Lena Marguerite – SINGER, SONGWRITER, PRODUCER

“When I was 13 years old, I started playing ukulele and when I turned 14 I also picked up acoustic and electric guitar. Right now, I’m trying to learn how to play the piano and bass. Since I was little, I have been busy with music in all kinds of ways. I sang and danced a lot as a kid and I also played the violin for a while. For 7 years I took musical lessons, for which I also performed in big venues a lot.

I love to make songs with interesting melodies and ‘storytelling’ lyrics. My lyrics are all pretty heavy and really personal. It helps me putting problems in a different perspective. My music isn’t very optimistic but I hope it is something other people can relate to. That they feel understood and less alone in their own situation. You could say I make alternative pop music in which you can hear elements of musical coming back. I have also made a rock song. Genre doesn’t matter if it works for the story.

Right now, I’m trying to find ways where music can support my voice. I always write in English for myself but in Wisseloord – where some assignments need to be written in Dutch – I discovered that Dutch lyrics can also be beautiful. I’ve started listening to Froukje, S10 and Meau, and it surprised me how much I like it. I am inspired by Alice Phoebe Lou, Gracie Abrams, and Isaac Gracie. Especially Isaac Gracie has a really special voice with which he adds something unique to his music.

1 ½ years ago, I came into contact with Malik through a music competition, for which I sent in an original song on my ukulele. I decided to use a ‘gap year’ to take a full course (with a ‘live development’ module instead of ‘analogue recording’) at Wisseloord Academy. My favourite lessons are at ‘live development’, because it is a small group with more individual focus. A big element is performing, but we also had a class on breathwork for example.

I have not gained a lot of close connections with other people through collaborations yet, but I really do enjoy working together with different people. I really want to pursue music as my job. I’ve been producing my own demos in Logic since I was 15 years old. Now I’m searching for a producer who can help me taking my demos to the next level, so I can start to release them.

To end the live development module, we get to organize a show at a podium in Hilversum called ‘De Vorstin’. The students of this module have to organise a big part of the event. Malik will invite people from the music business. It’s really exciting. I want to release my first EP at the end of this autumn. It will consist of an intro and 5 songs, of which the first 3 songs form a kind of group. My songs often end quite bombastic, and I love to perform them intensely. It feels really nice when a song breaks open at the end.”