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LULA - Interview on HX (Long version)

Last night a dance diva saved your life?
It´s probably the legendary Lula
By Brandon Voss

With one of the most instantly recognizable voices in the dance music scene, Lula has captured the ears and hearts of house- hungry clubgoers from the moment she exploded out of the speakers on NYLX´s 1998 chart-topper "Goosebumps" to her most recent hit, "There Is Only One" with Alan T. Now slinging singles off her debut album "The Underground Sounds of Portugal and Me", Lula recalls her gay beginnings as an Austrian dance floor denizen reborn as a recording artist at Danny Tenaglia-era Twilo in New York.


Tell me a little bit about your relationship with the gay community in particular when you were living in NYC between 1993 and 2000. Which gay men influenced you and your career most?

Well, first of all I have to tell you, as long as I can remember the majority of my friends were gay men. What else can one need? Who could be better friends than my gay male friends? No one. Most straight guys suck. They have yellow teeth, they take a shower only if it is really necessary, mostly they have no style when it comes to music, movies and fashion... what the hell... they are no good. Mostly not even for the sex part... and I cant really deal with lots of girls either. Aaaannnyway.... back to your question...oh yeah, in 1994 I won an aerobic competition at the gay games in NYC, i have my gold Medal right here. of course all my fabulous trainers were gay man. And one of them, the wonderful, always happy Jim Shallal, took me to Cafe Con Leche at sound factory bar and to junior at sound factory. Jim was a biiiiiiiig influence for me. Without him I would not have started going to these places so often. and I would not have won gold either! Junior Vasques of course taught my ears how music in a club should sound like. Oh my.... his unbelievable music taste... it was 100% pure, dark, underground... the best. THE BEST. I could cry thinking of his music and the feeling in that place... aaaahhhhh. And then of course Danny Tenaglia when SF became Twilo. Meeting him and hanging out with him was one of the best things that happened to me ever. All the great people I met through him. All this great music he introduced me to. And of course the fact that he let me get behind the microphone.... without him I wouldn´t have any record out until this day, I believe.

2 How's the gay scene in Austria? Do you have a lot of gay friends in your life there?

Yeah, same here like in NY.... the best parties are gay, OF COURSE, the only parties I go to are gay, of course, almost all my friends are gay men, of course. Always were, always will be. When I have a party in my house, mostly I´m the only woman. Just cute guys all over the place, with six packs, hanging out, barbecuing, cooking, listening to music, having a good time, laughing together and all that. That´s when I feel happy and free.

Many of our readers won't have experienced Twilo, to which you pay homage in your latest single, "Twilo." What made that particular club so special, and what impact did it have on you?

Twilo... Twilo... oh God... its part of my life. I´m SPECIFICALLY talking about Sunday mornings at Twilo. It was the most perfect place of them all. Everything there. Everybody there. All the promoters, the security guys, door men, bar men, dancers.... (Oh my ... Ray, Marcello, Ivan...
I´m sure everybody remembers these mega sexy guys?) All the friends I made there.... sooooo many. And I loved them all so much. What times we had there. It was all love, happiness. Every week. For all of us. And of course the sound system. To die for. The big, black speakers right next to our bodies. We could feel every sound, every beat in our heart and souls. Coming right at us from the dj booth were Danny was doing his magic. Danny´s music was to die for.... these were the best nights of my life. Filled with friends, laughter, love and tears. We let all our emotions out right there on the dance floor. No worries to be judged or criticized. We were all a big family that night. Thank god I had the privilege to be there. Every weekend. We couldn´t miss it. I lived for it. We all lived for it. It was our heaven. Our paradise... enough..... I have to stop.... I get too too sentimental...

It all began there, as the lyrics say, in front of the speaker. How might your life have turned out had you never discovered that club?

Actually this great, great club in the 80ies in Vienna called the U4 got dark, underground music and me hooked on nightclubs. It was THE place to be in Europe at that time actually. Falco was there, Sade, Prince, everybody went there. It was like a small Sound Factory. Great sound system, very dark, and cool people. I started going there when I was 16 years old and from the first night on I was hooked. Really. I felt like I couldn´t live without these nights anymore. I was absorbing it all, listening to the music, feeling whatever there was to feel, even falling asleep behind the speakers sometimes, with the beat banging inside of me. (And of course I was falling asleep in school the next day, too). But I loved it. looooooved it. And then when I came to NYC the best place to be for me was the old Sound Factory with Junior. So actually before Twilo was born I was all the way in the speaker with all my heart. Twilo was the icing on the cake of course. That´s where Danny started noticing me when I was all over this big, black speaker for hours and hours. That´s were I met all the great producers like Cevin Fisher, Johnny Vicious, Merritt. Everybody who loved music was there. And because of Danny I am Lula now. And I met even more wonderful producers. If it wasn´t for him and Twilo I wouldn´t have the honor to answer to your interesting questions right now. it´s fabulous.

