LOUISE LEMÓN
Swedish singer finds solace in her death gospel sounds.
“As A femAle musiciAn, I often find that people try to step in or think they can make music better than
I can. There are a lot of men in my musical genre and
I’m very happy that I’ve been able to make my record completely on my own,” says Swedish singer Louise Lemón, whose ambient, self-described ‘death gospel’ is captivating listeners of all musical genres.
The record she’s referencing is her recently released debut LP Purge, an eight-track soulful memento of strength and femininity across a cold desert landscape. Lemón’s silky vocals narrate a metaphorical struggle in love and life on the first four tracks, followed by a sense of liberation and contentment in the final four.
“This album is about going through something dark but coming out stronger,” Lemón explains. “When you write about being sad, it becomes something you own and that makes it powerful. This album is a purge for me.”
In the music video for Appalacherna, Lemón murders a man with a crystal she wears around her neck, in a desert by the emblematic North American Appalachian Mountains at sunset. These references to crystals, earth and the sun are testament to Lemón’s personal affinity with the elements.
“I am very interested in spirituality and energies,” she says.“I believe that this is how we communicate the most, and my lyrics are about communicating through the heart, which links in with this aspect.” The album was recorded in an allegedly haunted cabin on a secluded island in northern Sweden. Producer Randall Dunn, who is best known for his collaborations with Sunn O))) and Chelsea Wolfe, was brought in to broaden the spectrum of the songs, and to make them heavier.
“We have a lot of sorrow in Nordic countries because it’s always so dark outside,” Lemón notes.“This has an impact on us and gives us more time to be indoors, reflecting and creating.”
The tracks on Purge are deeply personal and beautifully heartfelt, while creating sundry atmospheres throughout. The song Egyptian Darkness has a vast, spellbinding, sultry vocal build-up to a release of crashing drums, while Shipwreck is an intimate, smoky club duet between Lemón’s powerfully skilled vocals and the hard-hitting piano.
“You have to live to experience things and go through the turbulent times before the calm, which is when I choose to write,” she says.
“It is important to me that what I write is relatable to other people. When you talk to someone and feel a connection, you speak truthfully and have an intense conversation, whether you’ve known this person for an hour or a lifetime. This is what I wanted to achieve with this album.” ilD
“THIS ALBUM IS ABOUT GOING
THROUGH SOMETHING
DARK BUT COMING OUT STRONGER.”