Vale LP and Lil Jolie: "Music is infinite" Interview on the occasion of Play With Music, a contest that celebrates emerging music by AW LAB and adidas Originals

AW LAB, in collaboration with adidas Originals, kicked off the first live stop of the 2025 edition of Play With Music, a contest that celebrates emerging music through a mix of creativity, style, and talent. On July 12, from 3 PM to 7 PM, Naples became the perfect stage for the second leg of the project, where five semifinalists selected by the jury performed live, giving voice to the new generation of Italian artists. It was a unique opportunity to discover fresh musical talent introduced by the official ambassadors Lil Jolie and Vale LP, who brought their energy and unique style to the stage. The contest final? It’s happening in Barcelona, on July 19. The winner will get the chance to open for the two artists’ concert in Naples on October 4, bringing everything full circle.

We had a chat with the two ambassadors. The conversation started with Play With Music and then shifted to the transformative power of music. Naturally, we also talked about them, about their future and their careers. Here’s what they told us.

Interview with Vale LP and Lil Jolie

What does it mean for you to be ambassadors of this edition of Play With Music? Do you see yourselves in the young artists taking part?

We’re happy we had the chance to launch this contest together with AW LAB. It wasn’t that long ago that we were in our bedrooms dreaming of performing our songs on a stage. With this record, we took a journey through time, retracing the milestones of this beautiful dream called music. Giving someone else the chance to be seen feels like closing a circle. And maybe, who knows, it could be the beginning for someone else.

The contest promotes authenticity and free expression. How do you think music still serves as a tool for social and personal transformation today?

Music has always echoed collective emotions experienced during specific eras and contexts. It’s testimony, it’s history. It whispers to people’s souls and ears, awakens awareness, and sparks discussion. We should learn to let it move through us, and to listen - even to what we don’t like - so we can understand the world around us and who we want to be in it. Art has always been revolution, but it needs open hearts and emotional readiness to receive, reconsider, and take risks.

Working as a duo can be both a gift and a challenge: how do you manage your creative balance?

Music is a safe space for us. The stage, the studio, or any place shaped by music means freedom and respect. We’re able to coexist in our integrity and meet each other through our different styles and points of view. Through music, we see each other, understand each other, and respect our differences.

Is there a moment in your journey together that you consider a turning point? A decision that shifted your musical direction?

Anything that happens can be a turning point. It’s up to us to decide what weight we give to the things that happen to us. Since both of us are fueled by emotions rather than awards, we’ve always been able to recognize the meaningful moments in our paths, and there have been many. Every time we write a great song, step onto a stage, and give it our all, the scale tips again.

In an industry still often driven by clichés, how important is it for you to be visible while also staying free to tell your stories without labels?

This is a question that deserves a much longer answer. Honestly, we deal with these dynamics every day and try to unlearn them. It’s true that this job exists because a public sees itself in us. But music, music is infinite and doesn’t belong to a market target. We try to separate our passion from the actual job. We keep writing out of necessity, for those who see us and see themselves in us. The rest is marketing.

What do you hope participants will take away from this experience?

That the greatest project we have is our own lives. To quote a beautiful phrase: "You don’t have to be great to start. You have to start to be great."

What’s next for you, together and individually?

Who knows? But that’s the beauty of it. Wonder is one of the most powerful emotions we have, and we often plan everything just to feel in control. This record came to life just like that—in a moment, in a joke, without knowing it or planning it, and it allowed us to experience everything with awe. We hope to keep being surprised, by everything and through everything.