Lenn
I discovered Lenn on Youtube many years ago and I’ve been waiting for her to release her original songs for a while now. I instantly knew she had an amazing potential. Her vocals have always been incredible and effortless but now that she finally released her debut single “dreams are a nightmare”, it is clear to me that her vocal abilities are one of her biggest strengths. Today she has a new single out, it’s called “silicone” and it is incredible. When I listened to her debut single for the first time, I was excited and surprised to hear that r&b atmosphere. This is the right sound for her. “silicone” is a must listen. Lenn is not only an incredible vocalist, she is also a brilliant songwriter. What an artist.
I always believed in her and I already know that she’s going to be huge in a near future. She has everything to be the one of the greatest artists out there.
“silicone” is now available worldwide.
Introduce yourself - what's your story?
I’m Lenn. Just a small town girl. Livin’ in a lonely world.
What did you grow up listening to?
Honestly my parents aren’t musos, so it wasn’t until I started at secondary school that I even realised pop music was a thing! Then I discovered the likes of Jojo, Kelly Clarkson, Leona Lewis and Rihanna by going down a rabbit hole of YouTube suggested videos.
When did you know you could sing?
When I was 13ish we had a music class where we had to write a song. Most of the class used the keyboards but I decided to sing the melody I had written and that was when my music teacher pointed out that I had a good voice. She then became my singing teacher and taught me classical through to a grade 8 by age 16/17- Mrs Rooke, legend.
At what point did you know you had to be an artist and release your original music?
I’ve always felt a strong pull towards music in some way, but when I was younger I really didn’t understand anything about the industry or how I could realise that dream, so I didn’t. I went instead to University of Leeds to study Art and Design, but quickly realised that pursuing art wasn’t being true to myself and after two months I dropped out. Looking back that was a definitive moment for me and set me on a path to making music.
Who was the first person to ever believe in your music?
Easy, my now husband but then stranger > co writer > best mate > boyf > partner in everything. Alex is the other half of the ‘Lenn’ project.
You released your debut single "dreams are a nightmare" - what was it like to release this first single? How did people respond to this first song?
Soo surreal!! It’s been so long in the making. I honestly couldn’t have asked for a better first release with features from BBC Intro, BBC Upload, amazing blog support and a big editorial playlist.
"silicone" is your new single - what's the story/inspiration behind this song?
Silicone is about the feeling of almost regret… but still sticking at it a little bit longer just to see if you were right. / being on the edge of abandoning something - wishing we could do something again with what we know now, what we would choose to do differently. We don’t know how our choices are gonna play out until the end when we look back at it all. But being in it is rough, and that constant back of the mind question ‘have I made the right choices’? Reared its ugly head and produced silicone.
Could you describe the songwriting/production process for this single? Who helped you create it?
All my music is predominantly produced by Alex, and on ‘silicone’ Icarus jumped in too. I help shape it but you’d laugh if you heard how I explain what I want it to sound like. Kinda like that TikTok trend where they try to recreate the sounds of random household stuff with their mouths.
What did you feel when recording this song?
Vulnerable. If you know me in person you know I hate explaining to people what I do. ‘silicone’ is such an exposé on a huge fear of mine that I’m getting it wrong, I’m not good enough, I could have done it better, I’m gonna fail etc.
What's your favourite lyric on "silicone"?
‘I watch the ground to see if I’ve grown’.
Who's helping you build your artistry/career?
As I said in an earlier answer Alex has been by my side from day one, but I’ve also recently started working more closely with Tom and Ian of ‘Icarus’ and beyond being great collaborators in the studio they’ve played an important role in developing the ‘Lenn’ project.
What is your goal as an artist?
I always used to say I just wanna live off music. I also secretly wanted to be performing to massive crowds and be known for what I do. Now, honestly I’m in the best headspace ever for releasing music because I wanna share it and I want people to hear it, but I’m so proud of this work and I don’t need the validation. I know it’s good and EP two is already in the works, so if these first releases are only a stepping stone to bigger and better things then they’ve served their purpose.
What's the best advice you've ever received?
My grandma once said “if you do it in a rush you’ll have to do it again and it’ll end up taking longer anyway”. She was commenting on me tying my shoelaces or something similarly insignificant, but there’s a greater lesson in there and it’s been very relevant to music. Before COVID and lockdowns I was really keen to put music out, but I was forced to slow down and I used that time to write most of the EP and produce something far better than I had before.
In your opinion, what would make the world a better place?
I’m sick with empathy. I think if everyone else could just have a little more maybe I wouldn’t need to have so much (laughs).
What biggest life lessons have you learnt so far?
I’m currently writing a song about trying to enjoy the journey I’m on and live in the moment rather than always trying to jump ahead. I often catch myself feeling disappointed with where I’m at and feeling like I’m falling short, so it’s time for me to start celebrating the smaller wins along the way - in theory.
What can we expect to see/hear from you this year?
I’m gonna be rolling out the EP over the next few months and I have a few exciting collaborations coming up. I also really hope to get some live shows going later in the year too, as I’m itching to get on stage with this work!
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