In her second release of the year, LASHES has flown into our hearts with the aptly titled track, ‘Heavenly’. Through a beautiful exploration of her growing prowess in the electro-pop style, LASHES has formulated an emotionally charged song that is vulnerable yet confident in its presentation, making for a track that is not only enjoyable, but a relatable and thought-provoking listen. Since her emergence in 2020, and her mighty releases since then, we snuck into the mind of LASHES to take a look at the creative process behind these stellar tracks!
You often speak about your love of emotional depth and your art being a chance to express your personal stories. How would you describe the process of opening up into such a public forum- is it still as daunting as the previous times?
It does get less daunting with every song but I find that the realisation that my songs are going to be heard by anyone other than myself doesn't really hit me until the actual release day. I try not to dwell on that much as I’m wary that it could possibly have a negative impact on the way I write. The early workings of my songs always start from a therapeutic space of making sense of my thoughts and feelings and are purely for myself and my obsessive need to express myself in the only way I know how. It’s not until the later stages of production that I start to have thoughts like “I wonder if people will actually like this”.
You've noted some of your influences being acts such as Porter Robinson and CHVRCHES (who are some of our faves too)! What is it about them that inspires you?
I really like the experimental elements Porter Robinson incorporates into his art. You can kind of tell that he went down the rabbit hole at 3am to discover a new sound and I appreciate that. It always feels like a personal exploration when I listen to his music. I like that he pushes sonic boundaries and meshes sounds that really shouldn’t work together - but do. That inspires me and is a reminder to just ‘do me’ and what feels right when it comes to creating. CHVRCHES have always been a big influence, they are ever-evolving but at the same time have their own signature ‘thing’ going on. I always go back to their album “The Bones Of What You Believe”
‘Heavenly’ is such a capturing song and automatically feels like a comforting, coming-of-age anthem! What inspired this track and more importantly, how does it make you feel that people resonate with your own storytelling ways?
That’s really nice to read as for me it came from a place of contentment and acceptance in finally allowing myself to move on from a shitty situation that had held me down for some time. I fell for one of my friends a few years back and when it ended it really knocked me around. I feel like there's always this added layer of pain and betrayal when a friend hurts you. I sat in this weird limbo over it for ages, I felt the most “myself” around this person and that was a very hard thing to let go of. ‘Heavenly’ is about all the things that are left unsaid and about looking back on the times shared wondering if they cast you in the same light you cast them in.
It’s so nice to know that people can relate to the things I say and are receptive to the way I tell my stories. It makes me warm and fuzzy.
‘Heavenly’ was released as your second track of the year, following the equally divine, ‘Luv Is Blind’. How do you think these two tracks differ, and did you learn anything between these two releases that you found yourself implementing in the latest single?
I’ve found with each release I get more comfortable with going a little deeper into my life and letting people see the ‘real’ me. As much as ‘Luv Is Blind’ means a lot, I feel like it ‘skims’ the surface of the story more than ‘Heavenly’ does.
How has the recent state of the surrounding world influenced your upcoming work? Do you believe it's more important to stay focused on your own internal story, or do you feel it's inescapable not to address the thoughts and feelings of the world of the pandemic in your art?
That’s a good question. Music for me has and will always start from a place of expressing my internal world, but I did find myself writing a little differently during lockdown - with everything going on in the world I had no choice but to focus on the bigger picture. I’m so excited to release some of the songs I wrote during these few lockdowns, they’re different from anything else I’ve written.
Who are some of your favourite local acts, inspiring local acts, or local acts you would love to share the stage with?
I love discovering new local acts! At the moment I’m really vibing the new Cry Club album “God I’m Such A Mess”. I saw them play at the Leadbeater late last year and it went off! Their energy is infectious. I also love the new song “say something” by upsidedownhead and Clea. They killed it!
You’ve already been thriving this year, with two incredible singles! Where do you aspire to go next on your music journey?
Thanks so much, I’m keen to keep the ball rolling with a heap of new songs in the works, maybe even an album and I can’t wait to finally be able to play some bloody live shows!!