“renegade” is part of Bristol-based artist Lenn’s forthcoming EP. It centers around the readiness to finally acknowledge previously ignored red flags and admit when someone isn’t meant to be in your life. We had the pleasure of interviewing Lenn, and here’s what she had to say:
Q: Did you have a clear direction/idea of how you wanted “renegade” to sound before you started creating it or did it come together in bits and pieces?
LENN: The original demo is very different from how it has ended up. Myself, Alex and Sarah wrote it over two sessions (one on Zoom) with some tweaking in between. “renegade” became one of those tracks where we were searching for something and we didn’t know what it was exactly but after a lot of re-working we unlocked a sound we were happy with and it set the tone for the rest of the EP.
Q: What’s the story behind “renegade”?
LENN: A few times in life, people important to me haven’t turned out to be what I thought or maybe just hoped. “Renegade” is about one of these occasions and the realisation that I was fighting a losing battle. That if I was really honest with myself, I had given the benefit of the doubt right from the start where there were little red flags dotted all around the situation. Accepting that you can’t control how someone portrays you in their own story has been a really tough but important lesson to learn.
Q: How are you hoping listeners will respond to it?
LENN: I think a lot of people experience a similar disappointment and realisation at some point and it’s really difficult to process. I find a lot of solace in listening to music that talks about what I’m going through and I hope others will find that the lyrics of “renegade” help them feel seen.
Q: Can you describe what a typical recording session for this song was like? How long did it take to create this song?
LENN: This particular song was written back in August 2020 mid-pandemic. We took ages over it because we had the idea and we had some bits of the melody that we were really excited about, but we revisited and experimented with it several times before we settled on the chorus. The writing was much more laborious than the actual recording, but then figuring out the production was more laborious still as we were in the process of defining the sound of the ‘Lenn’ project which I was very particular about, knowing it laid the groundwork for me as an artist.
Q: What did you enjoy the most about creating it?
LENN: I love how writing music helps you process things, especially when you collaborate with other writers. It’s such a unique space for sharing and being vulnerable with people that you don’t really get in many other spaces in the same way.
Q: Who’s one artist you’d love to work with?
LENN: There are so many! I’d have to say Banks, her writing is so unique and she’s SO good to watch perform live.
Interviewed by Zoey King
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