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Music

Take a Walk Through Ladyhawke’s Hollywood Neighbourhood

As she readies for the launch of her third album 'Wild Thing', the musician shares some snaps of her colourful neighbourhood.

So everybody is moving to Los Angeles, but Pip Brown, aka Ladyhawke, has been calling L.A. home for three years now. The New Zealand musician lives in a part of town that she says is “not quite Hollywood, not quite West Hollywood and not quite the Hollywood Hills. I'm tucked away behind the madness where those three points meet.”

It’s a neighbourhood that she says is full of eccentric locals, gawking tourists and classic art deco architecture.

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It was in L.A. that she recorded her most recent LP Wild Things with producer Tommy English (Børns, Tiësto, Dark Waves), whom she met through her L.A. neighbour, tattoo artist/musician Kat Von D.

A follow up to 2012’s Anxiety, Pip's new album sees a return to more of the pop and synth found on her earlier material.

On the eve of Wild Things, release on June 3, as well as some upcoming shows in Australia and New Zealand, Pip shares some snaps of her neighbourhood.

“All my friends live east, but I've fallen in love with Hollywood and all the weirdos that come with it. The photo's I've taken are a few places I like to go in L.A and just a small glimpse of the area I live in.”

The El Capitan Theatre is about a 10-minute walk from my house. It’s a beautiful old cinema that was built and opened in the 1920s. It’s currently owned by Disney and will have special screenings of Disney films there, quite often with a live trad jazz band beforehand. It’s one of my favourite theatres to visit.

Highland Park Bowl is an old bowling alley that opened in the 1920s then spent decades being many different things. Eventually it got bought and restored to its original state. My friends and I all went recently for a birthday, it has a really electric atmosphere and most importantly they play great music.

I love this place a lot. Mel’s Drive-In is what you always thought American diners were like - growing up seeing them in movies and television. A waiter or waitress is constantly popping over to top up your coffee or soda. Each booth has a jukebox and photographs of it’s history plastered all over the walls. It’s a go-to spot for me, I love to go there for a coffee and avocado on toast. It’s very no-frills in the food department, but suits me fine!

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The dinosaur in sunglasses and the basketballer were both shot at the intersection of Hollywood and Highland. This is a really touristy area of Hollywood but it’s an area I really enjoy visiting to people watch. You can see all sorts of characters here - it also happens to be right where the entrance to the Hollywood/Highland train station is, which again attracts all sorts of amazing weirdoes!

The Highland Theatre sign was poking out above all the other buildings the other day when I visited the area. It’s a good example of all the signs around Los Angeles like this that have stood the test of time and to remind you of what it was like to live in L.A in the 20s. Again this was another theatre that was built in the massive theatre boom in the 1920s.

This liquor store is a little strip of shops about a 5-minute walk from where I live. Notice the evenly spaced palm trees outside the shops - these are everywhere in L.A. It doesn’t have to be a special street or area to have palm trees lining the sidewalk. They’re a signature symbol of the California lifestyle.

‘Wild Things’ is available through Polyvinyl June 3.

Catch Ladyhawke at these shows:
July 14 – Brisbane at the Zoo
July 15 – Sydney at Oxford Art Factory
July 16 – Melbourne at Howler
July 21 – Christchurch at CPSA
July 22 – Wellington at Bodega
July 23 – Auckland at Powertation