Lyrical Ride w/ Lenny

Let’s go on a lyrical ride with artist Lenny who hails from British Columbia but has now found herself a part of the musical community in Montreal, Canada. Her experiences shape what she writes about and her latest EP ‘Personal Celebrity’ is a reflection of our current times. Let’s find out more about her musical journey.

SB (StarBeat): Place: So you’re based out of Montreal, Canada – does the culture and energy from that place help with your music?

L (Lenny): Making music in Montreal is on another level here. While living in Vancouver, I wasn’t exposed to the music scene much even though I was interested in it. I would have had to seek it out, and as a very shy songwriter at that time, I (regrettably) didn’t do that. But within 3 days of moving to Montreal, I ended up at a local bar that happened to be doing an open mic. I got up and played a few songs and thought, well, that was easy!? The music scene fell into my lap, and I was given a warm welcome by an incredible community of other artists I connected with instantly – people who love to create, collaborate, and share their art however they can.

SB: Define: Hmmmm – What is a Personal Celebrity? How did this EP come about?

L: There are a lot of different meanings of this title to me. It comes from a line in my song, Too Shy: “You’re chosen, there’s no sense in privacy anymore, you are my personal celebrity”

When the pandemic happened, a lot of us turned to social media to stay connected with the world. With that, the comparison game while watching peoples’ apparent success became even more intense. We become enamored by the lives of others, and it can be hard to not see the mundane moments of our life as proof that we just aren’t as interesting as them.

Becoming your own personal celebrity means giving yourself the adoration and love that we can so easily give to people you’ve maybe never even met. Making your friends and family your personal celebrities means appreciating their whole value as a person, rather than via how many followers they have on Instagram.

SB: Connect: Your music seems very connected to your life experience so far, can you talk to us a bit more about that?

L: Three of the songs were written when I was thinking a lot about how I fit into the world and who I wanted to be (Too Shy), and reeling from a painful relationship/break up (Cinnamon Toast and Taurus Sun).

Willow and Heal weren’t actually written about my experiences, I wrote them for loved ones. Either way, I find the result more fruitful and meaningful if I’m writing from an intimate place either through details in memory or imagining myself in someone else’s shoes.

SB: Vibe: What do you want your listeners to get from your lyrics and your music? What are you looking to put out in the world?

L: I want people to connect with their own feelings and experiences. By hearing my lyrics, maybe they can explore their own emotional worlds. I want people to feel seen, validated, and cared for. That’s what singing these songs does for me, so I hope to pass that along.

Lenny on Social: 

IG: https://www.instagram.com/lennymusicmtl/
FB: https://www.facebook.com/LennyMusicMTL/
Tiktok: @lennymusicmtl