this guy in New Jersey.
gl: [chuckles] Man, I'm happy that you had me on because it gives more light to my story and to the things here. We talked about what's going on here too, so anyone that might not know and happens to listen to what you are saying, they're like, "Oh, it's real and it's right there."
ezt: It's real and it's right there. That's the name of your next album, I think
gl: I like it. It might be.
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