An Interview with Lavender Fire

One of the most memorable aspects about the new album release from Lavender Fire is the sheer fact that she's able to paint such vivid pictures in your head as songs unfold. Her lyrical approach is very personal but also very storytelling, so you can connect with them on different levels. This is a record that certainly lets the artist give pieces of herself along the way, and I'm a huge fan of that simply because I want that from a record like this.

I think people want to hear authenticity when they're listening to a record of this nature. This is an album that feels stripped down but still very emotionally heavy-handed and bears some cinematic backbone.

The album is called From Shadows to Light, and it showcases how the artist is able to be somewhat vulnerable but let certain songs come through on an almost universal level. A lot of them are very relatable but again, you end up getting pulled into the storytelling behind the songs.

A lot of this is because she can be so descriptive in her lyrics. She is detailed and lets that emotion sort of take over.

This is a more stripped-down approach musically. It is focused mainly on vocals and piano. It feels so genuine when you listen to it, and the songs have a wonderful way of putting you right there in the moment with them.

The album gives you the aesthetic of a live performance. When it's over, you have to snap yourself out of it because it's such a beautiful escape, and the performances are so incredibly graceful and come through with a certain kind of elegance that really has a way of wrapping itself around you and keeping you right where they want to.

The record opens up with a song called "The Arsonist", which is an outstanding track to open the door to the rest of the album simply because it boasts some of the great staples that the rest of the record will give you.

You have that detailed story telling right from the start with this track, and that is one of the biggest things that you get pulled into.

The piano performance is gorgeous, and she's really able to create moods for the stories that she's telling.

The piano performance is and vocals really create that mood well, and in terms of the vocal performance, everything has a passion and heart behind it. She means everything she's singing.

This is something that comes through from the beginning all the way through to the end of the record.

A lot of this, to me, is beautifully intense at times. Some tracks come through a little bit more subtly, while others have a bigger and more intense feel, so those heavy-handed parts of the record come in waves.

Her vocals are really beautifully done, again very elegant, and at times it feels semi-operatic or, really, theatrical, I should say.

Then, the entire record actually has a bit of theatrical underbelly to it.

These songs also spill out a lot of inner thought for all to soak in. I found that brave because again, the record can come through feeling vulnerable, but there are parts about it that make it feel like this was probably cathartic for the artist to actually write and release.

As I mentioned earlier, this all comes from a very real place, and the songs are almost like chapters in her life.

This is important because so much of that character and personality comes through that it becomes one of the biggest elements that you end up getting attached to.

You want to hear more of where she's coming from, you want to hear more stories.

Listening to the record makes you want to sit down and see her perform it all in person.

I would gladly sit down and watch her perform this entire record from start to finish.

Speaking of which, this is an album you should listen to all the way through from beginning to end. There are some pleasant surprises around the corners, again, some very intense moments, and a lot of that emotion and persona that comes rushing at you at different parts.

The title track of the record is quite a beautiful song, and it definitely showcases some of that inner thought coming out. She gets very personal and expresses a lot of how she felt in a certain situation, which comes through as understandable and relatable to a lot of us.

I think a lot of the songs on the record actually portray thoughts or feelings that we all have, but we are not quite able to articulate those feelings into words, let alone words and music, so when we hear a record like this, it speaks volumes to us.

It's a very humanizing record. It lets us remember how human we all are by her telling her stories and singing with such a heavy-handed passion.

We can't avoid human emotion. We can't run from it, although some of us try to.

This is an album that reminds us that it's okay to be who we are. It's okay to make mistakes, it's okay to feel certain ways, and there's nothing wrong with any aspect of it.

Lavender Fire knows how to control her voice and has quite a robust range.

The last track on the record, "Legacy", is a great example of how she uses her voice as background instruments. They come in and out, flowing through the song's ether and give death, and seem to push that cinematic flow even further.

She doesn't do this all the time, but when she does do it, it gives a different textural value to some of the songs.

All in all, this was an absolutely gorgeous and wonderfully woven record, and after listening to it, I had to sit down with the artist to talk about where it came from and what may be coming up for her.

So, while you listen to the record, have a read-through of our interview with Lavender Fire below.

Buzz Slayers: Let's talk about From Shadows To Light! This was such a powerful and emotional record at times! I loved the stripped down and almost theatrical approach! Where did this record come from?

Why thank you so much for the compliment! This record came from years of hard work on myself and of finding my own voice. When you’re starting out as an artist, it’s easy to get caught up in, Oh I wish I sounded more like so-and-so, and that’s how it was for me for a long time. I hated my own voice because I wanted it to be what it wasn’t.

But really, this album and the emotions in it came from a moment in December 2019 when I finally admitted to myself that I was a lesbian and I HAD to go and live my truth. From there, the songs started coming and they haven’t stopped since!

Buzz Slayers: I'm hearing a few different approaches on this album! Who are some of your biggest musical influences?

