Q&A: Olive Klug Makes Music So You Can Feel Less Alone
THERE’S A SPARK THAT EMANATES FROM SINGER-SONGWRITERS — and Olive Klug hones it. A key player in the new wave of contemporary folk artists, Klug welcomes listeners to a world of vividly honest storytelling and modern lyrical sensibility. Their next single, “Casting Spells,” out April 14, is no exception to this magic.
From gaining a following on TikTok to signing with Nettwerk Music Group in the fall of 2022, Klug is making a name for themselves as an artist who is there for their fans. Amassing 2.6M likes across their video content and growing their fanbase to 159K on TikTok, Klug knows the power of connection and meeting people where they’re at.
With their newest release, “Casting Spells,” which follows Klug’s release of “Parched” last month, they set the stage for continuing their lyrical storyline focused on self-exploration. Enveloped in a deep sense of sincerity and genuine excitement for narrative songwriting, they breathe life into what it’s like being a 20-something feeling the weight of the world.
Driven by the goal of helping others meet a deeper version of life, Klug presents a vision of clearly outlined hope in times when the absence of light is heavily felt. After the single comes is released, they look forward to writing more music that reaches people in even the dimmest of places.
Stream Klug’s music wherever you get your music and keep an eye out for their new releases. Read below as Klug talks “Casting Spells,” SXSW, and their plans for the year ahead.
LUNA: How have shows been this week [during SXSW]?
KLUG: Really, really good. The best show I went to was Remi Wolf. I didn't even know she was gonna be here. And I was … kind of with my team and doing stuff with them … Then they were like, “Okay, well, I'm gonna go to bed or do this thing.” And I was like, “I’m gonna figure out what’s next.” So I found out that Remi Wolf was playing. I got there and there was no line. And I got there exactly on time. I was like, “Is this the right place?” because there was no line. They were like, “Yeah.” I ended up right in the front on the side, and it was so amazing. Definitely the highlight of my time here by far. It was really, really fun. She's one of my top artists.
LUNA: How has your stuff been this week? Has it been back to back, or have you been able to enjoy yourself?
KLUG: No, I actually haven't. I didn't really know what to expect. My show is actually tonight [Saturday], my one show. I didn’t realize you were supposed to hustle and reach out to all these people. But my booking agent just got me one show and I was like, “Okay, I’m done.”
LUNA: Well, that's nice that you've been able to experience the festival, though, and not have to play three shows a day. Are you taking a different approach to the normal live shows versus [SXSW] because you have to condense it for a different audience and setting?
KLUG: Not really. I think I play a lot of different types of shows. Sometimes I'm an opener for a big band, sometimes I'm playing at a college, or sometimes I'm playing my own headline show. Sometimes I'm playing a co-headline show. So because it's just me and I usually play solo, I can kind of feed off the energy of the crowd. Just like reading the room and figuring out what the vibe is. A lot of times you can't even plan for that. A lot of times I'll plan my set and I'll be like, “Oh, this crowd is so upbeat. They're not going to want a sad song.” Like, “This crowd is really chilled out, I should probably do more of my chill songs.” It’s just more performance-by-performance, definitely. It all just changes based on what I'm doing.
LUNA: Yeah I feel like the SXSW crowds have been down for anything — they’re a receptive group.
KLUG: Yeah, definitely. I feel like everyone's just down to experience. Same with me. I'm not really seeking things out. I'm just kind of like, “Oh, someone I kind of know is in this band. I'll go to this and then I'll expand.”
LUNA: I know the experience of South By is a little stressful, but the concept of SXSW is very clear — it's all about live music. Yes, there are other elements, but it's very music-heavy. It feels like it's honestly a giant summer camp. What value do you feel an event like South By has for up-and-coming artists? What value do you feel it has for yourself and the industry as a whole?
KLUG: I think it's a great way to connect with people and meet people in person. Yeah, a lot of people I've worked with I haven't gotten to spend time with in person, so that's been really cool. And yeah, just getting the chance to travel and perform.
LUNA: To shift into your upcoming music, you have a single out next month, which will serve as the intro to your upcoming project. What can you share as of now? And what can we expect compared to what we've heard from you already?
