Canadian Musician - January/February 2018 | Page 36

I thought, ‘This is the
time when I really want to
branch out and let other
influences into my music.’
There’s a lot more soulful,
almost hip-hop elements
in the record and that’s
because I allowed myself
to step back a little bit.
36 • C A N A D I A N M U S I C I A N
With a character and their arc in mind, Lights
says the need to open up and delve into
her emotions via deep conversation wasn’t
as present as it was on past records. To that
effect, she eschewed some of her typical col-
laborators for some newer faces.
“Secretly, the intentions behind that are
probably, full disclosure, I really wanted to
make collaborative sessions with strangers
work,” she says. “In the past, I’ve always writ-
ten with people I knew really well, that I had
countless hours of conversation with. There’s
only a handful of people I’ve worked with in
the past I feel I’m able to be open with. So I
took this idea and thought maybe this will
help … so I don’t feel I have to open up and
spill my guts to a person I don’t know. I can
use this character as a conduit.”
While the idea of singing a song in char-
acter might seem like an emotionally re-
moved process, that the story had elements
of her own life in it made it just the opposite.
On Skin & Earth, topics and emotions
that were sidestepped on previous releases
are front and centre. “Savage” finds her railing
angrily against a former lover. “Morphine”
deals bluntly with sex and sensuality in a
way that the singer has often avoided.
“This character was the catalyst to
talk about things I didn’t really allow my-
self to talk about because I didn’t think
that people wanted to hear that from
me or they would judge my personal life.
I never thought I could write an angry
song in the past or a song about sex in
the past.”
Of course, anger and sex are uni-
versal concepts. That made the greatest
challenge in making the record just a little
bit easier. While Skin & Earth might have
borrowed its giant scope from prog, the
plot and characters had to be condensed
for an audience who may or may not read
the comic companion.
In other words, Lights had to con-
tend with the oldest headache of song-
writing: bringing universality to intensely
personal songs and subjects.
“Every single song has two mean-
ings – a real-world meaning and a comic
meaning,” she offers. “Even ‘Giants,’ the
single, the lyrics are, ‘Bigger than the walls
that hide us.’ That’s a direct reference to
the comic, the two sectors divided by a big
wall… All these direct comic references but
when you listen to it on its own, it’s a song
about breaking out of what you feel is hold-
ing you back.”
Concepts and scope aren’t the only bound-
aries pushed on the new album. On previous
releases, Lights held back on her vocals, often
burying her voice in the mix and allowing
catchy instrumentals to sell the hooks. “In the
past, I wrote the song, it was done, and I went
and sang it. No problem, that was it. This was
the first record I tried to channel the emotion
that was being captured in the vocal booth.”
She enlisted the services of Benjamin
Rice, an acclaimed vocal producer and en-
gineer who has worked with major stars
like Britney Spears, Lady Gaga, and Bruce
Springsteen. His military background led to
some intense, disciplined sessions, which saw
Lights singing numerous takes until she got
the parts perfect.
“It was the first time I really thought
about it. Before that, I was just singing and
just let it come out,” she says.