Irish singer-songwriter Dave Lofts is steadfast in his goals: to create music which resonates and speaks to the human experience. Since the release of his debut EP Holy earlier this year, he has continued to define himself as an authentic artist focused on emotional openness and connection through relatability. His latest single, Whistling on a Bottle, is no exception taking shape as an anthemic indie-folk tale of love, resilience and refusing to be silenced, designed for crowd singalongs.
To celebrate his latest release, Dave Lofts spoke with Marx Music about the Irish approach to life and his homeland’s influence on his music, his former careers and remaining focused amid growing renown.
Marx Music: Firstly Dave, I want to say welcome to Australia. You're here on tour with The High Kings. How has it been so far?
Dave Lofts: It's incredible. I'm very, very lucky to even be a part of it. It's absolutely outstanding to be here. I'm over the moon. Genuinely.
Marx Music: I am so excited to chat to you about the release of your new song Whistling on a Bottle. It's a very high energy song considering the content that you're tackling within it, being all about resilience and not being silenced. Can you take me through the track and what went into writing it?
Dave Lofts: Whistling on a Bottle was one of those tracks that I wanted to lean on the forefront of what we are all like, as people, you know. We all have this inner place that we've all been and that's exactly what Whistling on a Bottle is, it's basically a middle finger up in the air to say 'this is who I am and that's it'. I've been very lucky that the song has connected extremely well and look, what can I say, I'm over the moon and touched. It's an incredible, incredible experience and that’s what the song is about, just about being vulnerable, but that's what all my music is about. It's always about being honest.
Pairing an infectious chorus with defiant lyrics, Whistling on a Bottle is a statement song designed to bring people together in a show of solidarity and proclamation of self. More attitudinal than his previous works, Lofts’ newest single marks an exciting new chapter in his musical storytelling, now seemingly at peace with himself, while his debut EP, Holy, a six-song collection was marked by spiritual and personal searching and mental health navigation.
The common thread though, is that he makes music designed to make listeners feel a little less alone by shedding light on the human experience, always built from unvarnished and unrestrained honesty.
Marx Music: I definitely hear that (being open and honest), especially in the release of Holy, earlier in the year. That in itself was quite vulnerable. Could you take me through that, from releasing your debut EP, having that out in the world and being that open to everyone.
Dave Lofts: The best thing you can do when it comes to any kind of song, or anything, is to always be on the forefront of ‘this is who I am.’ I have nothing to hide and all I can do is my best. So Holy was a little tip to that. There's obviously some reference in religion with God and that's who I've always been as well. I just felt like the song needed to always stand on its own, never hide and that people can go, “hey, I get him”. The EP was a journey that I'll never forget.
Marx Music: Going back to Whistling on a Bottle, where you say it's kind of like a middle finger up in the air in self-acceptance, that kind of embodies the Irish spirit pretty thoroughly, as well as the knack of storytelling.
Dave Lofts: Yeah, just like the Aussies. The Aussies are the exact same. They have that beautiful kind of no bullshit filter as well.
Marx Music: Whistling on a Bottle, it is about not being silenced and speaking your truth. There is a lot of rhetoric at the moment around artists using their platforms for their truths or opinions. How do you see artists creatively fitting into those spaces where we are seeing some freedom of speech being impeded in the world?
Dave Lofts: I'm just writing songs and creating my own journey and trying my best so people can relate to mental health and stuff that I stand by. I'm just trying my best to constantly write about mental health and struggles and that's where I'm at. I can't speak for every artist either. Some of them might have different ways of approaching a song or different ways of approaching something, but for me, my main focus is writing about things that I've been through and that people can relate to.
Marx Music: I think that's beautiful and it goes back to the fact that the music's not shallow. It's got real depth and it's got real meaning behind it.
Despite gaining international traction, Lofts remains entirely grounded, rejecting the concept of celebrity status despite a rapidly growing fanbase.
Marx Music: You're not really a celebrity-struck person, you got more star-struck after meeting a NASA Engineer than some of these huge other musical artists. How are you working with the transition for yourself, where people are recognizing you? Five hundred thousand monthly listens is massive and forms quite a fanbase, so, while you might not be a celebrity person yourself, you're on your own way to becoming one. So, how do you work with that transition?
Dave Lofts: Well, I don't lose focus. Like I said, going back to the question when you were asking me about artists and freedom of speech. I can't speak for every artist, I don't know what they're speaking on, but what I can say is that I speak through my experience as an artist, or mental health. That's where I am and it goes the same way for me with the celebrity thing. I'm not a celebrity and I don't want to be a celebrity. I have no interest in it. What I am is a man that will sing a song and if people can relate with it, then that's amazing.
I'm just a guy on a journey playing music, singing songs and and writing about them and hoping that people can relate, be comfortable, express and sit back at the end of a night after hard days work, have a glass of whiskey, and go, “I’ll go put on a bit of a Dave because he knows what I've been through today”.
- Dave Lofts
During his Australian tour supporting The High Kings, Lofts’ performances saw him take to the stage in a number of intimate solo slots, which he praises as an opportunity to connect closely with audiences.
Dave Lofts: What's great about doing the solo stuff is that the emotion's on the forefront. It's just more that when it's on its own and it's just you and a guitarist just in your face, you know, and my plan is to make sure that everybody in that audience goes, "Oh my god, he hit me and I feel him. I don't just hear him, I feel him."
Hailing from County Wicklow, a region steeped in rich history and home to the earliest signs of music-making in Ireland since the discovery of six hand carved yew-wood pipes from thousands of years ago, one could argue music is in Lofts blood. Though he didn’t pursue it immediately, first serving the military and later working as a chef. The combination of his heritage, love of music and careers to date have set him up with the fundamentals to stay on course in his career.
Marx Music: You have had an incredibly interesting life. I understand that you were in the military, you were a chef, and now you find yourself in music. How has all of that plus your Irish heritage, played into the music that you create now and what sort of influence has it had?
Dave Lofts: Well, again, it comes back to I'm the type of fellow that sits in a pub, has a pint of Guinness, reads a paper, puts a patty cap on, and goes outside, smokes, comes back in, plays a game of pool. I had a bit of military experience and I can tell stories around the bar, you know, and then chefing, but discipline is the biggest thing I took from both those jobs into this career.
Marx Music: How has your relationship been with music through your life? Is it something that's always been present or something that you kind of connected with later in life?
Dave Lofts: Music's always been present. Ireland is a place where you sit in a pub and even, you know, any song that you've been singing or learning or writing your own, it's a place that's accepted. You can sing what you want. So, it's always been in me life from my nanny to my mum, my dad, and for the forever future.
Marx Music: You've spoken a lot about the fact that you want your music to really reach people deeply. It touches on mental health and it touches on resilience and everything between. For someone who hasn't listened to your music before, where would you want them to start and what would you want their first takeaway to be?
Dave Lofts: I'd want you to start with a song called Just a Man and go from there. That's all I can say.
A celebration of self-acceptance, brought to life by high energy acoustic guitar stylings and contagious lyrics, Dave Lofts is newest single Whistling on a Bottle will have you singing along from the back of the room.
An incredible vocalist, brilliantly showcased through his debut EP, it's no wonder he's capturing the attention the world over.