The Unexpurgated interview with Esther Lowless

Seriously, don’t you just love her stage name? We were so intrigued by the singer-songwriter’s stage name that, for our interview regarding her launch of Strange Place To Meet, her solo EP, on June 21 at the Esplanade Recital Studio, we just had to start off with that.

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ESTHER LOWLESS. WHERE DID THAT COME FROM?

Many years back, I had a huge fight with my dad over my tattoos. It was so bad that he wanted to disown me, and many hurtful words were exchanged between the both of us. I was so angry that I changed my Facebook name from Esther Low to Esther Lowless, because I was Low-less, as in seedless or penniless. (Laughs) And then friends started calling me Lowless, and the name just stuck. So I decided to use it as my stage name. But my Dad and I are fine and dandy now.

YOU HAVE BEEN IN A NUMBER OF BANDS LIKE INDUS GENDI, MONSTER CAT AND DEON. WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO RELEASE YOUR MUSIC AS A SOLO ARTIST?

It was quite random. Leonard (Soosay) and I were hanging out, and he just said, “Eh Esther, write a song for animals lah!” Because both of us are animal lovers and World Animal Day (organised by Thunder Rock School) was around the corner.

And I thought, “Okay la!” It was very much for fun. But then it got serious when I went into the recording studio to record the song, because I realised, why not record a full EP? It’s not like I’m not capable of doing something like that! It was a “just do it la! nothing to lose!” moment.

HOW DO YOU ACCOUNT FOR THE WIDE RANGE OF MUSICAL STYLES FOUND ON YOUR EP?

I’ve got many different musical influences that really touch my soul, and it just so happens that all these influences are super-different. My piano influences are probably the strongest, since I grew up playing the piano and have always been more in love with piano music. I love neo-classical music, and I also love heavy rock music, and dark electronica music. I suppose I subconsciously wanted to fuse all my influences together into my work. I didn’t want to try too hard to fit into a particular genre. I just wanted to write on my piano, record in the recording studio, and let my creative juices flow naturally. Resulting in Strange Place To Meet.

WHAT WAS THE SONGWRITING AND RECORDING PROCESS LIKE THEN?

I would just play around on the piano, loop any motif and chord progression that I found particularly pleasing to my ears, and just let them evolve as I kept playing for a few hours. Once a confirmed structure is out, I would record a demo, listen to it over and over and think of how the drums should be, what guitar, strings, and synthesiser parts could be layered upon certain phrases, what my vocal melody should be.

During recording sessions, I tell Leonard and my musicians the story of the song, and the emotions behind the song. Sometimes I sing the parts to them. And they usually get it and magic happens. And Leonard understands me as a person quite thoroughly, so he also understands the story of the songs and how he should mix them. On good days, I suddenly “hear” potentially good riffs that can be layered on top of the songs while I’m listening to them, and I quickly tell my musicians, “Okay do this!”

HOW HAS BEING AN ACTRESS INFORMED YOUR MUSIC MAKING, IF AT ALL?

I think it’s not so much about me being an actress, but me being a huge movie buff! Each of my song is a story, and as I write my music, scenes are actually taking place in my head. And it’s almost like the music is written for those scenes in my head. So some people have told me that my music sounds like the soundtrack of a movie, and that’s a great great compliment!

WHY DID YOU DECIDE TO EMBARK ON AN ANTHOLOGY OF MUSIC FILM AS A COUNTERPART FOR THE EP?

There is a story behind this EP. It actually relates loosely about a mental breakdown I experienced back in 2009 to 2011. In the story of Strange Place To Meet, the mental breakdown takes on the character of The Visitant, an entity that haunts me and takes control of me. Because I am such a huge movie buff, and have had experience in the acting industry, I thought I might as well just make a film to fit the music and the story as well.

YOUR LAUNCH IS AT THE ESPLANADE RECITAL STUDIO, A BIG STEP FOR A LOCAL ARTIST RELEASING HER DEBUT EP. WHAT DO YOU HOPE TO ACHIEVE WITH THIS PERFORMANCE?

I just want my audience to enjoy the best kind of sound for my music in the most comfortable setting. That’s all.

ANY PLANS TO BRING YOUR MUSIC OVERSEAS?

For sure. My eyes are on Japan and China. And currently, in a distant dream, Iceland.