Beating the Quarter-Life Crisis with Lailana
There’s always so much focus on the mid-life crisis. Suddenly you get finance on a bright red sports car that everyone experiences second-hand embarrassment about when you drive. Or you divorce your wife and get a girlfriend called Aimeeyye who is half your age and not as stupid as you think. But that’s all dependent on age and wealth, what happens when the mid-life crisis happens much sooner and becomes a quarter-life crisis? Listen to the storytelling of Lailana, and hopefully we’ll never need that car finance.
Wait, hold on a minute. Let’s focus on why Lailana is an important artist firstly with a message taken from her official website:
‘Other artists bring music to life. I like to see myself as bringing life to music. My songs tell stories. Stories either derived from my own personal experiences, or the experiences of people close to me whom I love. Or even world events that I feel strong about.’
Artists who bring a sense of humanity to their writing are always important artists, and most certainly worth listening to. Lailana’s heritage and being afforded the opportunity to have lived both in Dubai, a young city that has grown at an alarming rate, and in the U.K. where tradition and culture have too much clout, have given Lailana a huge perspective on the world. Originally I was going to just review Lailana’s latest single, ‘Paper Chasin’’, but to get more of an idea of who Lailana is, we must first explore some of her other work.
Beginning with ‘Loneliness ≠ Real’, a continuous drum beat throughout and bassline to match, the instrumental track reminds me of something Ladyhawke would’ve done in 2009. That interesting time in music when something could be both a throw-back and utterly contemporary at the same time. At the turn of the millennium, there was a track called ‘Point Of View’ by DB Boulevard featuring the voice of Moony - something about the feel and subject matter of that lost modern classic is resurrected here. Lailana’s vocal is soothing amongst electric piano and clean guitar, which is changed up for a crowd participation moment, chanting the chorus along with male vocals.
The feel is immediately different with ‘Don’t Let It Affect U’, coming in with piano and Lailana’s voice more naked, initially covered by soft keyboard but then accompanied by programmed drums. One of the things I enjoy about this track is how it leads you to believe it’s going one way, and then it goes another way. Could it be trip-hop? Nope, here are some Sweet Inspiration-esque backing vocals instead. Lailana sings with ease, but not a note is out of place. This line jumped out at me: ‘I miss my relationship with God, how can it be this hard?’ There’s something beautiful about an artist that is both honest with themselves, and their audience.
And again we’re into different territory with ‘R U Happy?’ This track has the bounce prevalent in pop of the 2010’s. Specifically I think of Zara Larsson, though this song is deeper in its lyrical content. Another journey into honesty, ‘because you can talk all you want, are you happy with the one you see inside? The one you have to fight with everyday?’ are a couple of lines that stick out to me. ‘R U Happy?’ is much shorter, a shot in the arm to get you through your day.
Which brings us to 2020, and Lailana’s pandemic-themed track, released during the first U.K. lockdown in April. An interesting point was raised in that time, how there was a noticeable reduction in air pollution from the shut-down of businesses to nobody driving any vehicles. Towns and cities were deserted. I remember a video of a kangaroo bounding through Adelaide city without a care in the world. The desertion was thought provoking, and part of this is encapsulated in ‘We’ll Get Through This’. Featuring Lailana’s visuals recorded at home and interspersed with scenes all over our planet, this is certainly a case of Lailana writing about world events she feels strongly about. Though as suggested by the title, this is intended to be a spiritual lift in spite of all the unknowns the planet faced in that time.
Is it possible to take a slight detour whilst staying on topic? I don’t know, but Lailana explains the origin of ‘Another Quarantine Day’ in her video description better than I could.
‘This is my entry for Virtual WCOPA 2020 - Vocal Self-Accompaniment, representing the UK. This song was recorded on my laptop using my voice, ukulele, synth & tasty maracas, I wrote it as a pick me up in the middle of quarantine.’
