lyra messier about her new Album
"I've never been happier before"
When I first met Lyra online three years ago, I instantly fell for her music and her unlimited and sparkling creativity. Meanwhile, our acquaintanceship has become more than just two people sharing their taste in music, doing an interview every now and then—she is a dear friend! Now that her new album is ready, we met for another interview, and I recommend you to read it and get to know her and her music better wholeheartedly.
You can definitely look forward to this beautiful nine new songs—the album will be available from November 10th. Lyra pre-released the seventh song on the record today. It is called "Sevastopol", inspired by the terrible aggressive war Russia waged against Ukraine. Have a listen; you can find it below. But first: Enjoy our interview!
Anne: Hi Lyra! Thanks for taking the time for this interview! It's so good to talk to you again! How are you doing these days?
Lyra: I'm doing quite well! I am very excited to be releasing something full-length finally. And yeah, it's lovely to catch up!
Anne: Time flies! It's already been three (!) whole years since our last interview! What has changed for you since then?
"I met some wonderful people"
Lyra: Pffhhh wow yeah. I turn 23, too, in a few days. The past few years have been fucking weird for everyone for obvious reasons, so I don't think I'm the only one with an awful sense of time anymore.
As for what has changed, a lot in my personal life, mainly. I was not in a great state of mind when I recorded the previous album, and that really came to a head in 2021. Luckily, I got help, and I can honestly say that I've never been happier and more stable than I am now. I've managed to surround myself with wonderful people and have adopted a sort of positively nihilistic mindset involving me impulsively doing whatever I truly feel like doing daily. It also means I nearly bankrupt myself every month by spending all my money on concert tickets, but hey, It works for me!
Anne: You just finalised your newest album. You described it as "trance rock", and I think that's the perfect term! I already listened to the nine songs, and they're a great mixture of everything I love about electronic and analogue music. Sounds like a cross-section of music history, from the 1990s age of techno and grunge til our post-music times. Love it! Moreover, your skilful way of combining gloomy parts (and topics) with hopeful-sounding lighter ones. Are you happy with the outcome of your work?
Lyra: I've only taken to calling it "trance rock" recently, but yeah, I also think it sums up most of my music pretty well. I grew up listening to a lot of rock bands as well as more repetitive electronic music like trance and house, and especially, a lot of the song structures I tend to go for are more inspired by that electronic side. I love long, hypnotic songs that take a while to build and really suck you in.
And yes, I'm very happy with the record! I think I've really grown as a producer and tried lots of new approaches to songwriting and soundscaping. You can still clearly tell it's a lyra messier record, but the individual songs are much more diverse.
Anne: What's the name of the album, and how did you come up with it?
Lyra: Like the last album, it doesn't have a title. This started when I had a really hard time trying to think of a title for the last record, which I conceived of over a very long period in many different contexts. I didn't think any set of words could truly describe all the songs that were on it, so I chose to forgo naming it entirely.
With this record, however, I've decided to leave it untitled again, largely just to be annoying (laughs). It's inspired in part by all the different Weezer records, which are simply called "Weezer", so the audience has to make up their own description; in their case, people refer to the albums by colour. I think it will be fun to hear everyone call it something slightly different. It could be the Amsterdam album (since we took the picture on the cover in Amsterdam), the 2023 album, the one that starts with "Frighten", et cetera. Do you feel me?
Anne: This makes so much sense, and I love the idea of everyone naming your album individually and personally! You named some of the songs after Ukrainian cities like Kharkiv and Sevastopol, and there's also a song called "M52". Is war the base topic of the album?
"I wrote 'Sevastopol' in 2017 or 18"
Lyra: The war in Ukraine is certainly a major theme that inspired it. I wrote the "Sevastopol" song in 2017 or 18—I'm not entirely sure at this point, but it was very long ago. The conflict was limited to Crimea and the east at that time, but it was already something I was thinking about a lot. I'm simultaneously disgusted and morbidly fascinated by how a dictator like Putin can use propaganda as a weapon. I mean, he convinced the Russian soldiers invading another country is a good thing— although it is so obvious to everyone who is not inside that communication bubble that it is an absolute injustice. Obviously, after the escalation of the war in 2022, the song became a lot more relevant; I've also met a lot of lovely Ukrainians since then, many of them through an incredible Ukrainian band called Go_A I've been following around on tour. It's felt productive to channel some of my fury into music because I've otherwise felt very helpless as someone living on the other side of Europe.
More broadly, though, I guess the base topic of the album is just people that piss me off? "Frighten" and "M52" are both about an ex. We actually get along really well now (really fulfilling the lesbian stereotype here)—she has even heard the songs (laughs). But when I wrote them, I was just really pissed off and needed an outlet. The name "M52" is actually a reference to a metro line in Amsterdam, where she lives.
