LA LA LA LOVELY LENKA
We chatted with our newest favorite Australian import on breaking solo, sad songs, and Björk.
Eliza: You were with Decoder Ring? And how long have you been solo?
Lenka: It’s been two years but it sort of took a while to figure it out and establish myself.
How does your songwriting process work? Do you draw on your current personal experiences, or do you get ideas based on a thought?
Sometimes it’s an immediate experience of feeling I need to get out through a creative project. Or sometimes I think of some clever little line or concept I like, and then I compose a song around it based on stuff that has happened to me or stuff that has happened to my friends. Sometimes I write about a friend and how they are. You get to be a fantasist because you project all sorts of things onto the concept of the song.
When I first listened to this album I thought, “These songs definitely set a certain mood.“ I could picture the song is playing in different scenarios, and personal situations as well as a movie trailers and TV scenes. Do you ever picture scenarios that your song would go with?
I often think of the videos when I’m writing, and I always have a vision in my head for what that would be. I guess I think about scenarios. Are used to be an actor, so I’m pretty wired to think like that. I actually wrote a Christmas song recently, totally thinking about Bridget Jones‘s Diary the whole time, because it was cheeky and a bit sad, a mildly crushed Christmas song.
Singing “All By Myself” alone on the couch?
[laughing] Yeah. Mostly my whole album is me giving advice to myself. Or trying to cheer myself up, or something like that.
I did wonder a bit— were you in love when you wrote this? Were you involved in some relationship situation?
Yeah, definitely. I have been with my boyfriend for three years. One of the songs, “Like a Song“ the real quiet one...
I like that one.
Me too. That’s the oldest song on the record. I wrote that song when I was with Decoder Ring and I was driving home from rehearsal one day. It’s partly fiction, partly real, because I was thinking about him and he was stuck in my head like a song, but we weren’t breaking up or anything. I sort of embellish that part of it to make it seem like a sad song because I was feeling sad.
There’s a definite look in style to your videos and website. Who handles the design or production of those?
My boyfriend. We have a very clever partnership. He does my artwork, and I love him and get to have him with me here. He has an artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. But we always wanted to do something really arty. I actually went to art school and I wanted to be an artist for a while. And then I started with the music, and I feel like I took everything I learned in art college I put it into music. Like bjork; she had this art book that’s all the artwork that goes with the music plus all artwork that inspires her, that helps the listener know what the song is about. So I think that’s really important, the aesthetic that goes with the sound. We’re going to do stage ops and sets.
And Björk‘s partner, Matthew Barney, does art too.
When I heard they got married, I was thinking, like, “Are you kidding me? Too perfect!“
So what else are you working on this fall?
Well, lots of promo gigs still, letting the industry know who I am, then a residency at Hotel Café in September. I’m shooting my first video, a proper shiny MTV video.
Is it still going to have elements of a stop motion or illustration pieces?
No, it’s not; it will all be live action. But elements of that, puppets and stuff like that; a live action version of that aesthetic if we can. But we will go back to do those kind of videos. We would be making those whether or not it was for a pop album.
What are some interesting experiences you’ve had with touring so far? I don’t have a bunch of funny stories, because I’m about to hit the road, so I will have to get back to you. I project all sorts of madness and mistakes that turn out fun, hopefully. That’s all you can hope for I guess.
Or that everything turns out really really well— how about that?
Yeah or that it’s a totally smooth ride we perform brilliantly every night and everybody loves it. And nobody loses luggage.
Eliza: You were with Decoder Ring? And how long have you been solo?
Lenka: It’s been two years but it sort of took a while to figure it out and establish myself.
How does your songwriting process work? Do you draw on your current personal experiences, or do you get ideas based on a thought?
Sometimes it’s an immediate experience of feeling I need to get out through a creative project. Or sometimes I think of some clever little line or concept I like, and then I compose a song around it based on stuff that has happened to me or stuff that has happened to my friends. Sometimes I write about a friend and how they are. You get to be a fantasist because you project all sorts of things onto the concept of the song.
When I first listened to this album I thought, “These songs definitely set a certain mood.“ I could picture the song is playing in different scenarios, and personal situations as well as a movie trailers and TV scenes. Do you ever picture scenarios that your song would go with?
I often think of the videos when I’m writing, and I always have a vision in my head for what that would be. I guess I think about scenarios. Are used to be an actor, so I’m pretty wired to think like that. I actually wrote a Christmas song recently, totally thinking about Bridget Jones‘s Diary the whole time, because it was cheeky and a bit sad, a mildly crushed Christmas song.
Singing “All By Myself” alone on the couch?
[laughing] Yeah. Mostly my whole album is me giving advice to myself. Or trying to cheer myself up, or something like that.
I did wonder a bit— were you in love when you wrote this? Were you involved in some relationship situation?
Yeah, definitely. I have been with my boyfriend for three years. One of the songs, “Like a Song“ the real quiet one...
I like that one.
Me too. That’s the oldest song on the record. I wrote that song when I was with Decoder Ring and I was driving home from rehearsal one day. It’s partly fiction, partly real, because I was thinking about him and he was stuck in my head like a song, but we weren’t breaking up or anything. I sort of embellish that part of it to make it seem like a sad song because I was feeling sad.
There’s a definite look in style to your videos and website. Who handles the design or production of those?
My boyfriend. We have a very clever partnership. He does my artwork, and I love him and get to have him with me here. He has an artist, graphic designer, and illustrator. But we always wanted to do something really arty. I actually went to art school and I wanted to be an artist for a while. And then I started with the music, and I feel like I took everything I learned in art college I put it into music. Like bjork; she had this art book that’s all the artwork that goes with the music plus all artwork that inspires her, that helps the listener know what the song is about. So I think that’s really important, the aesthetic that goes with the sound. We’re going to do stage ops and sets.
And Björk‘s partner, Matthew Barney, does art too.
When I heard they got married, I was thinking, like, “Are you kidding me? Too perfect!“
So what else are you working on this fall?
Well, lots of promo gigs still, letting the industry know who I am, then a residency at Hotel Café in September. I’m shooting my first video, a proper shiny MTV video.
Is it still going to have elements of a stop motion or illustration pieces?
No, it’s not; it will all be live action. But elements of that, puppets and stuff like that; a live action version of that aesthetic if we can. But we will go back to do those kind of videos. We would be making those whether or not it was for a pop album.
What are some interesting experiences you’ve had with touring so far? I don’t have a bunch of funny stories, because I’m about to hit the road, so I will have to get back to you. I project all sorts of madness and mistakes that turn out fun, hopefully. That’s all you can hope for I guess.
Or that everything turns out really really well— how about that?
Yeah or that it’s a totally smooth ride we perform brilliantly every night and everybody loves it. And nobody loses luggage.