And you know? I think it’s a shame it’s only a minute long. I’ve included this one here to show that not only is Lailana a great pairing with producers, but also her own self-produced work at home is superb. Especially in a time when artists didn’t have access to studios, this tiny track tells a story we all shared during that time. Don’t be so hard on yourself, a new day will come tomorrow.
And here it is. Lailana’s big fuck you to the quarter-life crisis, illustrated in a spectacular way in this music video via red goo in a paddling pool and the possessiveness of grasping hands. Directed by Ollie Paxton and the entire concept conceived by Lailana, they and their small team do a great job of bringing this songwriter’s vision to life.
In terms of the track itself, it was produced by the versatile George Rose (whose own music we wrote about here), ‘Paper Chasin’’ is more on the softer side of Lailana’s career. The pulsing synths mix in well with acoustic guitar breaks, and multiple vocal layers are pleasing to the ear with heavenly harmonies. If you’re caught in a dead-end job, if you wake up unhappy everyday, Lailana’s message to you is this: waste no more time - follow your dreams.
1. Your new single 'Paper Chasin'' confronts the restrictions we place on ourselves that keep us from being happy, when did you decide you needed to voice that in a song?
It was straight out of university, it came to a point where I was so unhappy in a corporate 9-5 job where I felt the life being sucked out of me… this not only had a direct effect on my creativity and music, but my overall mental health. So at the start of my quarter life crisis, I dropped everything and moved to Thailand for a couple of months and Paper Chasin’ was born. It came from the realisation that I couldn’t be spending my life on chasing money with a dead-end job and that I needed to fight my inner fears and just LIVE the life I’ve always dreamed of.
2. You worked with George Rose on the production of this track, what was he like to work with?
George Rose is something else, let me tell ya! I met him through David Waters, the talented producer and friend who produced most of my other singles and it was only after one jam session with George that I knew we were going to create something special. The song was around 60% complete before our first session, we wrote the musical structure of the bridge and chorus together on his guitar and my uke & within weeks George worked his magic on the production, we had one day to record vocals and the rest is history!
3. The music video is brilliant. We all suffer for our art, but what made you want to be in an inflatable pool in a cold warehouse?
Thank you so much, this means so much especially since this is my first music video that I wrote the concept and storyboard for! I wanted to be in a tight place where my movement was constricted, surrounded by objects that represent different things weighing me down, which is also why I chose to use a thick red slime instead of water! The warehouse was Ollie’s touch, it just fit perfectly with the whole concept.
4. Ollie Paxton directed this video, what was the shoot like on that day?
First of all…. FREEEEEEEZING!!! But working with a mastermind like Ollie Paxton, you completely forget your body is going through the first stages of hypothermia… He’s just the most easy going professional I’ve ever worked with. He understood my vision from the moment I explained it and broke the whole 12 hour shoot down so effortlessly, keep in mind we had to stick to social distancing guidelines so we only had a team of 4; Ollie on the camera, directing, Joe Siddle as Ollie’s assistant & my ma + lil’ sis as set assistants (they were the pair of arms you see in the video!) Ollie also edited & color graded the video- the man DOES IT ALL!! I honestly couldn’t see this video being filmed by anyone else.
5. What I enjoy about your music is that your lyrics seem to be inspired by personal experience. What inspired your debut single 'Loneliness ≠ Real'?
My motto with my music is to bring Life to Music, instead of just bringing music to life… so each song is really like a page out of my journal. I always had older people in my life telling me that I was too young to understand what the true meaning of Loneliness was; that my feelings weren’t real. So, this song was my way of biting back with a story of a failed relationship. It tells the story of a young struggling love filled with trust issues & recklessness which lead me to feeling like I was alone within the relationship. Loneliness ≠ Real, is me confronting those who invalidated my feelings and my ex who inherently made me feel like I was the crazy one with all the toxicity he was feeding my soul.
6. Your singles 'Loneliness ≠ Real', 'R U Happy' and 'Don't Let It Affect You' all have hand-drawn artwork, who was that by?
