Having accumulated 30 million streams and completed a huge arena tour as a guest to Dermot Kennedy, Lilla Vargen is one of Ireland’s fastest rising new talents.
Having accumulated 30 million streams and completed a huge arena tour as guest to Dermot Kennedy, Lilla Vargen is one of Ireland’s fastest rising new talents. After a break this Summer writing and recording, she now builds towards next year’s release of her eagerly anticipated debut album by sharing her new single ‘Blueprints’. Listen.
‘Blueprints’ is already established as a fan favourite as a regular set closer at Lilla’s live shows. And it’s easy to see why. The heart-breaking pop ballad is both theatrical in its drama and candid in its intimacy. Her beautifully evocative vocals surge with the emotion of someone who has lived through everything she is expressing.
Produced by Phil Cook (Birdy, Lewis Capaldi), ‘Blueprints’ is Lilla’s first release since she shared ‘Love You Twice’ back in April. That single has been positioned at #1 on The Most Beautiful Songs In The World playlist (2.1 million followers) during a three-month run. Having so far released fewer than a dozen tracks, Lilla has already achieved seven Top 15 New Music Friday adds at Spotify plus numerous key playlists at Apple Music. Radio is rapidly gaining traction too, with Radio 1airplay from Phil Taggart, Huw Stephens and Best New Pop alongside support from Radio X and Ireland’s RTÉ 1 and 2.
Hailing from Ballymena, Lilla Vargen headed to London to pursue her calling in music. She writes songs rich with emotion and empathy, a quality that builds a connection with a following that suffered or survived the issues that she explores. Full of passion yet never overstated, her vocal illuminates the heart of those stories. She has regularly collaborated with the MyRiotproduction duo, whose credits include London Grammar and Halsey.
Lilla Vargen is set to make a long-awaited return to live shows, with the news that her biggest headline tour to date has been rescheduled to autumn 2021. The tour, listed below, has been extended with shows in Manchester and Birmingham.
Congratulations on the success of your last single ‘Love You Twice’ single, which has been positioned high on The Most Beautiful Songs In The World during a three-month run – can you tell us more about it?
Thank you! I wrote this song about having a second chance with someone. The song looks back over memories shared, in the hope that things can still work out.
‘Could you tell us about your new song ‘Blueprints’, what is it about, what inspired it and what was the process of creating this single?
‘Blueprints ‘ is about changing direction in life and about how making plans doesn’t necessarily mean that they will happen. I was inspired to write this song as I was about to move to London to pursue a career in music and everything was changing so fast. It felt like plans I had made were falling apart and everyone I knew seemed to be going in different directions.
Within the visuals of the music video, there are visual references to marriage and children, what is “Love” to you?
Love is acceptance, trust and honesty, in my opinion.
You’ve been writing and recording building towards next year’s album release by sharing your new single ‘Blueprints’, what can you tell us about the upcoming release, without giving too much away?
There will be a lot of new songs on the album, and the sound is much more realised and full. There will be some happy songs on there too!
What are your thoughts on the use of autotune within the music industry….. do you feel that there is a pressure for artists to over-perfect their vocals with multiple takes or vocal editing in the studio? Often we find that many records nowadays tend to come across as a bit soulless vocally in comparison to a live performance?
I’m not a huge fan of auto-tune. I think it does remove the soul of songs a bit, and sometimes I find the little inflexions and mistakes that people make really beautiful and authentic.
How have you navigated the pandemic 2020, You said: “I’ve found this year to be incredibly difficult for a number of reasons” […] Could you expand on some of these reasons specifically and how you overcame these difficulties?
There were a lot of things to deal with this year that I wasn’t prepared for. Someone very close to me passed away in March and I found that really distressing and that paired with being stuck inside all the time didn’t really bring much joy or inspiration. I found that staying in contact with my loved ones really helped me and making sure I took time for myself where I allowed myself to not worry or stress really helped.
What was it like working with Producer Phil Cook, who has produced for the like of Birdy & Lewis Capaldi ….what did he add to the mix?
Phil is lovely. Really nice guy and super talented. I think Phil just knows how to get the best out of people and I think he allowed me to feel comfortable enough to be able to give a good performance.
Having collaborated with the My Riot production duo, whose credits include London Grammar and Halsey, who else would you love to collaborate with and how important do you feel collaboration is as an artist in achieving success?
There are so many people I’d love to collaborate with. I love Tobias Jesso Jr. His songwriting is unbelievable. I’d love the chance to work with Julia Michaels, she’s a genius! I think that collaboration is really important in achieving success as it isn’t necessarily collaboration in writing but in the production of songs and even in marketing and video production. I feel the more involved the artist is in the entire creative process, the better the outcome is.
The American ‘Thanksgiving’ holiday happened recently, gratitude for what we have currently is important in mental well-being, what are you most thankful for?
I am so thankful for my family and friends and for my health and happiness. It’s been a difficult year for everyone and it’s really put everything into perspective for me!
On a lighter note…. what’s the funniest story you have from your time as an artist?
Probably during the tour with Dermot Kennedy last year, my band and I had the most amazing time. Before the show, we used to play pranks or stupid games to help with nerves. It was such an amazing experience.
Dogs or Cats?
Cats!
Favourite travel destination already visited and what travel destination do you aspire to go to next?
I can’t wait to go back to Dubrovnik. One of the most beautiful places I’ve ever been to. And I would love to go to New Zealand one day!
You have a tour planned from autumn 2021. Although we have to expect the unexpected, especially during these times what is your vision for this tour and for 2021…. And any New Year’s resolutions?
My vision for this tour is to make sure it’s packed with new songs so that everyone there goes away with something new and exciting to remember. I want it to be a really special show. My New Year’s resolution would have to be fully believing in myself and my creative vision!
Connect with Lilla Vargen
Interview by John Burbidge