KLUG: I mean, I don't know that it's gonna be worlds different from what y'all have heard from me already … but the next step is a single called “Casting Spells.” I wrote it in 2021. It actually came from a prompt that somebody else said when one of my fans was like, “Oh, write a song about the little superstitions we used to believe as a kid.” And so I started writing it. And then it kind of turned into, like, “Oh, I used to believe in all of this magic as a kid, but now I'm becoming an adult.” It’s really easy to get jaded. To be like, “We have to be practical … magic isn't real.” But I think that I chose a different perspective for this song … [I was like,] how magical is it that we get to choose our own life and we get to pursue joy, pursue freedom… Being an adult really is magical.
I think that I was just coming out of a very hard time in the pandemic, trying really hard to just notice the magic that still exists in the world. And so that's what the song is about. I took the album title from that song. One of the lyrics in that song is “Don't you dare make me jaded,” and that is the title of the album. I'm 25 now, but a lot of the songs I wrote when I was, like, 23. It really does feel like lifetimes away… It’s just about making your own rules and realizing that everything you've been taught can be deconstructed and reconstructed. I think that this is saying to the world, “Don't make me sad … You can't do that … I'm still gonna choose joy. And I'm still choosing to make my own reality.”
LUNA: So the album is all cohesive around that concept? Did you start with this song and then maybe it trickled into other things? Or was everything still treated as its own entity?
KLUG: This album’s really interesting because I've never made an album before. This is my first one, and [it] somehow came together. So basically what I did was I noticed the songs and the themes I kept gravitating towards and I was like, “Okay, well, which songs and which lyrics really stem from this theme that I have been gravitating towards?.” And a lot of it is about growing up today and about making your own rules and about figuring out your place in the world. So I think that theme arose from that. But then there are also songs on the album that quite possibly have nothing to do with the theme.
LUNA: That makes sense. Like you said, they're all probably related in some way, since that's what you were experiencing at that time in your life. And even if they're not about that specific theme, it's all a part of being 23.
KLUG: I think some albums are very relationship-focused. Like, “This is a breakup album,” or, “This is a love album.” But yeah, I think that this album, although it has songs about relationships, it's not a relationship album.
LUNA: When you're in this creative process, are you thinking about how it's translating to the live setting and how your listeners are going to perceive it? Or are you just buckling down in your own world?
KLUG: I don't know, I think that I've spent so long as a solo singer-songwriter that I think about how it's gonna translate to production. But the way that I perform live is actually way closer to how I originally write the song. But this has been the first time I've even considered working with a band. And I played a show with the band last month — it was so fun, and I had such a good time and [it had] such a different energy. The musicians I worked with were so talented … I couldn't believe it.
I invited them to a rehearsal and I was like, “Hey, let's start with this song” … “We'll just see how it goes,” and then they performed the song perfectly — I was so impressed! I think it's really interesting, starting as a solo artist, because it is a lot easier to make a profit. So even if I'm not making tons of money, I would love to keep traveling. Yeah, we'll see.
LUNA: In the upcoming months, what are your intentions, and what can we expect?
KLUG: I'm releasing that song “Casting Spells.” And the next month… I'm actually finishing up production on the album for the rest of March. That's what I'm focusing on. Just gonna buckle down and make sure that all the songs are in the place that I want them to be. And then the other thing I'm focusing on is I'm going on tour with Daisy the Great — I'm opening for them for an entire month. It’s the longest consecutive tour I've been on, so it'll be fun, but exhausting. I'm really looking forward to that.
I’m also nervous, and I'm just like, “Oh my god, I'm gonna be gone for so long.” But you know, I'm taking the steps. I’m actually working on merch right now — I was working on it before you came in here. Yeah, so I'm excited.
LUNA: Cool! Are you designing it, or do you have a designer?
KLUG: I have an artist I work with named Sadie Jean Spezzano, and they do literally all of my cover art, all of my merch. But basically what I'm doing, just to … take a little bit of the workload off them, is taking a lot of their little drawings they've done on my cover art and Photoshopping them together to make merch. So … I guess I'm designing it, but I didn't do the artwork — [I’m] just putting it together. I'm super, super excited about that.
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