Alright – so today we’ve got the honor of introducing you to Kalen Lister. We think you’ll enjoy our conversation, we’ve shared it below.

Kalen, thanks for taking the time to share your stories with us today Can you talk to us about a project that’s meant a lot to you?

I write this ten days out from my first full album release in over a dozen years. In addition to the 12 song album (6 previously released songs in a stripped down form and 6 new tunes), I’m releasing a zine with accompanying lyric artwork for each and every song. The process of creating the music and the art has varied from cathartic and thrilling to frustrating and demoralizing. Yet, now on the eve of the release I’m feeling proud of the product and grateful for the process. The three paragraphs that follow are the introduction to my zine and shed more light on circumstances surrounding this project.

These songs wind through my New York years—from solitude to motherhood, through bands and breakups, bandaids and ballads. After nine EPs scattered across projects, this is only my third full album, and the second I’d admit to now. :)

Recording these songs live, voice and instrument together, terrified me. I knew they’d emerge imperfect. And imperfect they are—vulnerable vignettes captured five months pregnant, woven with friends Johnny, Tom, and Gene in the studio, carrying the ghosts of earlier experiences that birthed these dozen melodies & melodramas.

Early motherhood carved a chasm between me and these songs. Making the lyric art became my bridge back, a way to plug into the feelings & the stories trapped in song. Like the recordings, they’re flawed. I could philosophize about the physicality of this work — both the music and the visuals — as an antidote to our digital world, airbrushed and auto-tuned, filtered and finished. But the truth is simpler: this was the work I needed to make now.

Awesome – so before we get into the rest of our questions, can you briefly introduce yourself to our readers.

Originally, I was drawn to music for its ability to tap into deep emotions and as a vehicle to express my vulnerabilities. Then, I became interested in the collaborative and performative aspects of music, something that my fine arts study wasn’t affording me. Over time, my love of visual and auditory arts wove together. First, I explored this through my punk-funk performance rock project Ladybug Stingray. Later, I started collaborating with other visual artists in the presentation of my music. The pandemic pushed me to experiment with remote live performances which meant experimenting with more projections and avatars. Now, my most dramatic work is expressed through my darkwave trip-hop project Death By Piano, exploring motherhood, myth, rage, and rapture. However, even my solo project (KALEN), under which Velvet Night is being released, is infused with visual art and a tendency toward the theatrical. The entire presentation matters to me from the instrumental to the lyrics, the stage design and outfits, from the banter to the menu (when I can have control over such things). I want the experience to be as transportive for the audience (and even myself and my players) as possible.

Learning and unlearning are both critical parts of growth – can you share a story of a time when you had to unlearn a lesson?

“If you’re good at something, the world will let you know.” Nope. In the arts, being good and being known (or rewarded) are far from synonymous. I’ve had to learn how to take rejection after rejection and how to persevere graciously without becoming embittered. Instead, I’ve had to cultivate a patient, emboldened blossoming that’s fueled—perhaps counterintuitively—by a deepening of my own involution: work, craft, intuition, trust, resolve, voice, integrity, and so on. Evolution and external opportunity are born from a private commitment to the work and to myself.

What can society do to ensure an environment that’s helpful to artists and creatives?

There’s so much society can do to better support our artists. Put your money where your heart is. When you love an artist or their work, support them as directly as you can—buy tickets to their shows, purchase merch or physical albums, collect their artwork. Share the work you love with friends and family. Gift their creations—books, music, art—and spread the good word.

Spend time in the spaces people have built for community and the arts: venues, museums, theaters. Be a patron in whatever way you can. Maybe that means simply telling someone how much their work means to you, or maybe it means showing your support financially in whatever way is possible.

Remember, it’s tough out there for your creative friends. We need your love. Don’t wait to support someone until they’ve been validated by fame or bigger names—support indie artists now, when they need it most.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.kalenmusic.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/kalenkraze
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/kalenlistermusic
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/KalenMusic
• SoundCloud: https://soundcloud.com/user-922169390
• Other: https://www.deathbypianonyc.com/

Image Credits
2 by Nima Chaichi and Kevin Condon (black & white)
Lyric artwork by me (Kalen Lister)