A bold risk taker who soars beyond the conventional boundaries of alternative pop music, Dutch singer-songwriter Inge Lamboo is your favorite artist’s favorite indie artist. Over the years Lamboo has become known for her genreless rendition of alt-pop artistry, but she has also made a name for herself through her numerous covers and mash-ups of popular songs. Lamboo’s mash-ups have earned her attention from music’s most famous names, including Lindsey Buckingham, YUNGBLUD, Pink and — most recently — The Who’s Pete Townshend.
After performing her mash-up of Fleetwood Mac’s “The Chain” and Arctic Monkey’s “Do I Wanna Know” on BBC’s Radio 2, the video went viral on TikTok, catching the eye of one of the U.K.’s most renowned guitarists. After Townshend DM’ed Lamboo praising her talent, the rising indie star decided to make a bold move, asking Townshend to be a feature on her then-upcoming single “Call Out Your Name.”
Released March 28, “Call Out Your Name” is a smokey blues number arriving ahead of Lamboo’s sophomore full-length studio album This Is How The Future Sounds, out May 30. An ode to the legacy of the Blues genre, the track is a cathartic anthem made even more powerful by Townshend’s distinctive guitar solos. When combined with Lamboo’s signature lyrical vulnerability and powerhouse vocals, the result is a beautiful expression of two talented guitarists — one representing music’s past, and one representing it’s future.
Regarding the feature, Townshend says, “It was an honor to be asked to play guitar on one of Inge Lamboo’s new tracks. I follow her work on Instagram and she is making terrific indie-style music with some really smart twists. The guitar work on her tracks is perfectly wonderful without me, so I decided to throw some mud at the wall — in the old ’60s style, and amazingly it worked. Inge is a special talent, we should all look out for her.”
Combining a wide range of influences ranging from pop, rock, country and blues, Lamboo’s optimism and fearlessness shines through in the diversity in her musicality. Adding a soft vulnerability and country flare into her alternative pop sound, Lamboo’s dedication to her craft is evident within her signature sonic landscape. Producing three tracks on This Is How The Future Sounds using only Garage Band and her musical mind, Lamboo is an artist in the purest sense.
This Is How The Future Sounds follows an exciting few years for Lamboo. While regularly posting both original material and her iconic covers, Lamboo released her debut LP Black Heart in 2023. The next year, as a Pride ambassador for Amsterdam, Lamboo wrote “LIKE A PHOENIX,” a country-blues anthem for celebrating queer identity. Making a bold name for herself in indie music, Lamboo admits this point in her career is one of her most exciting musical eras.
“Call Out Your Name” will be available on 7″ vinyl as an exclusive Record Store Day release, out April 12. Coinciding with the full-length album’s release, Lamboo will play an album release show on May 30 at EKKO in Utrecht, Netherlands. Later this summer, Lamboo will be playing her first music festival abroad, making an appearance at Dykonic Festival in Dublin.
In the midst of entering a new musical era, Lamboo sat down with Melodic Magazine to discuss how she came to work with Pete Townshend, what listeners will find in her upcoming album and her songwriting process for putting song mash-ups together.
Thank you for taking the time today! You have many exciting things happening, most recently your latest single “Call Out Your Name,” which you got to work with Pete Townshend on. For those who don’t know, tell us a little bit about how he first reached out to you and how the collaboration happened.
Well, I have to thank social media for this opportunity because it all started on Instagram. I’ve been recording these mash-ups for a few years now. I love doing these and gained lots of followers because of those mash-ups, and he was one of them when I reached 4 million views on a Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys mash-up. I put “Do I Wanna Know” by Arctic Monkeys in the style of “The Chain” and it turned out pretty cool. I played it on national radio and I put a little snippet of that video on Instagram and that’s how Pete discovered me. I think the video is like 40 seconds long, so it’s a short video, but it made a lot possible because of that video. He started following me and he sent me a DM. He was the first one to DM me, he said, “Looking forward to more.” And I was like, okay, I’ve got to keep it chill because it’s Pete. He’s been a huge hero to me, guitarist to guitarist, and I had to keep it cool. We started talking about the music and about guitars and it was just very chill and nice. And that that’s how it all started.
I know eventually when you two were talking, you finally built up the courage to ask him to collab on the new single, which I imagine is such a scary thing to do, especially for someone you look up to so much. What inspired you to ask him to work with you?
I had this gut feeling and my intuition and they were both like, “You should just do it. At the end of the day, you’re just an emerging artist. You’re new and you’re open for possibility so let’s just try it.” And I think I learned a lot from my mother. She always said this Dutch saying. It says, “You always will have a no, but there will be times that you get a yes; just go for the little chance that it could be a yes.” I followed my heart in that situation, and I think it was like 2:00 a.m when I messaged him. It was scary as hell. But it was just a voice within me, that said, “Go for it. You have nothing to lose.” And then I went back to sleep (laughs).
