On the surface, the formation of Love The Boy reads like a screenplay - the indie pop duo is comprised of 26 year old London based American singer Olivia Eigel and Gen-Xer writer/producer turned A&R executive Simon Perry, who’s English, but based in the US.
Formed in 2022, they’ve overcome the Atlantic ocean to forge a transatlantic partnership and create gorgeously produced, spellbinding indie-pop anthems inspired by their collective cross generational heroes - everyone from The Smiths to The Last Dinner Party. Since launching last year, they’ve released the sublime debut EP ‘Rosy Retrospection’, as well as a series of reimagined indie-rock classics titled ‘Under The Covers’, building a worldwide fanbase and amassing hundreds of thousands of streams in the process.
The two met when Olivia was 11 - at the impossibly young age of 9, her band had been signed to Sony. Simon was brought in as a producer for the project, and remained throughout to help Olivia develop as an artist. The band roared on through her teens but the industry pressure became increasingly overwhelming and controlling. As the project came to its inevitable conclusion, Olivia was burned out and set to attend college - music seemed like something that would be confined to her youth:
“In my childhood, music was my life. It was everything. I was writing songs while other kids were jumping rope. But being exposed to the industry side of it so early, so young, while a great privilege, looking back, I know I wasn’t equipped to grapple with what it all meant. By the time I had enough life experience to understand the commitment and courage required to be an artist, I was a graduate…”
Years later, after making the move to London, Olvia reconnected with her old writing partner Simon. She wanted to make music again, and Simon was the person she trusted most with helping her build something special. The project was to be different from the major label whirlwind she’d got caught up in as a child - these songs were to be honest and raw, whilst retaining the ambition she’d always had with regards to writing and performing:
“At 14 I was writing what I thought I should be writing. Like a good student. I did what I thought would be expected of me. Always (except making curfew - sorry mom and dad). The songs I’m writing now are honest. With nothing to lose, I write about my real life. In all its messy, fucked up glory. I’m not the little girl who got signed to Sony any longer. I came out to everyone when I was 18. I was diagnosed with ADHD while at college, and like so many of us these days, struggle with those black dog day”
The result is Love The Boy. A total collaborative effort between Olivia and Simon, pushing both their creative boundaries. The distance between them requires a huge amount of commitment, including frequent trips for Olvia from London to Simon's home studio in Charleston to make it all come together. Despite the constraints, the project has proven to be as prolific - they’ve already amassed a sizable body of work, to be rolled out throughout 2024 and beyond. It’s become a life defining undertaking, but their passion has been instilled for the right reasons. As Olivia explains:
“Making music work now is harder than it’s ever been; at times it feels impossible. Time differences and time constraints and only us and no one else to help this time. It’s an act of faith. But it’s also a necessity. I have to do it. Music has, and always will be, a critical component of who me and Simon both are, and what we have been put on this earth to do.”