Lenka says her latest album is all about happy vibes

Oprah Winfrey, that doyenne of talk shows, once said: “Be thankful for what you have; you’ll end up having more. If you concentrate on what you don’t have, you will never, ever have enough.”

In a way, that’s something that Australian singer Lenka has tried to adhere to. “The biggest thing I’ve (experienced) is the power of positivity and optimism,” she said, in a recent phone interview. “I try my best to practise that. I still get into bad moods and all that, but if I can always return to that optimism, life flows a lot better. It’s much more powerful, I reckon.”

The singer will be returning to Singapore for a show at TAB on Tuesday as part of her South-east Asian tour in support of her latest album, The Bright Side. And unlike its predecessor, the dark-sounding Shadows, it’s an upbeat album that perks you up right from the first listen.

“Shadows was a departure from my normal style. I wanted to do something different with that album, so I knew I would never stick with that mood. I was having a sort of nesting cocoon moment with that album,” Lenka said.

“But the baby that I had when I was doing Shadows is now a toddler and the house is now full of dancing and noise and laughter and energy, so it’s kind of inspiring and reinvigorating to make music that suits that kind of energy level.”

The vivacity of The Bright Side was a conscious decision, the 37-year-old said. “I just wanted to make happy music again. And also, as you get on as an artiste — this is album number four for me — you start to really consider what you’re putting out into the world. I think it’s more powerful to put something more optimistic and feel good than anything dark or depressing. I don’t think that kind of energy is needed right now.”

One of the bright results of the album is that it has taken a record label out of its dormancy. Sony/ATV Music Publishing, which publishes Lenka’s music, took the unusual step of dusting off Hickory Records, a label that it owned, to put out The Bright Side in conjunction with her own label, Skipalong Records.

It was a win-win situation for both. “Even though I have my own record label, it’s sort of just a figurehead instead of a fully functioning label. I don’t have staff or an office. I actually wouldn’t have any idea how to distribute an album — I need the professionals to step in,” said Lenka. “They gave me the funding to do marketing and all that. So I got to keep focusing on just doing the music.”

The whole music business puzzle is even more distinct when you’re an indie artiste, she added. “It’s really tricky because you do need help to get your music out although you don’t want anyone to tell you what to do creatively. It’s hard to maintain that balance. It’s a constant walking of that tightrope of being creative and being business-minded — and getting that to work.”

One interesting facet about her career is how, despite not having as many hits as her peers, Lenka has become one of the top synch artistes in the world; that is, getting a song placed on the soundtrack of a movie or TV series, or for a commercial.

Sony/ATV has secured more than 200 synchs for Lenka’s songs, nearly 70 of them for The Show, the first single off her eponymous 2008 debut album. That song has been used in Old Navy and Crate & Barrel commercials in the United States, a promo for the sitcom Ugly Betty and the 2011 film Moneyball, which starred Brad Pitt.

“My favourite thing about the way my career has gone is that the whole film and TV thing has just been so awesome,” said Lenka. “We’ve had some luck in that department. It’s another platform away from radio and touring where people can discover music. The songs can have another life, a new way of being heard.”

The musician is also very happy with how her life has turned out: From starting out as a solo artiste and being a wife and mother. If you want to track her journey, she said, all you have to do is listen to her albums.

“I process a lot of my emotional stuff in my writing. It has to be about what I’m going through. It’s like I’m writing myself a textbook of songs, little tips to remind myself how to be happy,” she said. “This album is definitely about that striving for happiness and keeping it once you get it; because happiness can be so fleeting. That’s what I want to figure out in life: Keeping some sort of joy and optimism.

“There’s a certain naivety in the first album when I was really wide-eyed about the music industry and travelling the world. But you collect wisdom as you go and, in a particularly feminine way, I think women change and mature into a wiser, more maternal and calm versions of themselves.”

But knowing yourself and your boundaries doesn’t have to be a limiting thing. “(You have) to keep pushing them as well,” said Lenka. “There was a period when I wasn’t that self-aware and I kept making the same mistakes over and over again. As you start to learn your limitations, say with health or psychologically, what you can handle and work within that — it seems to have been a lot better for me, once I figured out what I was capable of and what I could give.”

And what she’s going to give when she performs here is a fun show, she said. Opening for her is Singapore’s Charlie Lim. “He’s great! He’s really talented and he’s got a lovely voice. I look forward to checking out his set,” she said.

“It’s always nice to play in Singapore because everything is always top-notch and the people are always nice,” she said. “I’m looking forward to coming back. I had some good eating experiences at the hawker centres too. So I’m looking forward to eating some more seafood and stingray.”

Lenka performs tomorrow, 7.30pm, at TAB (Orchard Hotel). Tickets from S$88 at http://lenka.peatix.com/