Q: Can you tell us a bit about yourself and how your childhood impacted your musical direction?
A: Hi, I’m James and I write and play guitar in Lyra. I grew up in a house full of guitars and other instruments because my dad played in bands when he was younger. There would be a lot of Clapton, Queen, Zepplin, Joe Bonamassa and Fleetwood Mac coming from my dads side of the house and Sum 41, System of A Down, Blink 182 and Korn from my brothers side (who also played guitar). My mum also played a lot of classical music and my friends were all into rock. So naturally my mind was wired towards heavier, theatrical music from an early age and my first favourite bands were Green Day, My Chemical Romance, Avenged Sevenfold and Bullet For My Valentine. It almost makes no sense that I ended up playing in a band like Lyra but a lot of these older influences come through in the melodies that I write and some of the production elements. You can definitely hear my 14 year old self coming out in the guitar solo’s for ‘Realise’ and ‘Lost’.
Q: Can you describe the musical style of Lyra in three words?
A: Soulful, Funky, Ever-evolving
Q: How do you stay connected with your fans, and what role do they play in shaping your musical journey?
A: We love to talk to people after we come off stage and get feedback about the performance. It’s also nice just to chat to people on a personal level and get to know eachother that way. We’ve recently started selling merchandise and want to create more of a brand in that sense for the future. We’re really grateful for the people that have never heard us who come up and buy t shirts as we put all of the money back into recording sessions and funding for the band. We’ve also started trying to create more personal social media posts like stripped back versions of our songs performed at home. They tend to resonate with people the most and always get the best response.
Q: You have just released your new single, ‘Rooftops’. Is there a story behind it?
A: ‘Rooftops’ is essentially a story about someone who finds love in a difficult situation. They’ve come to a crossroads in life and in order to move on and start a new chapter they have to make the difficult decision to end an old chapter. It also carries the message that a lot of good things in life can only happen alongside something difficult.
Q: What is your favorite verse from the song and why?
A: I think the first verse because the opening line holds the most imagery when I listen to it. “Two lost souls brought together by sound, sitting on the rooftop over London Town”. There’s a lot of space in the instrumental so it lets you really focus on the vocals and I think that line sets the scene for the listener.
Q: Can you walk us through the creative process of producing the song, “Rooftops”?
A: We wanted to take what was originally an intimate, minimalistic love song and turn it into a huge ballad with strings, stomps, claps and harmonised guitar solos. The songwriting and production took influence from two very different places and we had a lot of fun trying to combine them. We used strings to create the kind of cinematic effect you hear in songs like ‘Born To Die’ by Lana Del Rey or ‘You’ve Got The Love’ by Florence + The Machine. They provide the song with a rich bed and can really help to take it to a further place emotionally.
Q: What has been the most memorable concert or performance for Lyra so far?
A: We were playing at a gig where some “industry people” had come to watch us. I was using the house amp which wouldn’t stop making this horrendous crackling noise during sound check so I already felt defeated. Within the first ten seconds of our first song one of my strings snapped so I had to run off stage to restring it in this pitch black cupboard while the band carried on. Our singer Jenna didn’t realise what had happened and thought that I had got up and left the gig out of anger. If you’ve ever seen the video of Stevie Ray vaughan breaking a string live it was the complete opposite of that.
Q: Reflecting on your body of work, each song holding its unique significance, could you share a particular track that stands out to you personally? What makes that specific tune special, and why does it hold a place of pride in your musical journey?
A: In terms of the overal process and outcome I’d have to say ‘Rooftops’ just because it’s a very personal song. We recorded most of it as a full band in the studio, produced it ourselves and feel like we really levelled up in terms of songwriting and overall sound. The whole process felt very organic and the end result was the closest we’ve come to what was originally imagined. If I had a second choice I would say “All The Same” because it has quite a unique vibe about it, the quirky lyrics were really fun to play around with and the whole song was written on acoustic guitar in about a day or two.
Q: Exploring the diverse creative processes within the music industry is always fascinating. Could you provide insight into Lyra’s unique approach to crafting music? From the initial spark of an idea to the finished song, how do you navigate the creative journey and bring its musical concepts to life?
A: These days I tend to write the foundation of the songs and when an idea sparks I’ll quickly record as much as I can so that I don’t forget it. I’ll then make a demo version with my vocals and basic production so that it’s easier to pitch to the band. We’ll play the song together in rehearsals to lock things in and allow everyone to figure out their parts and mess around with the arrangement. We’ll then perform the song live for a few months and that’s usually when you start to figure out which parts need to go and which parts hold the most energy. After that we’ll track the instruments and then I’ll add production. A little quirk of mine when producing is to listen back to the song while watching cinematic footage on youtube. For some reason that helps me hear the music better as if I were a listener rather then focusing as much on the technical aspects.
Q: As we wrap up our conversation, looking ahead, what aspirations or dreams do you have for Lyra, and what message would you like to share with your fans as they continue to accompany you on this musical journey?
A: There’s so much that we’d love to achieve. Putting out better music every time, performing infront of more people, getting a support slot on a bigger artists tour, collaborating with other artists, making better merch and creating a brand. We try to focus on smaller goals because they tend to be the stepping stones that build the bigger picture but really we’d love to be playing Glastonbury and have our music reach millions of people!
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