The amazing Valentina Vozila, otherwise known as Lee Chatte; a true visionary. I met Val through freelancer.com, where I held a competition for a logo & she was the only one who understood what my music truly stood for and what my essence was & boy did we just click. Even though she’s based in Croatia & myself in the UK, all it took was me explaining the meaning behind each song and she brought it to life with the visuals. Her art style is so unique and her attention to detail immaculate.
7. The track 'We'll Get Through This' was written and released closer to the start of the pandemic, which we all thought would be over by now. What are your thoughts on the current Covid-19 situation in the U.K.?
Honestly, I’m thankful as hell that my loved ones and I are alive and safe. This has been the most challenging year for a lot of us, but in the madness of it all, there’s so much to be grateful for, 2020 gave me the time I would have never had to learn more about myself, my music and what I want to put out into the world. There are people out there living in absolute hell, so it’s important for us to see and appreciate every little blessing, even if 2020 tries us & blurs our vision. One thing I will say is that I will not be rethinking, reskilling or rebooting & no one in the arts should!!!
8. You wrote and recorded 'Another Quarantine Day' for Virtual WCOPA 2020, would you tell us more about that?
I wrote 'Another Quarantine Day' as a pick me up in the middle of lockdown, as a reminder to not be so damn hard on myself on the days I’m not “doing much.” I was part of the songwriting competition within the Virtual WCOPA 2020 and they asked us to write a one-minute song about quarantine so I thought I’d focus on the reality of the ugly side of it; recorded it on my laptop & filmed the music video in my living room with the help of my extremely patient flatmate Karan, who helped me bag a gold medal!
9. It's interesting listening to the singles you've put out so far. People inevitably try to figure out a musical genre. How would you describe yours? You're welcome to make up a word of your own!
This has always been a tricky one for me, no lie. I was trained in classical opera, threw myself into musical theatre at 10 years old then found myself in a gospel choir and funk band at 16, during my emo kid days- when I pretty much listened to heavy metal and rap music exclusively. I like to think that my style and genre when I first started releasing music in 2019 was Indie-Soul but in the years I’ve grown and dabbled in different genres, especially Pop. There are so many sub-genres within pop that are overlooked, right now I’m vibing with alt-pop & rnb, and I hope to experiment as my journey continues!
10. Is there a subject you'd really like to tackle in your songwriting, but haven't found the words for yet?
So many, golly gosh. If I could release a song a day, I would. There’s just so much to write about. I plan to release a project about race & racism, specifically my experience growing up mixed race in Dubai and the UK.
11. I love your philosophy on life and the power of music, where does all this positive energy come from?
One thing I learned the hard way is that if you don’t have the power to constantly produce positive energy, sweetie, NO ONE will do it for ya! We only have one life to live, so why live it in sadness? I try to find inspiration in everything and everyone around me, it keeps me motivated and reminds me of what my purpose is. One thing that has helped me through it all is constantly collaborating with different types of musicians. A side-project of mine that I am extremely proud of is my band Kancel Karma; you have myself and Peligro on vocals & guitar (singing in both Italian & English), JimmyDaGhost our insane rapper & Alessio the KING of drums- mixing different genres and styles to create something so wacky & unique; every jam session brings me back to life.
12. You have an EP coming out in 2021, what can you tell us about that?
My baby…. My EP. I can’t wait to share this one with you. It’s a 4-piece project that follows every step of a modern-day love tragedy. It was birthed during lockdown number 1, literally over 4-6 zoom calls a week with the talented producer David Waters, the father of Loneliness ≠ Real, Don’t Let it Affect U, & We’ll Get Through This. All I can say is that it’s ALIEN themed & has hints of operatic tones, alt-pop & rnb, so a reinvented version of my music I hope people will relate to and feel empowered by.
--------
Visit Lailana’s official website for more information about upcoming releases and to sign up to Lailana’s mailing list.
Follow Lailana on instagram and facebook @lailanamusic.
