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A first album is usually the album that shows what you've got. It portrays your music and introduces you to the world. A second album, on the other hand, shows if you are a success or flop. Lily is no stranger to making debut albums. Her band Screaming in Silence, self titled debut album was a success selling over a million copies. Her solo debut album Raw, debuted at #7 and is considered to be one of the best albums this year but will she be able to find bigger success with her second album?
Before Recording the Album
"There's a thought process to everything I do. It eats at me and annoys me until I do it right, so the album in my eyes has to be perfect and exceed my expectations or it's a failure to me and my fans. People say the second album is always the hardest because It's like can you do it again? Can you make it bigger than the last album? I believe I can. What makes this album different from my last one? It's more personal and more me. The last album was Lily as a performer, this album is Lily the real person, the human being. It shows my faults, my flaws, everything. I didn't hold back in this album."
Recording the Album
"I've been thinking about this album, dreaming about it for a while now. I guess I should let the world in and maybe they'll understand me better. I've been portrayed as a Bitch for a while and to tell the truth, I don't want that to define me. Yeah I'm a bitch but I am an actual person too. I have feelings, I hurt, I smile, laugh, cry, get pissed, but no one really realizes that. I'm hoping this album will do that for me.
For the album, I decided to have one of my favorite songwriters to help me out and his name is Justin N. He helps me bring out what I feel on paper and he's brilliant too. We worked together on a few songs on my last album and I had to have him work with me again. He's my lifesaver actually. Most days I didn't wanna write but he got it out of me.
This album has alot of dramatic, classical, metal feeling to it and that's me. I love classical music and you can tell on almost every song I do there's some kind of classical influence in it. Violins are my favorite instrument. They are so beautiful and really bring a song to life. I brought in alot of people to help me make this album because I want it to be the best and I want it to be recognized not just for me but the ones who helped me.
Lot's of different instruments on here, violins, piano, acoustic guitar, electric guitar, harps, flutes, trumpets, saxophones, drums, all kinds. I like to experiment with them."
The video shows Lily while recording her song, No Longer What You Require
[Verse 1] The summer's thrills That were keeping it alive The days got colder So I held you closer In effort to save us some time Almost like the wind came And ruined the spark And left us in the dark
[Chorus] Hey, I could of told you That I loved you And stay, Around a kindle of fire But I was late, Know my returning now You lost all faith And I am the liar I'm no longer What you require
The music stops and she smiles. "I like that. It needs more guitar in it though, don't you think? It needs a little more."
"My writing process is simple. I write whenever I feel inspired. I always carry paper and a pen around because sometimes I look at things and start writing. It usually takes me about 3 hours to write a song. That's the longest it's ever taken me. The album was easier for me to write because It was about me and who knows me better than myself?
The thing I love the most about this album is my freedom. I controlled what my songs sounded like and I got be kind of the producer. It was very fun (Laughs) I should do it more often. I guess you could say I'm a bit of a control freak. If something doesn't sound the way I want it to, I tend to get a bit snappy. I just like things to be right and my way."
The scene switches to Lily singing in the studio again. This time she is singing her verse in Weightless ft. Amy Meyer.
[Pre-Chorus] This world it crucifies When I am on a high The lies they do no justice Right now I'm feeling
The music stops and Lily is talking to Justin. "It's not sounding right so we have to do it again." "What's wrong with it?" "There's not enough going on. It's at the climax and it's just dead. It sounds stupid if we keep it this way. Some more violins and make the piano higher, you know?" "It'll be too much Lily." "No, it'll sound perfect, trust me. The song is dramatic and it sounds dull right now. Just do it, I promise you once it's done, you'll love me again."
"He trusts me and I trust him so when we go back and forth It's never serious. He looks out for me and I love him for it. He might hesitate to listen but he listens."
[Pre-Chorus] This world it crucifies When I am on a high The lies they do no justice Right now I'm feeling
Weightless
"See! Fucking amazing. Justin am I a genius or not?" (Laughs)
Justin is sitting in a chair talking to the camera.