Two of the big ladies of alternative music: Kate Bush and Tori Amos. I’d also include other artists in there like Charlotte Martin, a piano-based singer/songwriter who was my mentor for many years, and Christine and the Queens, whose approach to being open about being LGBT and figuring out your identity really made a mark on me.

Buzz Slayers: When did this all start for you as an artist? When did you fall in love with music?

Really when I was a kid! We were ALWAYS listening to the radio as a kid. Usually soft rock or oldies. So I heard a lot of different kinds of music. 

Once we were old enough to hold instruments, my parents put my brother and me in music lessons . I learned the clarinet and later learned guitar and the autoharp. 

However, things really didn’t open up for me songwriting and artist-wise until I decided on a whim to learn piano. I’d always wanted to learn and so I decided to start teaching myself. I got a $200 Yamaha DGX-230 from BJ’s Wholesale Club and that’s when the songwriting really started. Then it was teaching myself GarageBand that made me want to be a producer. Looking back on it, I would've gone to school for music production but that kind of thing wasn't encouraged for girls in the early 2000s when I was growing up. So now I use YouTube and a lot of "hey let's see what this button does!"

Buzz Slayers: Are you performing live right now? Any touring in support of this release?

I am! I’m sticking to my region (southeastern Virginia) for now, though it'd be nice to do a big tour someday! Any shows I’m doing are around my area and in fact, I did quite a few leading up to and even after my album came out! For example, I did an album release show with one of my other friends in the scene, Kadence, who’d also put out an album just before I did, so we did a joint show to celebrate our albums. I also got to perform a few songs with my friend Conner Kingston when he asked a bunch of us to perform at his album release show back in October.

Also of note: right after my album came out, one of my songs got chosen as a finalist in a local music contest called the Proteus Music Contest! So that was exciting!

Buzz Slayers: Did you record this in a home studio setup, or did you go to a big studio for this?

I recorded this in a home studio setup, which is where I always do all my recording. There are some big studios around here but I can’t afford them and for what I do, I like being at home. It feels more comfy and cozy. I like having my cats popping in and out of the room as they listen to what I’m doing.

Buzz Slayers: Now that this is out, what's next for you as an artist?

I'm going to respond the way that Kate Bush did when someone asked her that same question during a TV interview early in her career: everything! I’m already working on a follow-up, which will include more drums and production than the previous album. I'm even rehearsing with a live drummer so I can have a drummer with me for shows. I feel like anything I put out has to be a continuation of my themes as an artist. And there was a whole other album’s worth of songs that I was working on at the same time as this one, that will be refined and put out for the next album, or two! I’m always writing. 

Buzz Slayers: Who's in your headphones right now?

I’ve been listening to a lot of local artists lately. My friend Kadence just put out an album so I've been listening to that, as well as my friend Conner Kingston's album Threw Me In. My favorite 757 album so far this year is the album realign by nested for rest, an alternative band that I’ve even gotten to play a few acoustic shows with! Another album I’ve been listening to on my headphones lately is an obscure piano-based singer/songwriter called Margot O’Breslin and her album That’s the Way It Is Today. She only ever put out that one album and it’s really too bad. I LOVE IT! I wish I could track her down and tell her how much I love her album.

Buzz Slayers: This was a pretty big release! Was it a big undertaking? How long did it take to finish this?

It was a big undertaking, for sure! The part that overwhelms me the most with making an album is figuring out which songs to put together to make into a cohesive album. I tend to write a LOT so it’s hard to pick the best ones sometimes. But I tend to go off how well the songs do when I perform them at open mic nights, seeing how people react to them. That helps me figure out which songs to put out.

I’d say this took me about a year to put together. I put out Lavender Fire the song back in July 2024, and that was the start of the writing process for this release. The newest song on this album was written in June (the title track).

Buzz Slayers: What would you tell people they can expect on this release?

Expect a very stripped-down approach. I struggled for a bit wondering whether I should release this with minimal production, and ultimately, I decided, YES.

See, I want it to feel like you’re right there in the room as I’m telling you my story. I want you to hear every word and to feel what I’m saying. I’m the L in LGBT, so I write from my experiences of coming out of the closet, self-acceptance, healing, undoing everything I’ve ever learned about the world, and learning to love who you are. And these are themes that need to be heard, now more than ever. The world wants people like me to be quiet, but I won’t let them. We’ve always been here and we always will be.

Buzz Slayers: Before we go, what would you like to express to fans of the music?

I just want to say THANK YOU. Every time I get a message from someone about one of my songs, for every person who listens at open mic nights and comes to shows, anyone who takes the time to comment or tell me how much they enjoyed one of my songs or that they felt that experience in some way: that makes it all worthwhile! I write from my LGBT experiences, yes, but I want ANYONE to listen. What I write about are human experiences, no matter who you are. 

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