Budiey
TWO, THE FOLLOW-UP TO LENKA’S SELF-TITLED 2008 DEBUT, SCHEDULED FOR APRIL 19th RELEASE
LENKA PREVIEWS NEW SONGS THIS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 12th, AT NEW YORK’S ROCKWOOD MUSIC HALL LEAD SINGLE “HEART SKIPS A BEST” GOES TO RADIO
On April 19th, Epic Records will release Two, the follow-up to Lenka’s self-titled debut album, which entered at No. 3 on Billboard’s Heatseekers chart in late 2008 and contained “The Show,” which became a Top 10 hit in over 10 countries.
The Australian singer-songwriter has been on the go ever since the release of her debut – hitting 21 countries in 10 months, recording in London, Atlanta and Los Angeles and recently relocating to Brooklyn. This Wednesday, January 12th, Lenka will preview some of her new songs at an impromptu performance at Rockwood Music Hall – her first New York City show since settling into her new digs.
Lenka recorded much of Two with producer David Kosten (Bat for Lashes), working at Ray Davies’ Konk Studios in North London. “Tourists would come by and some were shaking they were so excited to see it,” she recalls. “But, for us, it was cool because there were all The Kinks’ original instruments in there and I got to use a mellotron from the 1970s.”
The new album is distinctly more electronic than her last, from the dance-friendly “Two,” which was produced by Eg White (Adele) to the infectious lead single “Heart Skips a Beat,” which will go to radio shortly. “Heart Skips a Beat” is one of three tracks produced by Guy Sigsworth (Björk, Seal).
“Björk was the first artist that made me realize that it wasn’t illegal to have a computer beat in a song – that it can still be beautiful and emotional,” says Lenka, former vocalist/keyboardist for acclaimed Australian electronic/ambient band Decoder Ring.
Stateside, she recorded “Everything’s Okay” and “End of the World” with Sunny Levine (Pete Yorn, Happy Mondays) and “Roll with the Punches” with Ben Allen (Animal Collective, Gnarls Barkley). To give fans a taste of the album, “Roll with the Punches” is now available now on the iTunes Store. Lenka and her visual collaborator, James Gulliver Hancock, created a stop-motion animation video for the track using an assortment of craft materials and upwards of 500 photos they shot around Brooklyn. You can check out the clip, which recently premiered at TeenVogue.com, at: www.teenvogue.com
Lenka’s had an incredible two years since the release of her solo debut: Blender hailed her as “the saucy Aussie,” Spin marveled at her “cashmere soft voice” and VH1 named her a “You Oughta Know” artist. She’s appeared on numerous televisions shows – including “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno,” “Late Night with Conan O’Brien.” “The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson” and “Jimmy Kimmel Live” in the U.S. Her songs have been heard in such TV shows as “Ugly Betty,” “Grey’s Anatomy,” “Parenthood,” “90210” and “The Hills,” and have been licensed for ad campaigns by Old Navy, Coca-Cola, Apple and Nordstrom.
Writing has given her a way to process all the experiences that life’s thrown her way. “That’s the wonderful thing about being a songwriter,” observes Lenka. “You have some way to put out all of that emotion and reaction to what you’re seeing.”
The track listing for Two is as follows:
1. Two
2. Heart Skips a Beat
3. Roll with the Punches
4. Sad Song
5. Everything at Once
6. Blinded by Love
7. Here to Stay
8. You Will be Mine
9. Shock Me into Love
10. Everything’s Okay
11. End of the World