"With Lily you have to understand the amount of ability and talent she has. She knows what works and what doesn't work. She's one of those people that has a gift for music. She'll fight you on anything she thinks isn't right and she'll keep fighting until you give in or give her what she asks for. Most of the producing on her album was done by her. She has an ear for music and it serves her well. She doesn't cut corners either. She does whatever it takes no matter how long it takes to get the song finished. I've seen her sleep in the studio for 3 days trying to finish recording a song. It's crazy because she won't leave or stop thinking about it until it's done and she's satisfied. I think her preservation is what keeps her going and the amount of support shes gotten from her fans. In the end she just wants to please them and feel relieved that she's done it."
"Working with Amy Meyer was amazing. She's my favorite right now. Her vocals are kicking ass so I knew we had to do a song together. There's not many people I would do a song with but she was definitely at the top of my list. No questions asked. She's incredibly sweet and I love her to death."
"Lily only requested two people to help with the album; Amy Meyer and Taylor Asbridge. You would think someone would want more collaborators but she was very specific for those two only. Is it a good idea? You'll have to get the album and listen for yourself." (Smiles)
The scene switched to Amy Meyer to talk about working with Lily.
"Working with Lily was like a freaking dream for me and the fact that we got to sit in a room together with no pressure and write a song together just made the experience even more incredible. The collaboration just felt completely natural. We’re on different labels but both labels were completely fine with it and it was more a favor for a friend kinda collaboration. I like to think that we’re pretty good friends and we’ve followed and supported each others career for the last few months, so it was like, “When can we do this?". When I got the phone call from Lily and I headed out to Chicago, I was like a 14 year old girl at a Bieber concert. I was like so excited to not only get the chance to record a song with Lily but to spend a couple of days with her in Chicago to work, write and record a completely new song. It was like probably one of my favorite experiences in the my career so far. It was an amazing experience for me."
It shows Amy recording her part for the song.
So I’ll take my heart and try to fix it together I’ll take my words and then I’ll write them forever I won’t change at all because this is part of what I’ve become I won’t learn to feel anything again, because I’m just comfortably numb
"I love you Amy!" (Smiles then laughs) "And this is why this song is gonna be mind blowing." "And you right?" Justin asks. "And me too. Partially me now. If people don't like this song, they are insane and they officially have sucky taste in music. (Laughs) All I'm saying."
"She's such a hard worker and she's serious in the studio. Well not all the time. We had to be silly sometimes, it was hard to resist. The amount of talent she has is astounding and I know she'll go far in the business."
The scene goes back to Amy again.
"The song is about feeling empty and without use, it’s got a kick-ass rock chorus and a pretty great build up too, and the chance to get to stand back and admire Lily’s vocals up close was just like mind blowing to be honest. It’s no secret that she’s my favorite artist right now and I freaking loved working with her on the track. Hopefully people like what we came up with and who knows, maybe we’ll do something together again sometimes, I know I’d love that."
"I've been recording while touring so It's been pretty hectic. I did not however rush anything. I took my time even if it meant staying up all night before a show. They are all important songs to me and I had to try to think outside the box for most of these songs. The most personal song on here would have to be Oh Mother. I could have written it angry but I thought it would have been more emotional if it were played with a softer tone. don't worry I sound like an emotional wreck in the song though. (Laughs)"
Lily plays Oh Mother on the piano.
She looks up and smiles. "You gotta get the album to hear more." Justin laughs. "Great promotion work." "I know right? I'm so awesome promoting."
"The album will be released in August and I'm very excited for it. I think it'll do amazing and it better or I won't shut up about it (Smiles) We'll just have to wait and see." |
Do you like reading reviews on anime? Manga? Games? Do you wanna support a fellow black nerd? Then click above. Isabel-Pixie-Nova-Jennifer Armstrong-Dylan Shaw-Eden Pryce-Taara Jay-Jupiter Jones-Imani Kato-Eilidh-Nothing But Trouble-Hayden-Serenity Scott-Anaísz-Kimi Kubo "My God! We truly are a talented bunch. The fact that we write entire albums all on our own while the biggest stars in the world have 45 co-writers on ONE track?? Where the hell are OUR record deals and GRAMMYS?" -BrownSugar |