When you start listing her achievements on paper, it’s a little hard to believe that mononymous musician Lenka Kripac isn’t a household name.
Having launched her career as an actress, a stint with acclaimed Sydney outfit Decoder Ring turned into a solo career in 2008, where debut single The Show would become internationally renowned for its use on TV, in films, and in commercials.
Even with mentions on TV shows such as Law & Order, performances of her work by Billy Crystal at the Academy Awards, and five studio albums to her name, Lenka is comfortable admitting she’s more of a success outside of her home country.
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“Friends of mine that are famous and well known tell me, ‘you should be grateful that you’re not famous where you live, because it really does affect your life’,” Lenka explains. “If I lived in Asia, I think my life would be quite bizarre because I do get recognised. I have to live this double life.”
Lenka’s double life can be traced back to her self-titled debut solo album in 2008, which would chart highly across Europe, but received little attention in her native Australia. Despite this, her fanbase grew steadily with each and every album, with four more arriving between 2011 and 2017, and in August of this year, she became the first major Australian touring artist to play China since the end of COVID restrictions.
Rewind a bit, and in early 2020, just before the advent of COVID and accompanying lockdowns, Lenka would release a pair of EPs; Recover and Discover. Ultimately, the global pandemic would derail any real chances of sharing this music with her voracious fanbase.
“I got to do my Aussie tour, but I didn’t get to do the US and Europe,” she recalls. “I think it kind of took the wind out of my sails emotionally as well.
“I just didn’t want to do it; I just wanted to go to ground and look after my family,” she adds.
“The thought of even trying to promote music felt wrong.”
Unable to maintain a musical silence for too long, she began working with producer Dave Jenkins Jr for new album, Intraspectral, leaning into the world of indie-pop to craft an album that is equally high-energy and multi-coloured, yet reflective and thoughtful.
“Conceptually, the album’s called Instraspectral, which is a word that I made up, with ‘intra’ meaning within and ‘spectral’ referring to a spectrum,” she explains. “It’s the rainbow within, the idea of introspection, and the multitudes that we have inside us.
“I wanted it to have variety, and I wanted to experiment and play around with different styles and have fun,” she adds. “I used to be an actor, so I actually love putting on that character a little bit and performing the narrative of the song in a certain style to an extent.”
While more upbeat songs like the Josh Pyke-featuring Champion are present, the record does tend towards darker themes at times. As Lenka explains, it’s about maintaining her status as a source of comfort and happiness for her listeners, but also still addressing more realistic topics when necessary.
“I just wanted this album to be a little bit more about shaking off the cobwebs and really just enjoying the moment of living this life,” she explains. “We’re so lucky to be here. Yes, things can be difficult, but why not just make a song and dance about it and enjoy the moments?”
To celebrate the release of Instraspectral on 17 November, Lenka will also be hitting the road with JEFFE for a trio of shows in Melbourne, Brisbane, and Sydney. With the album set to be a strong focus of these shows, the upcoming tour will be an impressive one for fans and newcomers to Lenka’s music. Much like Instraspectral itself, Lenka hopes the tour will be a unifying experience for everyone, and emblematic of the effect her music has on her fans.
“My main mission is to make people feel really good. It should be like taking a happy tablet,” she explains. “I want people to walk away with a lot of love in their heart and feeling really energised and good about life.”
Lenka will be playing The Gasometer on November 17, buy tickets here. Pre-save Intraspectral here. Follow Lenka on IG here.
