I have always found the term ‘DIY’ interesting when it relates to artists. Surely, all art is inherently DIY? I supposed in a world over-saturated by the commercial glitz and glamour, this is not actually so. Berlin-based Lover Buffet, originally from Greece and South Africa, exemplifies how the allure of do-it-yourself in music making lies in the unparalleled freedom that it offers. The punk attitude of DIY – of teaching oneself the skills necessary – has enabled a mode of creation for Lover Buffet that has empowered them to experiment fearlessly, delivering a sonic and visual world that is an unfiltered reflection of their innermost landscape. This brazenness and boldness is an initiation of courage; so when Lover Buffet tells me that they’ve only really been making music since 2020, I am astounded. Lover Buffet, said bold-and-brazen project, is the outcome of their journey of reckoning with their experience, healing (non-healing, too) and vulnerability. 

“I started to hack Ableton in late 2018. I was a complete beginner – I had looked at the program and thought it was completely impossible to even attempt. In 2019, I started stitching samples together, so I let myself just experiment. Finally, in 2020, I learned how to structure a song and that changed everything. I had always been obsessed with music, I’m pretty sure that I have a bit of tinnitus from the constant sounds in my ears!” Lover Buffet tells me in our conversation, adding that “my mom had this Sony Ericsson, do you remember you could make your own ringtones? I remember being 9 and that really stuck with me, the idea of creating sounds.” Music was a natural outcome of a lifelong artistic actualisation, for which the name ‘Lover Buffet’ (a title that reminds me of a juicy feast for the senses) acts as a container in which their sonic development could collide with their already-established visual practices, “the name ‘Lover Buffet’ came quite randomly. I work better with structure, so once I had an idea of what I wanted to do – it became easier to conceive of creating this project into which I could pour myself. Previously, I had been a photographer – running around with a camera since about the age of 10. Music was something I really wanted to do and had been a goal for a long time.”

Disconnection

Lover Buffet is a fusion of retro-pop, synth waveforms punctuated by journal-style lyricism; as they explain, their process hinges on an ever-evolving confrontation with emotions, “the project is a blend of visuals and sound; the two inform each other. I feel like my music is quite melodramatic. It’s a little bit camp and there is some sort of catharsis that I find in exaggeration. When it comes to visuals, they need to hold the same kind of melodrama because I work with an emotion and the visuals naturally spring from whatever feeling I am working with.” I note Lover Buffet’s commitment to the colour red; a truly unsung, primal feature of life itself, to which they respond, “thank you! Right? Red has suffered a lot of myths. I think red is psychologically difficult for us sometimes – it incites some sort of passion, and we see that with a lot of corporate brands. I am an aesthetically driven person, so I have two extremes; either very rich and pleasing, or completely empty and minimal.” 

In Lover Buffet’s latest single ‘Emotionally Indiscreet’, they sing ‘one of my worst fears is being emotionally indiscreet’. This confessional is a culmination of Lover Buffet’s last few years pouring their emotional waters into the chalice of sound. Asking them to explain the contents of the song, they say “I was writing very seriously in my journal at the beginning of 2020 about how I recognised that I was actually holding myself back in my life. I have this line that I always think about which is, ‘are you ready for the crave you change?’. I wanted to feel connection, to love, to be loved and I had to look at what was really stopping me. There are many reasons like trauma, nervous system dysregulation, but the first step to acknowledging it was to admit that I was part of my own resistance to being more open or vulnerable. So that song is really about expressing that the possibility of being hurt, rather than not feeling anything at all, is what I’m committed to.” The music video for ‘Emotionally Indiscreet’ created in collaboration with Andrea Rojas, is Lover Buffet’s self-described melodramatic visual accompaniment.

Emotionally Indiscreet

This kind of tenderness reverberates throughout the Lover Buffet dreamscape – often, vulnerability is a subtextual feature of an artist’s practice. For Lover Buffet, it is front and centre to their thematic explorations, “in a kind of sadistic way, the times I have been in pain – I have also felt the most alive. The waves of grief are some of the most powerful parts of the human experience. I have found being in pain, or being hurt, has offered me a lot of clarity and growth that I wouldn’t have otherwise experienced. I definitely had this toxic healing era, where I was just chasing total peace – but that’s not the full spectrum of emotion or experience.”

I ask them whether making music has made the process of vulnerability somewhat easier to contend with, to which they say “music has allowed me to express things that I haven’t been able to before. I definitely find singing is sometimes a safer way of saying things that I really want to say, especially when it’s paired with music – something gets released. It’s interesting, I find my songs are like these time capsules that instantly transport me back to the time in which I wrote that song. Sometimes I wonder, is this healthy? But ultimately, music has proven to be my deepest catharsis and I am so, so grateful to be able to explore in that way.” 

‘Just Fantasy’ is Lover Buffet’s answer to the album format. Curated from a growing body of work made fervently with their freshly tuned skills, the album features 7 tracks that are equally cohesive, as they are strong on their own. Lover Buffet says, “when I decided that I wanted to put out an album, I was lucky to be able to pick and choose the tracks that already existed. It was about putting together a collage of pieces that work together. The album title was a response to a situation-ship that I found myself in; you know, when you’re with someone but it’s more of a mirage, and they are more of a projection in your mind than who they actually are. They’re just fantasy, you know? I think you can get sad from building stories in your mind and not looking at facts.”

‘true love technically’ & ‘hand underwater’ music video stills

Lover Buffet’s move to Berlin follows a rite of passage that I have seen a few people take. It seems the city’s various subcultures – such as the DIY Neukölln scene that they have come up in – coax more parts of people to emerge than ever previously revealed. I think of the artistic communities in Berlin as flowers emerging from the concrete in an oppressive, urban landscape; the city itself has reckoned with a less-than idealistic history. On this poetic juxtaposition, Lover Buffet says “everyone is very friendly and down to earth in Berlin. They’re also all very excited for each other, which is so refreshing. There’s a lot of support and I’ve experienced good vibes, a real alignment. I’ve never been to a place where everyone is accepted because everyone is just unapologetically fuckin’ weird. At the end of the day, we as humans just want to be accepted. Berlin is not a utopia by any means, but it has a quality to it held together by a lot of communities that are dedicated to acceptance and freedom.” Although now self-producing independently from a label, Lover Buffet credits some of their artistic incarnation since moving to Berlin, to “my label at the time of “Emotionally Indiscreet” and Just Fantasy’s release, INTRNT EXPLRR, was pivotal in welcoming and holding me steadily in the Berlin DIY music scene. A dear friend now, he supported my vision warmly and was so patient with my perfectionism and every change.”

Lover Buffet is a tender being with a penchant for illumination; in our conversation, I found a kind of authenticity and earnestness that is a rare, precious gem. Ahead for them? A second album is in the pipeline – “with lots of music videos, too!” and their continued goal of philosophical outpouring through their practices. They’re currently in Greece with their family; and they tell me that their mum has often been the one filming some visuals when they’re in Athens. In this Athenian, liminal space; Lover Buffet is a rounding off the summer season. I can’t wait to see what happens next. 

Stream and watch Lover Buffet HERE 

Follow Lover Buffet:
Website
Instagram 
Music Video “Emotionally Indiscreet”
Bandcamp 
Andrea Rojas (co-creator of ‘Emotionally Indiscreet video)

Cover image by @__arojas__

Written by: Holly Beaton