How often are you able to get back to NYC these days? And now that the days of Sound Factory, Twilo, and other 90s big-room clubs are over, does NYC clubland even still appeal to you?

Sadly I m not in NYC too often. I wish I could be there at least once a year. It´s not even that often.... I still love the City, even though it changed a lot. I just love NY. It´s the best City for me (I made a new song about New York too) . I would like to live there again one day. Maybe when my son is bigger. I miss NYC so much. You are asking me about the nightlife.... well, to be honest, I m really spoiled from these good, old nights we had. It´s very hard to enjoy the clubs now. Not just in NYC. Everywhere I go to. The Sound Systems are not how they used to be. Sometimes I don´t even hear a bass!!!!!!! A nightmare!!!! The lights are too bright. They are just so different now. They are not about the music anymore. Even though the music is great, I heard Behrouz and Calderone last time when I went out in NYC to shoot my Video with Alan T and I got sad and depressed in the clubs. What´s up with dancing and getting into the music???? Isn´t that what a club is for? I see too many after work yuppies talking and standing around on the dance floor, making photos with their phones.... what is this? I don´t get it. There should be rules in a club. No talking, no cameras, no drinks on the dancefloor. No bottle service, no velvet booths to sit around. It´s called a dance club. So DANCE! I also miss my friends from back then when I go out.

You have an eight-year-old son, correct? How has motherhood changed you?

Yeah, that´s correct. My son is big already... god, next year he will be 9 years old... it´s crazy.... motherhood changed me, in the way that I care and think about my sons well being more than I think of myself. I do what´s best for him. That´s why I live in Austria rather than NYC, that´s why I hardly travel to do my shows, that´s why I hardly go out, and if I do, I will bring him to school the next day, no matter what. I also thought it would change me as the artist LULA. But it didn´t. Except that I had to turn down many gigs. When I was at this Madonna party in L.A. with the Perry Twins and they played my track I felt the same like I used to feel being on the stage in 1999, before I became pregnant. When I finally performed my new Album in Portugal 2 weeks ago, the moment the music started playing I was in my Lula world and I forgot everything around me. The moment I hear good music, I can just be the same person that I was at Twilo, I can just let it all out and dance and dance and dance. All night. I still love that. I still love to be in front of a speaker with good music. It´s still my heaven and my life. And it will be until the day I die. I know it.

Tell me a little bit about the message of "Last Night A Dj Saved My Life (While A Dj Gave Me Trouble)." We can imagine that Danny Tenaglia saved your life in a way, but how did a DJ also give you trouble? And were there any other DJs who have "saved you" over the years?

Yeah Danny saved my life many times in the past, also Dj Vibe. Now this days its Eddie Cumana, Carlos Fauvrelle, Jiggy and Kobbe who took over. I need to be saved a lot.... and they are always there for me when I need them. They are all so nice to me. That´s why I love them.... The overall message of my song is that some DJs have the ability to change our life with their music journeys. Using the Artists lyrics just at the right time the Dj has the strength to open up doors in our soul we did not know existed. We can get answers, we can see the light, we can find the right way when we are lost right on the dancefloor. A Dj can give us the information we need through a song they are playing. They can save our life with a song. It´s the truth. They let us feel their soul through their music. You can just feel what they feel and I love that. I am on my knees when a Dj gives me a piece of that inner feeling. When he allows me to get a glimps of his heart and soul and this song is a tool in that journey. What I don´t love, what I detest are the ones that want bad things to happen to other people and I am not featuring them in a good light. Sadly there is this NYC based STAR Dj who has been giving me and my label Kult Records some dirty, annoying DRAMA. Not only he has been threatening and disrespecting me for a year now but he has also been telling the craziest lies about me. One is that I had disappeared somewhere in the country side of Austria, fell in a deep depression and I was nowhere to be reached for years.... hahahaha.... how ridiculous.... I mean, Vienna is not NYC, but still we do have Internet and cell phones over here.... hahahaha..... Too funny.... he is also pretending to own me, messing up record deals by threatening people that he will sue everybody who works with me only because I refuse to work with him and release on his label anymore.... its ridiculous really. A sad DJ, I would call him that. Wait a Minute.... didn´t someone punch him in the nose lately? I wonder why????? Hmmmmm....I guess he gave someone else trouble too! Thank God my great producer Eddie Cumana, my lawyer and my big strong Papa Joe are sending him DOWN THE DRAIN. Ah! Ah! Bye, bye.... HAHAHAHA! NEXT!

