Lisa Lindley-Jones

Interview

While the music world becomes ever more dependant on its sampler and Casio keyboard for kicks, Lisa Lindley-Jones has taken a conscious decision to step away from the electro-pop.

Gosh, is she some kind of techno-phobe? “No, no! I’ve done lots of electronica and things like that,” she says, “but I wanted to work out what I can do, rather than what I can do translated through a machine.”

Her new E.P, White Shadow, reflects this. The multi-talented lyricist and musician conveys a fragility and power through both her vocal style and the framework of her songs, which manage to be complex without being pretentious. The bluesy longing of Lazy drips with the odd combination of sex and procrastination while the whimsy of Let It Slip puts a cocktail in your hand and plants you squarely on a secluded Hawaiian beach — grass skirt not included.

“I wanted to keep it quite simple and fairly raw,” explains Lindley-Jones, “I’ve focussed just on the songs and my voice.”

And what a voice it is, at once soothing and rousing, she’s also a talented pianist, a skill that has allowed her to work with greats like Patti Smith. “That was one of the most amazing gigs I’ve ever done,” she says, “it was quite nerve-wracking, but such an experience.”

Currently on tour with melodramatic post-rockers iLiKETRAiNS, Lindley-Jones cites her current influences (“They change from week to week…”) as the eclectic combination of Estonian composer and mystic-minimalism pioneer Arvo Pärt and gravel-voiced Texan miserablist Micah P. Hinson. Wildly different as they are, this mix of rough and smooth actually compliments Lindley-Jones’ contradictory style. On White Shadow she is able to capture a deep sadness but in the same breath conjure an even greater optimism.

White Shadow is out now on Eye Industries.

Poppy O’Neill

Date published: 1 January 2007