Lenka interview: Beatweek Rising Star 2011

by Bill Palmer

“I am in love and wanted to express it,” says Lenka of why her second album, appropriately titled Two, is chock full of love songs. After bursting onto the scene three years ago with the song “The Show,” which surfaced everywhere from FM radio to television ads, the Australian native has seen a number of changes in her life. She got married. She moved from Los Angeles to New York, but probably not the part of New York you’d expect. And with Two she hasn’t been afraid to delve more into the electronic side of her musical tendencies, even while retaining the singer-songwriter ethos she’s best known for.

“I have always liked the mix between electronic and acoustic instrumentation, but I wanted to swing a little more electro with this album to bring the energy up and perhaps inspire some dancing,” she says of the new material. “The live sound is a little more organic as I prefer to have humans playing together on stage as much as possible.”

The standout track entitled Heart Skips A Beat sees Lenka lyrically exploring romantic territory while admitting in the refrain of the song that “it’s only in the quiet that I feel some relief” and “”it’s only in the quiet that I hear myself breathe.” After a whirlwind few years of touring the world on her first record and creating the second one, is she trying to tell us something? “I do love quiet times,” she says. “And it is easier for me to recognize things about myself and what I’m really feeling when I have a little peace and quiet, which is rare in this hectic life.”

In fact, that sentiment informed her decision, when she moved west from LA to New York City, to choose the comparatively quiet borough of Brooklyn over the busier Manhattan. “I love Manhattan but i think it would be a bit too intense for me to live there 24/7. I need a little peace and quiet, as the song says.”

In keeping with the album’s plural title, Heart Skips A Beat has two official music videos. “I just love visuals,” explains the longtime actress. “That’s why I often make two videos per song. Also, one is a bit more arty and intended for internet content, and the other is more of a pop music exercise. I was very excited to get to dance with backup dancers! Giant stethoscopes no less!”

While Lenka wrote much of her self titled first record with outside co-writers, she penned the bulk of Two on her own. “I’ve learned a lot about songwriting over the last few years and i wanted to explore that on my own a bit more,” she says. One of the tracks she crafted on her own is You Will Be Mine, which is a new song whose inspiration comes from an earlier time. “It’s loosely based on an experience I had in early high school where a boy was sending me love letters in red pen. But I expanded it to be a more general tale of suburban obsession.”

Back in the present tense, Lenka admits that “It’s harder to write happy love songs for some reason” but that hasn’t stopped her from pursuing the territory on Two. Of being married, she says “I feel more like a woman now, that’s for sure. I’m quite proud of myself actually.”

On the popularity front, she recently reached the rarified air of racking up a million ‘likes’ on Facebook, which she sees for what it is. “It’s crazy. I’m very grateful for the support, but imagine if that was album sales instead of Facebook ‘likes’? Different world.”

Lenka’s second album Two gets its title from its lead track of the same name, but it still begs the question: will her third album be called Three? “No,” she says. “I will resist that urge.”

LenkaMusic.com • iTunes • Twitter • Facebook

About Bill Palmer

Bill Palmer is Editor in Chief of Beatweek Magazine. His editorial contributions include interviews with musicians and iPhone industry coverage.