Q&A: The Films That Inspired april june’s Lovestruck Sophomore EP ‘baby’s out of luck again’
MUSIC ISN’T THE ONLY ART FORM — that april june (Victoria Zolotukhina) partakes in. The dream pop artist from Madrid studied film at Bard College in New York and art in Helsinki, Finland, two mediums that influence her music. Both places are as picturesque as an april june song, with castle-like buildings covered in foliage, cobblestone roads, and moody winters. Her new EP, baby’s out of luck again, isn’t unlike daydreaming from your window — each song drips with a sweet-sick longing and infatuation.
In april june’s world, everything is romantic. Love is fantasy, obsession, jealousy, and euphoria. She takes note from pop artists such as Lana Del Rey and Charli XCX, aka the girls who know these feelings all too well. Many of the songs on the EP were also inspired by films of the same nature — she cites The Virgin Suicides and Pamela, A Love Story directly, among classics like A Night at Maud’s and True Romance.
“One of my favorite writing exercises is to put on a film and switch off the sound, then compose the song by looking at the screen,” she says.
Baby’s out of luck again is a mix of dreamy vaporwave-tinged pop and new wave–influenced tracks with her newfound synth discovery — a departure from the guitar-driven indie pop from her past singles like “summer bruises” or “stuck on you (feat. Yot Club)”. She bats her lashes at toxic heartthrobs on tracks like “pretty like a rockstar” and “sweeter than drugs”; Songs like “it’s all my fault” and “emotional problems” confess the dizzying experience of codependence.
April june is as candid as a diary entry with lyrics such as, “I will fight all these bitches for you” and “I’d drink your blood / You got me on my knees again.” Her airy vocals and retro-inspired production are perfect for solo, late night wine-induced listening, because what’s more romantic than being alone?
Keep reading below for april june’s conversation with Luna about baby’s out of luck again.
LUNA: To start, where are you answering these questions from?
APRIL JUNE: Writing from Madrid, where we're currently experiencing a heatwave with temperatures reaching 100°F. I can’t wait for September to roll around.
LUNA: At what point did you start getting into making music?
APRIL JUNE: I've always been involved in music activities as a child, learning how to play the piano and singing in a school choir. When I was about 15, I got an acoustic guitar and started writing my own songs. Then, my dad gave me a MacBook for Christmas and I began to learn how to use GarageBand. That's how it all started.
LUNA: I love this new EP. I think it’s some of my favorite songs out of your discography. Most of your discography is singles, save for one EP from 2020. What made you want to release a project as opposed to releasing the songs individually? Have you thought about making a full-length album?
APRIL JUNE: Thank you! All the songs were written around the same time, and it made sense to release them as an album. I think they tell a story when put together. When I started this project it was the beginning of the pandemic, which was obviously a hard and confusing time. I didn’t want to put pressure on myself to write a whole album or anything; instead, I wrote and produced whenever I felt inspired, releasing each song as it came. It was what made sense at the time.
LUNA: This EP is self produced. Did you try anything new or experiment this time around?
APRIL JUNE: I've gotten way more into synths and expanded my sound library quite a bit. I also got a new acoustic guitar, which you can hear on some tracks. Additionally, I now have a dedicated studio space, so I'm no longer recording in my bedroom (laughs). It feels nice to have a space where I can be creative, and it's fun to decorate. I just got a Priscilla poster that I need to get framed.
LUNA: The EP has a lot of variety in terms of sound and production. Were you influenced by any music or artists at the time of writing?
APRIL JUNE: I was listening to a lot of ’80s music (especially New Order, The Smiths, and Peter Gabriel) and wanted to borrow certain elements from it while making it sound modern.
LUNA: I love that a lot of these songs are influenced by films. You name drop a few — had you seen all these films at the time you were writing? Do you remember the first time you’ve seen them?
APRIL JUNE: Some of the movies I mentioned were rewatches, but I watched the Pamela [Anderson] documentary while writing the new demos. It made me feel emotional to learn about what she went through. One moment, their love affair was this crazy, passionate, all-consuming thing, and then, you know, the abuse takes place, and it’s so heartbreaking to watch. Still, in her memoir, Pamela writes that this “may have been the only time she was ever truly in love.”
LUNA: I read that you studied film in college. In what ways does film influence your music?
APRIL JUNE: Films are a great source of inspiration for me. Sometimes it's the visuals, and sometimes it's a line of dialogue that can kick-start a song. I love having a background in cinema theory; I think it helps me tap into a broader range of inspiration.
LUNA: Are the songs on this EP based more on observation or experience?
APRIL JUNE: Both. There's always a little bit of myself in my songs, even if the initial impulse came from somewhere else, like a story I heard or a movie I saw. I believe that even if you think you're writing from an observational point of view, you're still incorporating parts of your experience into the song subconsciously.
LUNA: In your press release, you say you were inspired by “the subject of adolescent all-consuming love, volcanic eruption of passion, intense desire, dependency on a strong masculine figure, and the defiance against the mainstream idea of ‘all-or-nothing’ love being toxic.” Do you relate or have experience with any of these themes? (Very Sofia Coppola coded.)
APRIL JUNE: Definitely very Sofia Coppola coded (laughs). I mean, I'll never find the subject of falling madly in love with the wrong person to be boring. I've always related to the classic dynamic between an anxiously attached person and an avoidant one, which I think is reflected in my songs.
LUNA: What do you hope people get out of the EP?
APRIL JUNE: I love it when people take the time to send me a DM on Instagram, telling me how one of my songs has become the soundtrack for a particular experience in their life. It always feels fulfilling and is, I think, the best thing an artist can hope for!
LUNA: Any plans to tour?
APRIL JUNE: Yes! I can’t give you any specific details, but I am working on it.
