When Canadian polymath LIGHTS discovered herself in a spiral of adverse psychological well being, she didn’t wish to dwell on her distress. As a substitute, she discovered the antidote within the type of a superb old style pep speak with herself, utilizing positivity as her motivation to get off the bed and attempt to really feel OK once more. She gave herself that pep speak via music, and the end result arrived within the type of her playful, witty fifth album, PEP, arguably her most guitar-driven effort up to now that boasts collaborations with Elohim, Kiesza and twenty one pilots’ Josh Dun.
The final time we heard from LIGHTS, on 2017’s Pores and skin & Earth, her artwork had develop into extra transmedial than ever, with the album launch accompanied by a comic book guide. Although the Pores and skin & Earth narrative remains to be persevering with, she has repeated that feat for PEP, with the accompanying comedian loosely tying into the world she first launched followers to on her earlier album cycle. This time round, nonetheless, it’s much more colourful.
Learn extra: LIGHTS on the that means behind ‘PEP’ single “Prodigal Daughter”
How and when did you begin laying the groundwork for PEP?
I began writing a whole lot of the songs three years in the past, and half the album was really written when the pandemic hit. However even earlier than the pandemic, I used to be going via psychological well being stuff, and naturally, it received lots worse throughout [quarantine]. However throughout that, I used to be like, “You understand what? I’m gonna write these songs that make me really feel like a boss. As a result of if I can’t inform myself I’m a boss and I can’t really feel like I can pep-talk myself, then nobody will. I don’t care if I’m not fucking feeling good, and I don’t care if I hate myself proper now. I’m going to jot down a music that makes me love myself.”
PEP is that this belligerent, overconfident pep speak on the again of this chaotic wreck of a time. It’s about feeling that we will pretend our option to this happiness. I believe in case you current confidence at each nook, then you definately’ll ultimately begin to imagine it, similar to you begin to imagine it while you say adverse issues about your self. It’s a bit obnoxious and overly self-aware in the best way that it’s offered, and I like that.
You appear to embrace the thought of us all being merchandise that we market to the world. The place does that come from?
It’s simply info, proper? We’re all branding ourselves on social media. Each day, we’re branding ourselves each time we go to a brand new faculty, whether or not we begin a brand new job or once we ask ourselves, “How do I would like the world to see me?” That’s referred to as advertising. So I believe if we may be self-aware sufficient to know that we’re branding ourselves each day with the garments we put on, with the music we hearken to, with our pursuits, the best way we current ourselves to individuals, we will spin that in a approach that helps us determine ourselves. It’s not essentially a adverse factor.
After I first began making music, I began a couple of completely different Myspace pages, completely different initiatives, all completely different sorts of music, and also you slowly begin to determine those that you just really feel signify you the very best. I believe once we have a look at branding and advertising, we see it as this company, capitalist factor. However I believe there’s a component of it that’s really self-identification. It helps us put in entrance of the world the components of us we would like individuals to see as a result of that’s who we really feel we’re.
If it’s inevitable, you would possibly as properly embrace it. Would you agree with that?
Yeah, I imply, in case you’ve seen any of the movies, or the branding for this entire album, it’s all over-branded shiny colours, virtually such as you’re shopping for a product at a house enchancment retailer. It seems to be like a product. I believe I’ve had a whole lot of enjoyable [with it]. As a result of as artists, I really feel there’s this expectation to be actually grassroots, however all the pieces’s natural to a degree the place that’s pretend. For lots of people, a whole lot of careers over time have been faked as genuine, however that’s simply advertising as properly. So I’ve had enjoyable flipping the narrative.
You’ve received one other comedian guide popping out in help of PEP, too. Why did you wish to do one other accompanying comedian guide after Pores and skin & Earth?
With Pores and skin & Earth, the story by no means ended. There’re two extra arcs that I’ve written. It’s simply taking a very long time to attract them as a result of I do all of it. The story continues with out music essentially having to be concerned. However with this album, I related it based mostly on only one small stream that connects it to the Pores and skin & Earth world, and it’s via the clinic. The clinic is a metaphor for music as an escape; we plug in to flee. For me, after I put music on, it’s like being elevated out of actuality, and so the clinic is a metaphor for that.
It’s existed within the comedian world for the reason that first sequence, so I simply determined to essentially carry it to life on this one. So there’s an entire aspect comedian that I did that got here out that has Easter eggs for all of the songs that basically got here out and stuff and hinted in any respect the music titles earlier than anybody knew them. Every of those songs are there. You get to go and plug in and expertise these completely different situations, and every music is a situation. The newest video in my head is the mix of all these, me going to the clinic, plugging in, making an attempt out some completely different situations, attending to be someone else. I wrote this script for it and directed all of the expertise, and it was actually enjoyable.
How did you attempt to evolve your sound on this document?
It’s slightly bit extra rock in some methods. That is my first full album launch on Fueled By Ramen, they usually’re so cool. They only get it. They aren’t right here to attempt to make you go to No. 1 on pop radio. It’s simply not their MO. They are going to make good data that signify who their artists are and construct a tradition across the artist. So, Mike Easterlin [Fueled By Ramen president] sits me down and says, “Hey, you want rock music, proper? Simply make a rock document, if you’d like.” The pop world is likely one of the hardest worlds to interrupt out in. There’re simply tens of millions of {dollars} flowing via every of those artists to make them have the facility that they do, whether or not that’s within the songwriting, the producers, within the placement to get on radio. It takes some huge cash and a whole lot of energy.
All I wished my label to say is, “We don’t actually give a fuck about pop radio proper now. Make a rock document. Make an alt document. Make the document you wish to make.” So I used to be like, “You mentioned it, not me.” My purpose on the document was to have 50% of it labored on by ladies. So whereas I produce a whole lot of the document, I’m bringing a whole lot of feminine collaborators. “Beside Myself,” the primary music on the document, is all made by ladies. I had a feminine engineer, feminine grasp, Jess Bowen performed drums, who’s popping out on tour with me. I produced and wrote the factor. It’s good to have the ability to see issues via to the tip. It’s very fulfilling.
LIGHTS appeared in concern 405, accessible right here.
