We caught up with 18-year-old Lena Fayre to discuss her new single, rejection, and her love for glitter.
Abeline Cohen: So you released some music this morning.
Lena Fayre: Yes, I just put out “This World”. I’m really excited about it. It’s a really special song for me. I’m happy to know that it’s out in the world
A: Were you nervous about the release?
L: Well, it’s much less of a big reveal..like you spend so much time working and focusing on your music, and then anyone can listen to it with a click of a button. It’s kind of bizarre, but I’m really excited.
A: So you never get nervous?
L: Not really. I never get stage fright. I had one traumatizing stage experience when i was 8 years old. It was kind of the first time I got a taste of of performing. It was for the dress rehearsal for the talent show, and I had to wait 3 hours before I went on. I was singing the star spangled banner, and I had like, a meltdown.
A: That’s awful! Have you ever seen 8 Mile?
L: No, I haven’t, should I?
A: Seriously? Of course. Absolutely. Anyway, I just thought of it, because I always imagine that being booed is such a horrible experience.
L: I honestly can’t even imagine.
A: Lauryn Hill got booed on stage once. At the Apollo theatre when she was 13.
L: Really?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=E00q3cKwuvM
A: Yeah. What would you do if that happened to you?
L: I mean inside, I would just have to laugh. I’m not really in this to affect everyone. But for room full of people to collectively decide that you’re not enough is horrible.
A: Yeah, like, everybody’s just decided that you’re totally inadequate. Anyway, I wonder if, as you get older and more successful, if you’ll start to feel more nervous than you did starting out.
L: Well, I don’t know, but with the growth that I’ve experienced and the awareness that I’ve developed…like in August, I toured a lot in Los Angeles, and seeing how the different songs affected people, like if they danced or if they didn’t…I really started understanding the audience and how they reacted to the music. For me, it’s all about people. It’s not all about materialism, and although that’s a manifestation of success sometimes—music is a really selfish process for me personally. It’s cathartic and therapeutic, and I do it because I love listening to things that are beautiful. But when I’m on stage, I’m giving things away.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=CAWqa0Tc_oU
A: And that’s what you feel when you’re performing?
L: It’s electric. I get so much energy from it. It’s not like a nervous energy. It’s a feeling of acceptance and acknowledgement.
A: And would you say that experience is comparable to any other you have on a day-to-day basis?
L: The special variable in music is that you’re strangers. And you don’t know each other, and with boyfriend girlfriend, that’s a different form of intimacy. The only thing we have in common is music. and that’s all we have in common.
A: So what are you looking to change with your sound?
L: I’m working on a new EP right now, it’ll come out in 2015. My last record Oko—Oko kind of skipped genres, and the instrumentation wasn’t uniform. The only thing connecting the record was my singing. I wanted to to create something really cohesive.
A: How do you feel about David Bowie?
L: [Laughs] I love David Bowie. I loved Ziggy Stardust.
A: Why do you think so many musicians are obsessed with his aesthetic?
L: I’m not sure, actually I never thought about it.
A: I guess just maybe everyone wants an excuse to wear glitter.
L: [Laughs] I love glitter. Maybe that’s why I love glitter, because of David Bowie.
“This World” was released March 3rd, exclusively on Spotify