by Martyna Turczynowicz
Lyon is an up and coming indie pop star hailing from Toronto, ON. We caught up with her to talk about the release of her EP, Indian Summer, her upcoming tour and her love for 80s covers.
Stylus: How long have you been doing indie-pop as Lyon?
Lauren Lyon: Lyon is a fairly new project, probably only a year and a half. I’ve been doing music my entire life. It was mostly classical music until I was around 18 and I started to get more into pop music and writing.
Stylus: What’s your latest EP, Indian Summer like?
LL: I was in a real place of transition when I was writing it. I had been in a previous band that had gone separate ways. I had ended a bad relationship and I was trying to figure out what to do next. I had a lot of pent up stuff to write about. I had the start of a whole bunch of different ideas, kind of diary style. We took it into the studio in fall 2012, and we recorded it with Jesse Smith. We wrote the songs with a piano and a guitar and then we electronified them. The songs in the movie Drive with Ryan Gosling inspired us both; that movie was huge inspiration. I worked with Jesse in bringing that sound to life.
Stylus: You’ve also been doing a lot of 80s covers, tell me more about that…
LL: The 80s have been pretty inspiring to my writing and me. “Nothing Compares 2u” was the first one, the Prince song made famous by Sinead O’Connor; there’s also “Forever Young.” We did stripped down versions of those songs. We wanted to do a series to showcase a different side of me. Next up, I’m working on an electronic mixtape with Wolf Saga. My first collaboration with Wolf Saga was a cover of “Team” by Lorde. It’s a good preview of what’s up with our collaboration and a lot of fun.
Stylus: Where are you going to touring for Indian Summer?
LL: The Eastern dates start February 26, and then on March 3rd we’re going to drive out West. It’s going to be a really fun adventure; I’ve never done anything like that before. I’ve had a lot of interactions with people on twitter that saw the Indian Summer Video on M3 and on Much Music. It’s going to be really cool to meet them in real life in an intimate way. I’m opening for Wake Owl; they were actually just nominated for a Juno Award. I’ve never actually met them. I’m really excited because they sound amazing.
Stylus: Any plans for after touring?
LL: I’m writing for the next album. We’re going to try to do a full length. I don’t think I’ll be playing anywhere until later, around Canadian Music Week. It’s mainly going to be writing, getting some new songs put together and going to the studio.
Lyon will be opening for Wake Owl at the West End Cultural Center on March 5th.