"Helixx", meanwhile, is about people like J.K. Rowling. She seems to think that through writing successful books, she's earned the right to be an authority on a completely unrelated topic, namely people's gender identity. This woman has never met me and likely never will, but thinks she knows me better than I do? I would call it hilarious if not for all the related conservative fearmongering that threatens to roll back access to trans-related healthcare or, in some countries, already has.
Anne: What JKR does is so wrong. I can't stand her behaviour—it's beyond disgusting. She has absolutely no idea about what she is doing. She has such a gigantic and tremendous reach and is actively harming people with her nonsense and terrible ways. I absolutely can't understand how she can still have so many fans.
Let's change the subject again and talk about your wonderful music. There's also a song about a flesh-eating flower—the Sarracenia, to be precise. Do you want to tell me more about it?
Lyra: The explanation for that one is much less deep: my friend James gifted me that title! He's one of my many friends in England, most of whom I met through Jo from the band 31hours, who's the guitarist on this record. I mentioned in a group chat with both of them that I had this song and had no idea what to call it, and James is a bit of a plant nerd, so obviously, that's where his mind went! The song means absolutely nothing and is just a cool little thing I came up with on piano, but I think the name fits it quite well.
Anne: I especially enjoy the piano parts. You told me you started taking piano lessons when you were seven. Would you say that it was always your favourite instrument?
"I love prog rock instruments"
Lyra: To be completely honest, I'm not even sure why I chose piano as a child, but I do still really enjoy playing it! Being the rock music fan I am, I also love the guitar, but I've never attempted to learn it. I would like to at some point in the future, but that's a massive commitment I don't really feel ready for yet.
I've also grown to have a lot of appreciation for some classic prog rock instruments, like the hammered dulcimer and the mellotron. The latter, especially, I use a lot on this album to create some cool textures.
Anne: Is that your beautiful voice we hear on tracks like "Frighten" and "M52"? I love it so much—in English and Dutch in singing and spoken words! It's quite an excellent addition to your music!
Lyra: That is, in fact, me! Yes, my voice is deeper than the Mariana Trench. I never used to sing. Mostly because I was insecure as hell about the way I sounded and tried really hard to hide my transness from everyone who didn't have to know—and to be fair, the last record was also very much conceived as an instrumental record. But after finally recording "Sevastopol" after four years of putting it off, I was a lot happier with my performance than I was expecting, and that ended up giving me the confidence to write some more vocal-centric songs. I think the result shows a cool new side of me!
Anne: Just keep them coming! I would love to hear more of them!
One of the most significant similarities we share is our taste in music and also some favourite bands. We both went to the legendary 65daysofstatic "10 years of 'Wild Light'" show some days ago and loved it more than any other concert this year. You can feel that 65daysofstatic is one of your biggest influences when listening to your new songs. Are there more artists you'd like to mention who influenced you on this album and your musical journey to this point?
Lyra: Oh yeah, those shows were absolutely incredible. And I say "shows", plural, because I went to four(laughs). As you said, 65daysofstatic are one of my biggest influences—you're not the first to tell me how obvious that is, and I'm glad to hear it because a lot of my music is basically a love letter to them!
Steven Wilson is another major influence. I followed him around with Porcupine Tree on their recent tour, and am also a massive fan of his solo work. In general, I've been more and more into prog rock and metal recently. "Frighten" also owes a lot to Lunatic Soul, Mariusz Duda of Riverside's mesmerising solo project.
As for the more electronic side, I've become a big fan of Bob Moses over the past few years! I think the way they combine house rhythms with pop hooks is absolutely astounding.
Anne: This is by the way a very good tip for my blog readers!
So, your plan is to release the album on November 10th, am I right? And you pre-released "Sevastopol" today — congratulations!
Lyra: That's the plan! I think "Sevastopol" is probably the most accessible track on the record, so it makes sense as a single. "M52" will come out about a week before the album mainly because I just think it's catchy as hell, though its nearly ten-minute runtime will probably scare off some potential listeners (laughs).
Anne: People have to finally start listening to longer pieces. They are missing out on so much!
Any next steps you're planning to go after the release?
"I already have my next album ready"
Lyra: I actually have another entire album that is pretty much finished! Everything is recorded, and I'm finishing mixing in the last bits of guitar right now. It's entirely based on the album "Von" by Sigur Rós, another major influence, with some songs being fairly straight covers and others having only a few chords or some textural choices in common. It's very much a labour of love, and I don't think I can wait too long after this to release it! So expect that in early 2024!
Anne: Thanks very much for answering my questions, Lyra! It's always a pleasure to speak with you!
Lyra: It is! Let me know if you're ever in Belgium or the Netherlands because we should absolutely get lunch sometime!
Anne: Absolutely! I'd love to finally meet you in person, and spend some time! I hope to make it to Dunk!festival next year!