I hear that one of the locations for your video shoot in Los Angeles was at the Madonna's Record Release party for Hard Candy. How did that come about, what was the crowd reaction and most importantly, did Madonna not mind sharing her spotlight?

That was cool.... and fun! Yeah, we were shooting my video for my new above mentioned track "Last night a DJ saved my life" featuring the wonderful vocals of Papa Joe (coming out on my label KULT Records of course!) that same evening in Beverly Hills. Eddie Amador´s wife (Maria), works for Warner brothers and invited us there and got the permission to shoot for my video (as Eddie Amador is also involved in the single) which was directed by Peter Rocca. Can you imagine? I was in West Hollywood shooting parts of my video at a Madonna party? Its crazy.... I guess I am not in such a deep depression hiding in some Hut over the Hills and far away after all.... Hahahahaha.... a pretty glamorous life rather... I´m sorry to disappoint whoever would wish me to disappear in the Austrian farmlands.... Aaaannyyway... yeah, Madonna didn´t mind sharing the spot light at all, because she wasn´t there. Hahahahaha... Thank God! I would have never gone on any stage if she had been there, of course not, no matter what the director would have told me... NEVAH! (Alan T. would have for sure. hahahaha. He is too funny. I can just imagine him screaming in Madonna´s ear with his megaphone. "There´s only one.... Lula".... oooopsss...sorry... "Madonna" of course... hahahaha. I am joking!) Sorry... I talk too much; I know... where was I? Oh yeah, the sweet Perry Twins (Funny enough the Perry Twins had interviewed me and Alan T. 2 months ago for their blog) were djing that night and the crowd was really great. When the floor heard my track and saw me on stage they went crazy. It was sooooo cool. After my long baby break, it was the best feeling ever. It had been so many years. To still have so many fans, no matter where I go, was an amazing feeling. I was so happy. I loved it and got excited for my first gig in Portugal that was coming up the following week!

I hear you also have a close ”and handsome”gay doctor friend who let you shoot part of the video at his pad as well. Sounds like so much fun! Is he single?

My handsome friend is single, yes. And he has a great house in Beverly Hills.... with amazing furniture. You will see it in the video.... he´s a good catch!!! GET HIM!!!!! I met him at the Roxy, a looooong time ago.... before Twilo.... God... when was that???? And since then we have been best friends. He was very generous to let us shoot the video there. But it was fun, and it will be cool to see his house in my video. For all of us. My son and I might move to LA to live there with him... lets see....

Are there any contemporary non-dance artists that fans might be surprised to hear that you listen to?

Mostly I listen to electro, tech house, minimal... I like Radio Slave, Chaim, Audion and Alex Smoke for example, mostly European stuff really..... Its dance too, I guess, but not what they would play in NYC clubs. I was always a big fan of Depeche Mode, Massive Attack, Gus Gus, Tricky. I love Drum and Bass, I also love Rap/Hip Hop.... always did. When I started collecting vinyl in the 80ies it was mostly Rap. And I still love it. But whatever I listen to has to be new music. I do not listen to old music ever. I dont´t like it. It has to be brand new.... I just cannot listen to old music. Silly, really....

This interview will appear in our "DIVA" Music Issue. Do you consider yourself a diva of dance music?

Diva? Me? I don´t think so. No, no, no. Well, I don´t know.... maybe? Maybe a little? I don´t like to cook; I don´t like to clean... I want my photos retouched so that nobody sees my wrinkles.... I hate, hate, and hate to wait in line to get in a club. I hate, hate, and hate not to be on some guest list. I like it when people know me at the door, when I get in for free (not a money issue.... just a principle...), when I get a VIP pass, when I don´t have to get my drinks from the bar myself.... well, what do you call somebody like me? A bitch? Hahahaha...or a Diva? You choose, please. And let me know! hahahaha.... its 2 am and now I m getting silly.... THANKS SOOOOOOO MUCH TO BE IN THE DIVA ISSUE OF HX.... IT´S A HUGE HONOUR! Really. I would have never, ever dreamed to be in your magazine. And thanks to all my fans. I really, really appreciate every single soul who listens to my tracks and to what I have to say. I love you all.