That’s such an inspiring thing, though, for anybody to see. The worst somebody can say is no, but if you never ask you’ll never know if it would have been a yes. Was there anything that you learned from Pete from working with him? Did he give you any insight or words of wisdom when it comes to songwriting?
We started talking about the song and he said that he really loved my way of writing. He said it was a smart way of writing, and to be hearing that from him is just a huge compliment. For things I learned, it’s his way of guitar playing which is very authentic and badass, and not in a shredding way. With lots of guitarists it has to be fast, it has to be lots of notes and it has to be so explosive. And the first thing he said to me was, “I don’t think it needs a lot of shredding.” The simplicity of songwriting is something that I learned from him, that you don’t have to be explosive all the time and less is more. Sometimes me as a songwriter I always put lots of words and notes and everything that I’ve got in a song, but I learned to keep it down for a bit.
You mention songwriting, and I know earlier you mentioned your Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys mash-up. How did you first get started with doing covers and mash-ups? When did you realize you had such a talent for putting songs together?
Well, it’s a funny story. I started doing covers I think after two years of me learning myself how to play piano and guitar. I would say I was maybe 15 or 14, so a teenage girl in her bedroom covering One Direction, Bruno Mars, Pink, Ed Sheeran, those kind of artists. Pink is a very important one because she gave me a little push, and the first covers were her songs. I had this fan page of Pink and I put loads of covers on that page. Just for fun, no goals or any dreams. I just wanted to make some music and put it out in the world, so that’s how it all started. In my bedroom.
With mash-ups, what’s the songwriting process like? How do you hear two songs and know that they might go together?
I get that question a lot and to be honest I don’t know. It just happens. Let’s use the mash-up of Fleetwood Mac and Arctic Monkeys as an example. I was just sitting on the couch with my guitar, a very old and dusty 12-string guitar, but it’s one of my favorites and it’s just the guitar that inspires me. It’s like it’s flying into the room. I still don’t know how it works, but it also happens on a random afternoon. I get the question a lot and I don’t have the answer, it just happens. I call it a musical brain fart (laughs). I think I have to thank my guitars for it, because it always happens when I’m just playing guitar and when I’m not focusing on content. It’s just always random.
I think when you’re somebody who might be just surrounded by music all the time, you could hear one note of the song and you just automatically hear a connection. Going back to the single “Call Out Your Name,” for those who might not know, what’s the story or the inspiration behind the song?
I would say it’s filled with a frustration about someone. It could be about a relationship or a friendship that ended and that you’re not okay with. It’s also a typical blues song. It has some sayings that have been used in lots of blue songs. That’s something we did on purpose, because it’s like a thank you to Blues artists, and it all started because of the Blues. We wrote the song in three hours, and it happened to be written on a guitar as well. I also play piano, but it’s just about the Blues that inspired me so much to write this song. And it’s just a – I don’t know how to say it more nice – but a gentle “fuck you” to the people who mess up your life. That’s what it’s about.
In your music you pull inspiration from everything from the Blues to Pink to classic rock, but with future music is there anything you’d want to experiment with that maybe you haven’t before?
Well, I love writing in lots of different genres, and I think this album has a lot of country in it. And I’ve never chosen to write about things like future topics or nostalgic topics. That’s something new to me. For a third album, I don’t know if I’m going to do something with that, but I really love trap beats and I really like drum and bass as well. But I chose to not use those kind of genres in this album. Maybe in the future. I think that’s how the future is going to sound.
As somebody who pulls inspiration from so many different genres, do you ever feel pressure from the music industry to stick to one sound? Or are you more free to play around with whatever you’d like?
I’ve been thinking about that a lot actually. I was rehearsing with my band the other day and they were like, “You have so many genres, isn’t it just difficult sometimes to stick to one genre or to sell yourself or put yourself out there as an artist?” Because there are lots of genres. But I think that Pink is my inspiration in this kind of thing. Because when you put on an album of Pink, it’s just 30 genres in one, and to me it’s not really different at all. I think it’s just cool to put loads of genres in one album to show the world how different you are.
Going off of that, your new album This Is How The Future Sounds comes out May 30. Congrats by the way! What’s been on your mind as you’ve been putting this album together?
The topic I’ve been writing most about is growing up in your twenties and getting older, and I’ve been writing a lot about heart break. But to be writing about growing up and getting older and having your own apartment and stuff like that is something I’ve been writing about a lot. It’s just life that happens and I wanted to write about that. And I think I could be a voice for those who need one, so I’ve been writing a lot about mental health as well. I’ve been writing about mental health for years and I think it’s never going to stop, because I want to be a voice. And I’m also a Pride ambassador, I wrote the pride anthem for Pride Amsterdam, so I think those things are very important too for me as an artist. So yeah, it’s about growing up, getting older, mental health, a bit of heartbreak [and] the Blues. That’s me.
