When Life gives you lemons, ask for LIME
I recently had the pleasure of chatting with Chloe, Lead singer of your New favourite Indie-pop four piece, LIME. The Brighton based band is comprised of Chloe (Vocals/Guitar) Annabel (Drums) Leila (Lead Guitar) and Tippi (Bass). With the unique discoesque pop sound of their first two singles ‘Surf N Turf ’ and ‘Fever’ LIME has made quite a name for themselves within the city.
We discussed how the band came to be, their influences, the many opportunities they have created in their time as a band, and how the pandemic and subsequent lockdowns have affected them. A.K.A ruining a European tour.
From our interview I found out that LIME was originally formed in Guildford, where three members of the band were studying at the same music college. However they properly got the ball rolling on their career as a band once they had moved to Brighton, meeting their final member in the process, their bassist Tippi. Taking inspiration from each of the band members’ different musical backgrounds, with half of the band favouring heavier styles like metal and hard rock, and the other half preferring more pop centric artists. The band pushed them all together to make something new, and to foster a naturally changing and evolving sound, with Front Person Chloe stating “so we kinda like joined forces and thats how we got the sound, by getting all of our influences and putting them together… because we have so many different influences. I think thats part of the fun of it, we can do what we want really!”
One particular artist that they have stated as being an influence is Courtney Barnett. Specifically when writing lyrics, as the band has an admiration for how she takes everyday and mundane themes and makes them cool and interesting. You can see this kind if style throughout LIME’s work, but a standout example comes from their debut single “Surf N Turf’ with the brilliant opening line ‘I’m sorry, I ate some cheese”.
Another draw to LIME as a band is their strong use of visuals to Appeal to the eyes as well as their ears. This can be seen in their latest music video for their single ‘Fever’. Where the band takes the simple concept of playing their music in a bar and elevates it by making each member of the band sweat a comical amount, with intermittent saxophone solos from the band’s own Annabel. Something you should definitely check out!
The focus of these videos has been for the band to take what they think of when listening to their music and put it on screen for us viewers, as they plan on continuing to deliver well crafted videos in the future. As I’m told they are planning them out alongside writing the music.
Naturally we can’t escape talking about the pandemic these days and how it has massively affected the music industry. However, it’s a nice breath of fresh air to hear that a band like LIME actually had a very successful year, stating that “It’s been kind of ridiculous that 2020 was probably the most successful year for us”. LIME managed to get involved with the increasing popularity of online live-streamed gigs, performing at Battersea Arts Centre. Which Chloe explained was ironically the largest venue they had played thus far! But instead of the usual crowd they had all the people who bought a ticket on screens in front of them, which made for an unusual but very enjoyable experience. She went on to say that although these shows are a surreal experience “It makes people come together in a time where everyone is kind of isolated, so its a really positive thing to be a part of”
Although concerts and tours have all been cancelled due to this buzzkill pandemic, LIME have said that hopefully their first tour of Europe should still be happening in future, although the details are up in the air, but that gives us all something to look forward to!
So what’s next from LIME? It looks as though the band is going to be keeping up the momentum from 2020, with new music on the horizon and a tonne of shows lined up post-lockdown (Whenever that may be). It is looking to be another great year for this up and coming band. So start listening to LIME now so you can say you were one of the cool kids who knew them before they were giving BRIT award acceptance speeches!
Follow LIME on Facebook and Instagram and check out their tunes on Spotify