– Congratulations on the release of the album “Prospis”! Tell us a little about him. To whom is the advice “to sleep” – and what is embedded in this word?
– Thank you! Oversleep is my fourth solo album. In the four years of Lera’s creative life, many different events have happened, both funny and sad, and even tragic, so the name “oversleep” really speaks for itself. It seems to me that every person in life has a moment when you get lost in a series of bad events and think you’ll never be able to live your enough life. Everything around you is literally disappearing, nothing makes you happy anymore and it really seems to you that this will always be the case. But all of a sudden you wake up and seem to throw away everything that used to hold you back. So we just managed to “sleep” creatively, so to speak. It’s very different from previous albums but at the same time I wanted to do something provocative and personal to be myself and tell my story in a song.
– You named your favorite song on the album “Let Go” because deep spiritual wounds are connected with it. Is it difficult to perform this piece, remembering that pain every time? Or does it work like therapy and the emotions are getting duller?
– Every time I play this piece, it gets easier and easier for me. I don’t know how long this effect will last. But when I sing this “chant of broken hearts” at concerts and see the audience look back at me, the tears, the burning eyes, I understand that for the sake of my audience, I have to let go of all this pain and by my example, always show what is necessary, go ahead no matter what.
– What message did you give to the video for the song “Let Go”?
– The main idea is that abuse is the cruelest thing you can appeal to your person. You need to leave the abuser – and the sooner the better. The video shows how hard it was to leave this relationship, how I put up with it all, and then because of another blow from the man in my soul, I gave up and let it go and let it all go.
– Should fans wait for more videos for songs from the album?
I’m on a big concert tour right now. I still have no idea how and where we will shoot the clip, but we will definitely shoot it. Maybe even in a song that is not included in the album, but that my listeners love.
– Under the song “Let it go”, you posted a video in which you said that you learned not to listen to what other people think of you and learn to love your body. Advice to girls (and not only) on how to achieve unconditional love for yourself.
– Yes, I even started a challenge with VK Clips, whose main idea is to show myself before / after life milestones. One of these issues, of course, was my body: lately I’ve been facing a lot of hatred for my body. Unfortunately, people in our century continue to bully each other for appearance, because sometimes for some reason external changes occur. Perhaps this is some kind of disease that a person is struggling with, or maybe he is well off. Unconditional love for yourself is something hidden within your soul, not just the body, and something that no one should affect in any way. Never listen to strangers and their opinions about your appearance, listen to your inner world and do not be like everyone else, do not be afraid to go beyond and be yourself – this is great!
— Do you watch videos that people post as part of the challenge? Maybe some stories have sunk into your soul?
– Yes, of course I watch the video – it is difficult and cool at the same time. At some point, I realize that we can support, even motivate people with our music. And the main thing is to attract people to show their real life, not a picture for social networks, where everyone is happy and does not know what the problems and sadness are. After all, maybe someone this can help get out of a state of depression.
Can other people’s stories inspire you to write songs? How do your compositions look?
– In general, any song, of course, is a story. All my songs, my guys Kauf (Alexander Kaufman) and Yanchik (Yan Suponenko) are all because of me, my appearance, my behavior, my pain, etc. All my songs are a symbiosis of three people telling the same story. Only one expresses it with music, one with text, one with performance.
– Before a recent concert, Kaufman announced that there would be no performance from the stage – and then you left. Why did you decide to prank the audience so much? What feedback did you get from them?
“It was a real contrast of feelings. Ups and downs, just like in life. This concert was so emotional that I didn’t even get any feedback on our joke – I know everyone was so happy that the concert took place and they were blown from the bottom of their hearts just like me!
We also presented a new video for the track “Let go”, which was not on the network at the time, after Kauf said that I would not be able to perform!
– Emotion and sincerity are felt when you perform the songs (and especially when reading the texts). Do you really quote every word from yourself or does automatism come with time? How hard is it to experience so many emotions in a concert and sing so many songs one after the other? How do you feel emotionally after concerts?
– Since all the songs are written based on my life, of course, it is impossible not to go through everything yourself. That’s probably why I can give 100% at concerts, so people feel my energy and recharge, laugh and cry with me. Concerts are another story entirely. That bond with the audience at concerts is incomparable, it’s like you’re in the circle of your closest friends and you shout at them about your pain and they understand you and they shout about their pain and it just so happens that it’s a powerful cycle of energy and support that supports each other.
Which musicians do you feel influence in your work? Or in other words, which artists are closest to you in spirit – and why?
– In general, to be honest, I hardly listen to any artists and do not communicate with anyone, so this question is difficult to answer. I love Lana Del Rey.
– On the network you are called one of the most mysterious figures of the Russian stage. Why do you rarely give interviews and talk very little about yourself?
Every girl should have a mystery. It seems to me that I already tell a lot in my songs, and sometimes even a lot if we take the song “Batteries” as an example.
– Your nickname is Lera for short. What is simplicity to you?
– It’s easier for me to answer some questions with “and listen to my piece, there’s an answer there”. I recommend you to listen to the tracks “Economy Taxi” and “Adik” for this question. I am an ordinary girl from an ordinary Minsk region, from an ordinary family. I used to live “simple”: just play the guitar at the entrance, just love, don’t trust reciprocity, just sing. I don’t want anything in return.
– You said in an interview that you lead a “weird lifestyle”. What is weirdness?
– “I’m brave, drunk, weird, I can even give you a nickname” – a quote from “Battery”. I can jump a rope without any problems, open a beer with my teeth, lose my passport before the most important prize, get dirty a second after putting on something, light the toilet with a cigarette, cry in a second because of what happened a few years ago, can’t leave the house for a few days, etc. They tell me it’s all weird, sometimes it just seems that way to me.
– You are a member of the Kaufman label with which Tim Belorussky collaborates. Can you tell us what you think of Tim as a person and an artist? Did you like your job or are you waiting for a new one?
– No comment.
— Do you speak the Belarusian language? Do you give the opportunity to record songs on it to popularize it?
— I know the Belarusian language, of course, not ideally. But thanks for the idea, maybe we’ll try to do something in Belarusian somehow.