What’s some advice that you have for people who are in their early twenties who are going through these major life changes and just trying to figure things out?
I would say don’t compare yourself to others if you don’t know what someone is going through, even though they might be smiling and acting cool all the time. And also just mess around. Because my life is also not a normal life. And when you’re at a birthday party with your aunts or whatever and they ask you these silly questions about your music life, just smile and move on.
What are some silly questions or misconceptions that people might have about you pursuing music?
There’s a lot. They just want to know how much money you make, and I think that’s crazy. Like, why would you ask that at a birthday party (laughs)? And when you don’t have any plans in the future they’re like, “Is it going to work out well? Aren’t you afraid?” Those kind of things. Then you just forget sometimes it’s about the music that makes you want to do this. And when you’re talking to someone about your career, it’s never about the music. It should be more about the music or about the guitar. But I think the next birthday party it will all be about Pete, so that’s a nice thing (laughs).
Going back to the album, it’s the first album since Black Heart from 2023. How has your music maybe changed since then? How is this new album different from previous work?
First of all, I’m happy to say that it’s so much better. And when the first album was finished, it was before the pandemic. So it was done in 2019 and we released it four years later, which is crazy. My label — which I totally understand — they didn’t dare to put it out because you couldn’t play live, and it was just a weird time. So I just had to sit and wait for everything to be over, which made it very hard for me to write new songs because I didn’t want to fall in love with new songs because I had to put out the old songs. It was pretty tough timing. This album is 100% Inge, and it’s crazy to me to realize how proud I am of it. And it’s so cool because I wrote and produced three of the songs on a tablet. So it’s just me and my tablet, no expensive things around it. And to be able to produce it myself, I think that’s the reason it’s 100% Inge. I can’t think of any other artist when I listen to it. It’s just me. It’s inspired by Pete and Pink and everything else in between, but it’s also just a new sound. It has so much, and it’s only 10 songs, so that’s crazy (laughs).
That’s amazing. I’m so excited to listen to the album as a whole when it comes out. It does come out May 30, but are there any other plans or projects that you might have that people should be on the lookout for?
Yes! I have an album release show planned on that same day, which is in the Netherlands, and I’m playing my first festival in Dublin, which is very exciting. That’s going to be my first festival abroad and I’m very proud of that. And it’s also a queer festival, so it’s just amazing. And some other shows too. I think everything is currently happening, so I’m curious to know what the upcoming weeks will bring.
You said that this festival you’re playing, Dykonic Festival, is going to be a queer festival, and you’ve talked about how pride is something that you often write about in your music. When it comes to your queer identity, why is this so important for you to sing about or to write about in your music?
When I struggled with it, I didn’t have an artist that I looked up to or could listen to until I figured out who Pink is. I think that took me two years, way too long. But it’s just a strong feeling. Like I said before about the gut feeling and intuition, it’s just my purpose of making music and being a voice for those who need one and to show everyone you can be your coolest self. I really that’s the reason I’m alive. It’s just a gut feeling, and I’m really following it and listening to it. Sometimes you just don’t have a reason. It’s just there. When I’m not doing it, I feel irritated. So it’s my thing.
I love how you say that you want to inspire listeners to be “the coolest version of themselves” by just embracing who they are.
Yeah! It’s my quote, it’s my thing. I keep saying it. People really need to be their coolest self.
Going off of that, you talk about this gut reaction and just going for it based on what you feel or what you know you should be doing. It’s been said that you are such a risk taker when it comes to your music. Even having the guts to reach out to Pete Townshend for this song is something that takes a lot of courage. But when it comes to risks that you take in music or what you write about, where do you find the courage to be so bold or to just go for it and not have any fear? How do you find the strength to do those things?
I can’t handle myself when I’m not doing it. At the end of the day, I just need to do it because otherwise I’m going to be mad or annoyed that I didn’t do it. I love taking risks. Lots of times I just don’t do it because you don’t want to be that girl that is constantly asking for things, and that’s why I love creating content on TikTok and Instagram as well, to give the people something and to inspire them, and then other things start to roll immediately. That just how I roll, I think. And I listen to my heart a lot. “Call Out Your Name” wasn’t written to be a feature with Pete, it just happened. And I think that’s so cool in life that most of the time you don’t know what’s going to happen. But it’s like the universe is telling you to just do it. I don’t think it’s risky. Well, sometimes it is. I mean, it’s scary to DM Pete. But there was a voice that was saying, “It’s cool, he’s okay.” He’s an older man, I think he would understand it more than someone my age so, that’s why I tried it as well.
Stream “Call Out Your Name (feat. Pete Townshend)” here.
Pre-save This Is How The Future Sounds, the new album from Inge Lamboo, here.
Buy tickets to Inge Lamboo’s album release show here.
Keep up with Inge Lamboo: Instagram // TikTok // Facebook // Spotify // YouTube
