23 year old Ruairí Richman - a graduate of Dublin's BIMM Institute - has released his first single under the moniker Lemonade Shoelace, the psych-pop gem 'Autopilot Paradise'.

The County Down native first entered the BIMM Institute as a guitarist, but soon realised that the field was highly competitive and oversaturated. He chose to immerse himself in electronics instead, discovering his knack for songwriting almost instantly. His final college work coincided with the 2020 lockdown and so he found himself back in his hometown of Newcastle, staring at the promenade from his makeshift studio.

The sun was bouncing off the Irish Sea and his developing music responded to this surreal scene: 'Autopilot Paradise' was born. Lemonade Shoelace aims to load up the senses with colour, rich melodies and textures of sound that embrace the last 50 years of popular music; writing tracks with a classic yet futuristic style.

Ruairí was heavily influenced by the sound of ‘Moon Safari’ by electronic French duo Air and Tame Impala founder Kevin Parker. Lemonade Shoelace decided to create his own music by subscribing to the genres of futuristic, soulful and psychedelic as a result. He also namechecks Flaming Lips and John Lennon. Some of the best songs from Lemonade Shoelace were conceived and written in a day, and Ruairí likes the idea of keeping them slightly raw, "like a time capsule of the day”.

“I wanted to make something bold and colourful,” Ruairí says of his vibrant new projects. “Not just visuals but music you have to listen twice to. I love music where every time you listen to it, you hear something else in the song. Interesting music. I’m getting there gradually...you can’t stop the flow!”

His debut track 'Autopilot Paradise' is an introspective view of a partner distancing themselves from their significant other, waiting for the weekend in order to embark on the leisures they truly desire. The partner is not necessarily physically cheating, but feels guilty finding this happiness outside of the relationship in their ‘Autopilot Paradise’. According to Ruairí, the song is written from various perspectives, one being a third person view of a relationship, tempting one of the lovers to be unfaithful.

"The term ‘Autopilot Paradise’ represents everybody’s own ‘safe zone’; a blissful state of mind, an exciting activity, a person you spend time with, or a physical place that makes you forget about everything, and simply be in paradise," the musician declares.

"The autopilot represents that when you find your paradise, it will become autonomous - you will naturally resort to this paradise until it becomes part of your daily life."

"The song urges the listener to not let fear, overthinking and paranoia hold you back," Ruairí adds. "Don’t be ashamed of doing what makes you happy, and don’t wait too long to let it happen. Time goes on regardless of what happens in life. Follow your dreams and don’t be so hard on yourself, a positive mindset will make everything in life become a paradise."

The subject matter of the song was inspired by a mixture of being cheated on in the past, overthinking about the future, and not utilising the present to do what makes you happy.

Check out the infectiously catchy 'Autopilot Paradise' below:

Photo credit: Carrie Davenport.