Gold Lemonade, comprised of France born DJ/producer Lya Lewis and Caribbean rooted front-man Jvgg Spvrrow, are a cutting edge Hip-Hop meets EDM duo right on the cusp of taking the music world by storm. They are signed to founding member of the legendary world famous Motown quintet, the Jackson 5, eldest brother Jackie’s Las Vegas, Nevada, based imprint, Critically Amused. Their unique sound is catching the attention of fans everywhere and their new music must be listened to.
We recently caught up with the super tag team, Gold Lemonade to talk about the music business, how it all started and what fans can expect from them moving forward.
Parlé Mag: First things first, please introduce for me the members of Gold Lemonade…
Jvgg: Gold Lemonade is a fusion between Lya, EDM female DJ/producer and myself, Jvgg, Hip Hop/Trap vocalist. Our duo is all about creating a new wave of music, a new concept, a real blend between Hip-Hop and EDM.
Parlé Mag: Tell me your whole inception into music — When did you all first become interested in it? And, how did it all begin for Gold Lemonade?
Lya: We both had huge love for music since our childhood, and kind of knew that is what we wanted to do since we were young. We both developed our solo career for years, and finally met each other at a studio in Paris. We started to work together on different projects for other artists, but also for our solo projects. Finally, we decided to mix our two genres as a main genre and create a seamless blend between Hip Hop and EDM that hadn’t really been done before.
Parlé Mag: Now where exactly do you all hail from? And growing up there, who do you all consider to be your strongest musical influences?
Jvgg: I’m from the Caribbean, St. Maarten to be precise. Obviously, growing up there brought me a lot of musical influence: Reggae, Dancehall, Hip-Hop, etc. Listening (to) artists like Richie Spice, Bounty Killer, Vybz Kartel, Tupac, Lil Wayne, etcetera. I guess I got used to melodies when listening to these artists. I thank them for that, and you can hear these influences in my vocals today.
Lya: I was born in West of France, but moved a lot during my childhood. My influences came more from what I used to listen to at home. I was obsessed with music, and I was listening a lot of different styles: Soul, Jazz, Rock, Metal, Pop, Hip-Hop, etcetera. I would listen to Sade, Tina Turner, Supertramp, Radiohead, Portishead, Tupac, Eminem, Joshua Redman, Maceo Parker. I can’t count how many artists I used to listen to. Later, at around 17 years old I fell in love with electronic music and I never left it.. .but I have a lot of different influences from all type of music.
Parlé Mag: At what particular point in time, specifically, did you opt to pursue music on a professional basis?
Lya: It was evident for me since I was young, but when I won a DJ contest in France in 2010 and I signed my first contract with a music label, it was the real beginning of my professional career. Since that day, I put all my life and my energy in my music and my career, and it became the goal of mine to make it in the music industry.
Jvgg: I started music in 2011 with my homies in St Maarten. I used to do it for the fun until I really felt that was my passion. I moved to South of France, and then to Paris to be able to further my career. And that’s when I started getting real professional.
Parlé Mag: Where does the moniker Gold Lemonade originally derive from?
Lya: When we created the duo, we were looking for a band name. We wanted something which represented both of us. You might laugh, but we were on the West Coast at this time and both obsessed by Lemonade, the famous fast food restaurant, so it represented us at this time and was a common passion. Lemonade is fresh, refreshing and sunny. On the flip side, gold comes from the earth, it is precious, classy, shiny and authentic. With our music, you can party, have fun, forget your problems and dance, but we also have authentic and deep messages to motivate people to fight to achieve their dreams and make it big even if they come from nothing. This name represents these two sides.
Parlé Mag: With that being said, how do you all classify your overall sound and/or style?
Jvgg: Our sound is a mix between Hip-Hop and EDM as a hybrid. In a live show, we are a mix between an electro DJ set and a Hip-Hop vocal performance. But you can hear a lot of different influences in our music: Trap, Pop, Hip-Hop, Rock, Trip Hop… but almost always with an electronic drop. We have a song for every vibe.
Parlé Mag: The new single/video is entitled “Jump” — Tell me about this particular track; how did it come to fruition?
Lya: I remember that the day we started “Jump,” we really wanted make a club banger to make the crowd move and jump. So we worked on this song with that main idea in mind. It’s an EDM banger; simple yet efficient. The drop is perfect to jump to. The trap vibe of Jvgg’s vocals make the song powerful from A to Z. We love this song and love to play it on stage!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WjOItu7Rqfo
Parlé Mag: “Jump” comes courtesy of your School of Hard Drops mix-tape — Conceptually, what does that title represent both to and for you all?
