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| Although her father is a jazz musician, Lenka's early musical efforts were strictly a means to an end. "I was forced to learn piano and trumpet, but I really hated it," she recalls. "My parents bribed me by saying that I could get my ears pierced if I got a B on my music exams. As soon as I got a B, I got my ears pierced and I quit."
In her early teens, she became consumed by acting, inspired by her studies with Blanchett at the Australian Theatre for Young People. Alternating between art school and acting (including roles in well-received independent films such as "The Dish" and "Lost Things"), Lenka eventually came round to music when a role in a play required her to sing. She began recording demos in Sydney and her drummer, who was a member of Decoder Ring, suggested his band mates consider her as a vocalist on the soundtrack they were recording for the indie film Somersault. The film and soundtrack went on to receive numerous awards and Lenka and the band traveled to the U.S. in 2006 for an appearance at South by Southwest and a short tour. She recorded a second album with Decoder Ring before going solo and becoming, as she puts it, "a gypsy," shuttling between the States, Europe and Australia, as work and her visa permitted. But no matter where she ventures, those early memories of her childhood spent in the Australian bush are still close to her heart. Others may struggle to get in touch with their inner child; Lenka never lost hers. Her sinuous vocals drape around her lyrics with the ease of a child hanging onto its mother's legs…or of a serpent wrapping itself around the neck of its prey. Whether channeling our long-repressed terrors ("Trouble Is A Friend") or long-lost innocence ("We Will Not Grow Old"), her music evokes primal emotions, unblemished by pretense or cynicism – and unashamed of cracking a smile occasionally. Although her self-titled debut album is rife with self-loathing ("Anything I'm Not"), difficult relationships ("Dangerous & Sweet," with Howie Day on guest vocals) and long distance longing ("Skipalong"), it is nevertheless uplifting. Lenka's fresh sensibility extends to every element of her music, as the whimsical, paper art, stop-motion animated videos she creates with fellow Aussie James Gulliver Hancock, a visual artist, demonstrate. "We're sort of an art duo. I'm really into craft styles, things looking a bit badly done and childlike on purpose – rather in the vein of Michel Gondry," she says. For more information on Lenka, check out the official websites: www.lenkamusic.com | www.myspace.com/lenkamusic |