Artist Of The Week #102 - Lilla Vargen
This week’s Artist of the Week is Northern Irish singer-songwriter Lilla Vargen, who has spent the past few months being super busy! Currently on tour with Dermot Kennedy, she sees off the end of 2019 with the release of her new EP ‘We Were Thunder’. She took a moment to talk to us about the EP and to reflect on the past few months of her musical adventures.
Your new EP ‘We Were Thunder’ is out now, can you tell us the inspiration behind the title?
It’s a line taken from a song on the EP called ‘Trouble’, and for me it perfectly encapsulates the core theme of the EP. There’s a magic that exists within relationships and which brings people together but can also be overpowering and destructive at points.
Where was the EP recorded? Any behind the scenes stories from making it?
‘We Were Thunder’ was recorded over the summer between Carey Willett’s studio in Brockley and Darren Heelis’s place in Hammersmith. Carey and me would often find ourselves making cocktails and playing football in his garden - turns out I’m pretty rubbish at football.
What would you say were the key influences in the creative process of this EP?
The majority are based around moments and subsequent feelings that have had sizable impacts on my life. Whilst on first listen I appreciate how it could seem like it’s all negative or based around heartbreak, there’s also a message of positivity through learning to discover your own self worth, and never settle for less than you deserve.
Your name translates as Little Wolf in Swedish, do you feel there is an inner ‘little wolf’ in you?
Absolutely! I have a wild side for sure. And I do well in a pack!
Growing up in Ballymena in County Antrim, what are your earliest musical memories? What was it like growing up there?
Ballymena is a quiet, country living area. My earliest memories involve hearing music around the house - my dad listening to Roy Orbison and my sister listening to Spice Girls. There was an old piano in our living room that belonged to my granny - from a young age I would sit there for hours writing and learning songs.
From living there, you took a big jump and moved to London, what encouraged that choice? And how was it when you first arrived? Do you feel you have learned anything from it?
I moved to London in January as I felt like I really needed to challenge myself. I have so much love for where I grew up, and my family and friends back home, but I knew I had to take the jump at some stage. Initially it was scary and at times lonely being in a city on your own, where you don’t know many people or have those home comforts.
Do you have a favorite lyric from the EP? If so, what is it and why?
“Maybe you've become my biggest fear” from ‘On My Mind’ is a line that I often come back to. I’ve often felt unworthy of the people that I have around me and just become scared that I’m not good enough, and this line represeents that feeling.
The past few months have been quite the ride for you, currently you are on tour with Dermot Kennedy. So with 2019 coming to a close, what have been your top highlights this year?
The list is endless. Moving to London and meeting so many new inspiring people, writing and recording songs that I’m proud of, playing my first headline shows. Being on the road with Dermot has been a life changing experience, playing to thousands of people a night around Europe has been unlike anything I’ve experienced before, and I’m so excited for the UK & Ireland shows. Oh and having my hair done with Claire (I’m doing that whilst I write this and she told me to say that!).
Now the EP is out there, what next? What does 2020 hold in store for you?
I’m finishing up another EP at the moment which will be released in the first half of next year. There’s also plans in the works for plenty of festivals and my own shows. Then looking further ahead in the year I’m going to be starting my album which will be an amazing moment for me.
CURRENTLY ON TOUR WITH DERMOT KENNEDY
OMEARA HEADLINE DATE ANNOUNCED FOR APRIL 15 TH 2020