Lights, (both by name and nature) has been a breath if fresh air in what was fast becoming a stale genre. Writing exciting, warming, highly personal music whilst maintaining a strong connection with her fans since 2008, she’s became the sweetheart of the scene with her devastating talent, exuberant character and heartwarming smile. 2011 saw her full length album Siberia released with great success, showcasing her growth as a musician from her previous album ‘The Listening’. The Juno award winning singer / songwriter is well overdue for an Australian tour, so i caught up with her for a bit of a chat to see what 2012 holds as well as her thoughts on Skyrim, all the while biting my tongue for fear of accidentally asking her to marry me…
Blessed Are The Obsessed: How was your Christmas and New Years?
Lights Poxleitner: Awesome! Restful, family filled. Made delicious cake pops. Highlight.
Any new years resolutions?
LP: I forgot about the whole resolution thing until a couple days into the year, thusly probably jinxing the whole charm of a new year’s res. I guess I will just resolve to fit as many shows and triumphs in before December 21 (end of world).
BATO: Earlier last year you dropped Siberia, what an awesome album! How have your fans received it?
LP: Thank you! The reception of Siberia has actually gone above and beyond what I expected. You can never really know the extent of how far you can experiment or push yourself into new sounds until you try it. It’s a very different record from the first one so was expecting some raised eyebrows, but the fans and beyond have been totally down with the evolution.
BATO: Prior to that we had The Listening. The growth between releases is very obvious, what was done differently with these albums?
LP: Over a couple years you can expect a lot of growth in yourself on a number of levels, and whatever you produce should be the indicator of that. All the touring we did in between made me better at what I do overall, vocals, performance, confidence. We brought in Holy Fuck to bring some grit to my stuff, not to mention my musical tastes at the time were influencing the vibe of the record, heavier electro.
BATO: What can we expect from you in 2012?
LP: Lots of touring on Siberia taking us as far as the UK and hopefully Australia. Nice to be able to go that far from home and still see people showing up and singing with you. I’ve also released something every year since 2008, so hopefully keeping up with that trend, whether or not it’s a full length record.
BATO: Are you worried about the world ending in December?
LP: I’m curious, but not worried. I’ve lived my life the way I’ve wanted. I just hope I can level up to 85 in Skyrim by then…
BATO: I’ve seen many interviews with you previously, and you are quite the gamer, What are your thoughts on Skyrim?
Woah, telepathy! Skyrim is a stunning game. If I had every day of my life to play it I would. It’s definitely an experience and kudos to the developers. It’s stealing from WoW time. It takes a great game to do that. I’ve actually been so inspired by creative designers and game developers that I’ve been taking online computer science courses throughout the last couple years hoping to understand that world a little bit more. It’s fascinating! A true marriage of creativity and technology.
BATO: When can we expect to see you in Australia? Everyone here is dying to know!
LP: I’ve been dying to come! The plan is that we make it over there sometime this year, before the world ends!
BATO: Have you ever been to Australia before?
LP: Never. I lived in the Philippines as a child so that side of the world sort of, but no. I really would like to.
BATO: What’s been your greatest tour so far?
LP: The most recent, Siberia Tour 2011. And I say that about every past tour. Guess it gets better every time. That’s the way life should be!
BATO: Finally, what’s the greatest thing about being Lights?
LP: Oh man. I’ve actually never been asked that. How do I approach this… Um, well I have amazing friends and the most caring, cool family. My team, crew and band are like family and I can do what I love doing and make a living on it. My fans are beautiful and nerdy in their own ways, and haters just roll off our shoulders. That’s the greatest thing about being me, the people that make me, me.