Jvgg: School of Hard Drops comes obviously from the expression, “School of Hard Knocks.” We both come from a really modest background, it hasn’t always been easy. We worked hard and made a lot of sacrifices in life to be where we are today and to live our passion. So that represents us. Knowing that we are mixing Hip-Hop with EDM music, we changed “knocks” to “drops” to emphasize the electronic drops in our songs.
Parlé Mag: School of Hard Drops is a Critically Amused project — What particular string of events actually led to you all linking up with THE Jackie Jackson of, of course, Jackson 5 fame and ultimately signing with his boutique label?
Lya: I met Jackie in 2015 completely by chance. I was in Las Vegas to present my project and expand my career, and he was looking for electro beats for one of his artists. He really loved my work and we started to work together. When I came back (to) France, I met Jvgg and we started to work together on songs for Jackie’s artist. That’s how it all started. Finally, he signed our duo, Gold Lemonade, in 2017 to his label Critically Amused.
Parlé Mag: How much actual input/involvement does Mr. Jackson have when it comes down to the overall hands on experience with you all and your music? And, has the living legend given you all any real good/helpful advice, being that he has been in the music game for more than half a century?
Jvgg: No one can deny Jackie’s legendary status. He is still an incredible performer, songwriter, singer. We learn from him every day, and it is an honor to receive his advice on a daily basis. But on another side, he gives us a lot of freedom when it comes to music and lets us express our vision of things. He really loves our work. It’s like family now.
Parlé Mag: Switching gears here, what exactly do you all want people to get from your music?
Lya: MOTIVATION! If you want it, you can do it. Always believe in your dreams, fight for it, maintain with good values and principles and you will make it. The mixtape is about this very thing. Surround yourself with positivity and good vibes/people.
Parlé Mag: If you all could collaborate with any one artist, living or dead, who would it be and why?
Jvgg: Of course so many artists. To give some names: Tupac, Lil Wayne, J.Cole, YBN Cordae, Popcaan and so many names! A lot of great artists out there.
Lya: Same for me, way too many! Amy Winehouse, Rihanna, Skrillex, Zomboy, Dillon Francis, Eminem, Tupac, Koffee, Kendrick Lamar… I love so many artists.
Parlé Mag: If you all could play any venue in the world, which one would you choose and why?
Lya: It won’t be a venue, it will be a festival. Hard to choose which one, but a set on the Main Stage of Ultra Music Festival or Tomorrowland would be our dream and it’s a goal for us. We want to play in front of so many people. We just can’t wait to live this moment in our career.
Parlé Mag: In terms of longevity, what do you all feel it is that will continue to sustain you in this grueling industry?
Jvgg: For sure our diversity. We have influences from different music genres, different cultures. Everybody can recognize themselves in at least one of our songs. And we are going to continue to evolve and innovate again and be inspired by new things.
Parlé Mag: Do you all have any other outside/additional future aspirations, maybe even
completely away from music?
Lya: We are surrounded by artist friends, so we would like to create a music label one day to produce them and help them in their careers. In a more general sense, help people around us and around the world as much as we can. We have a lot of projects in mind, many different things that we want to do but for now, we’re 100% focused on Gold Lemonade.
Parlé Mag: To date, what has been your biggest career moments, at least thus far
anyway?
Jvgg: I think that our signature with Jackie Jackson and his label Critically Amused was a big moment of our career. The fact that a legend like him recognized our work and decided to give us a chance was like a dream. We moved from France to the USA at that time, too, so our whole life has changed in a few months… and it’s just the beginning!
Parlé Mag: Looking ahead, say five or maybe even ten years from now, where do you all
see yourselves?
Lya: We hope that these next ten years will be filled with trips and tours all around the world in the biggest clubs and festivals! Always releasing good music, composing and recording in studios all over the world, featuring with artists that we love… and producing other artists, too, on our own label.
Parlé Mag: As for the immediate, what’s next for Gold Lemonade?
Jvgg: We re already working on the next EP, on the next singles, and on new videos. We never stop working, thinking or creating… every morning, we wake up and we do something for our career. That’s the only way to make it!
Parlé Mag: Any final words you want to put out there?
Lya: Subscribe to our newsletter on the official website: Goldlemonade.com. A
lot of new things are coming! We already have a lot of songs out on all the
music platforms and music videos on our YouTube; check them out! Our 16
track ‘School of Hard Drops’ mix-tape dropped on June 21st, and contains
collaborations with other artists including Bok Nero, who has worked
extensively with Steve Aoki.
Stay Connected with Gold Lemonade on Social Media:
FB: @goldlemonadeofficial
Instagram: @goldlemonade
Twitter: @goldlemonadeoff
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