Lenka: thecheappop.com interview

Lenka: Come inside, “The Show’s” about to start
By Jon Chattman

There’s got to be something in the water in Australia. For whatever reason, a new star seems to be born from that country each year. Yesterday’s Nicole Kidman is today’s Naomi Watts. OK, that analogy doesn’t exactly make sense but let’s face it, we’ve been obsessed with Australia and its stars ever since Paul Hogan uttered the line “that’s not a knife, that’s a knife.” OK probably before that. Who could forget the late great singing and dancing machine queen Peter Allen?In any event, for whatever reason, whether it’s the appeal of Crocodiles Dundee and Hunter or mega-stars like Hugh Jackman or Cate Blanchett, we love the country because it has a bottomless array of talent that we love to tap into. Lenka Kripac is no different. Yes folks, this long-winded lede has a purpose. By the time you finish reading this, Lenka (she goes by her first name only because her last name is hard to pronounce and her name alone creates an “heir of mystery”) will be a star. She already is. Case in point: Courtney Cox masturbated to one of her tunes. OK, it’s not quite as vulgarly cool as it sounds and we’ll explain why later.

Anyway, Lenka started off her career as an actress, studying under Blanchett herself at the Sydney Theatre Company. While she enjoyed it, roles that called for her to sing actually made her fall in love with singing professionally. After a stint with the group Decoder Ring, she decided to kick it solo. She released her self-titled debut album last month, and it’s already a hit. VH1 has named the singer a “You Oughta Know” artist, iTunes featured her first single “The Show,” and that song is featured on an Old Navy ad and other TV spots. As we found last week, the artist is as infectious as the song.

First off, help me get “The Show” out of my head… please!
Sorry bout that. [Laughs]

Last year your song “Follow” was played during a Courtney Cox masturbation scene on FX’s now defunct Dirt. Obviously the first question has to be, then, are you the first person to parlay a Cox masturbation scene into a successful singing career?
I’d say so. I don’t think its very common to start one’s career with a masturbation film placement. It was quite accidental. I didn’t actually even know that that was what the scene was until I saw it on TV when I first arrived in America. It was hilarious. That was the first placement that I ever got. It was really cool because it was sort of funny and unusual it made people take notice a little bit.

Did you already have your album in the works or did this come out of the blue?
No, not all. It was before I had any offers or a publishing deal. That was an old demo that I made in Sydney with a friend. That song’s not in my repertoire anymore and I hadn’t signed my record deal. I don’t think that kind of placement would happen now. I do have a whole team of people behind me.

Your music hasn’t just been used for that series. “The Show” has been heard on a bunch of spots and other songs have been used in promos and television serieis. Is there something about your music that makes it easier to plug into spots as funky as Dirt and as wholesome as an Old Navy ad?
Um, maybe it’s because I reference a sort of female archetype of innocence becoming sexuality or adultness. I really am fascinating with things of eternal youth and wisdom at the same time and characters like Alice in Wonderland, Dorothy from Wizard of Oz, Little Red Riding Hood and Lolita — these kind of little girls getting into trouble. Maybe that’s kind of conducive to both a childlike and womanly essence. That’s all I can imagine. I have sort of a breathy, raspy voice but the melodies are very childlike. Maybe there’s that sort of juxtaposition that attracts people to using the songs.

Are your songs all autobiographical?
Every song is different and some are co-written so obviously it’s a collaborative process where you’re both inputting lyrical ideas. But everything is always a little bit autobiographical because you’ve got that frame of reference to draw from. I definitely try to make things sort of accessible for the listener so they can then put their own experiences onto the song so when they hear it – it can almost be about them. Actually a few songs of mine are a little bit about me but kind of inspired by situations my friends are going through.

How’d you come to write “The Show.” For a pop song, there’s a lot of weight to it…
Yeah. I wrote that with a guy called Jason Reeves- he co-wrote the song “Bubbly” by Colby Caillat. He’s really an experienced, excellent writer. We sat down together, [and] both were feeling a bit overwhelmed by our lives. Everything was a bit crazy and out of control, and we came up with the metaphor that life was like this crazy show. The song came out of us really quickly. It took an hour and a half to write. That’s the quickest I’ve ever written a song. We wanted it to be quite jolly and uplifting.

Whats the last line “I want my money back all about?”
I guess that’s my sort of ironic take of being a little bit bitter about the life that I seemed to have landed with eventhough I bought a ticket for a different life. It’s a “I didn’t ask for this thanks a lot” kind of feeling.

You come from an acting background, but were you musical as a child?
I did do music when I was little then acting kind of took over. Cate Blanchett was actually my teacher between ages of 12 and 14. She really inspired me to fall in love with acting. That took over my life for awhile and I forgot about music. I was also kind of rebelling because my dad’s a musician [so] that would’ve been an obvious choice for me. I chose acting as a career and actually it was acting that brought me back to music because I was required to sing in a couple of things. I was in this one play and every night people would come up to me really inspired by my voice and would encourage me to keep doing music. So I sort of found the joy for singing through acting and decided to put more energy into that. It really quickly took over everything and I stopped acting.

How long did it take you to put out your first album?
I was with a band, which distracted me but it was an awesome experience. My mission to put out a solo album got sidetracked. So it was five years. It would’ve been less if I had really kept that initial vision and not joined a band, but I probably wouldn’t have made as good a record.

Have you closed door on acting for good?
I just don’t have time right now. I really want to give a chance for music to live by itself for a little while – especially in America – so I can introduce myself as musician first. I do have the itch coming back to play characters.

Lastly you’re drawing comparisons to Regina Spektor. How do you feel about that comparison, and who inspires you as a vocalist?

My number one influence is Bjork as a vocalist. I don’t know if stylistically but there’s something about her guts and bravery that really inspired me. Music-wise, The Beatles I listened to all the time…Nick Drake…even Cyndi Lauper, Madonna and Prince…all different sorts of stuff. I actually used to love listening to Led Zeppelin, Black Sabbath and Pink Floyd but you can’t hear that influence in my music.  Maybe it gave me a love for old-school sounds and getting like the essence of rock-and-roll eventhough I’m doing pop music.

[On Spektor]

She’s sort of become the new umbrella head for the left-of-center piano girls. She’s popular and amazing. When people say her name, they’re really taking about a whole genre. You have to have some reference point and I could do worse.