As a follow-up to her critically acclaimed debut self-titled album, Lenka released her sophomore effort on Epic Records April 19th. Although Two is undeniably more electronic and dance inspired than her well-received solo introduction into the music industry, Lenka made sure to preserve and enhance the fun-loving style that put her on the map in the first place.
The now Brooklyn-based Aussie quickly became internationally recognized for her hit single, “The Show,” once her LP hit the number 3 spot on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart in 2008. Her hard work and dedication over the past few years has only continued to applaud immense acknowledgement. Lenka’s music has been used on TV shows such as Grey’s Anatomy, Ugly Betty, 90210, Parenthood, and The Hills, in addition to being featured in ad campaigns for Apple, Coca-Cola, Old Navy and Nordstrom.
Despite her raging success, she wasn’t always focused on becoming the next big thing. She actually didn’t first grasp that pursuing a career in music was what she wanted to do until her mid-twenties. “I always loved music, and I learned a few instruments when I was a kid, but I was more passionate about acting…then visual arts…and then finally I returned to music. It was singing in a play that made me realize I loved it again,” the singer reminisced.
Since recognizing that music was her calling and switching gears from being a member of the band Decoder Ring to establishing herself as an individual artist, Lenka has come quite a long way in a short amount of time. It’s hard to believe the recollection of her worst industry experience to date as she explained “everyone who signed me and believed in me at my record label got fired.”
Her career has since done a complete 180. Various big-name producers helped to take Lenka’s infectious pop songs to the next level with Two. She mentioned how especially “rad” David Kosten (credits: Bat for Lashes) was and how she’d like to work with him again, but she also “wants to continue collaborating with other different people in the future too.”
What inspired her to move in a new direction this time around?
“I guess I’m in the mood to dance myself and wanted to support that energy instrumentally. I have always experimented with computer sounds but felt that these songs needed a little more focus on them to make them work best.”
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