"Krone" interview

Mira Lu Kovacs: Intimate between fear and hope

With maturity comes increasing inner relaxation: on "Please, Save Yourself" Mira Lu Kovacs once again shares deeply from her soul life.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Ina Aydogan (2))

When it comes to delicate songs full of intimacy and compositional authenticity, Mira Lu Kovacs is always the right choice. Her third solo album "Please, Save Yourself" breathes and lives the beauties and fractures of interpersonal relationships. A conversation about boundaries, mindfulness and confrontation.

Whenever Mira Lu Kovacs' turbulent life needs a little peace and quiet, she turns to her solo activities. Over the last decade, the Burgenland native has developed into a high-quality and successful chameleon in the local music scene. Sophisticated electronics with 5KHD, smooth jazz and Christmas carols with Clemens Wenger and, most recently, internationally successful alternative rock with My Ugly Clementine. But if you want to delve deep into the artist's soul, it's best to put on her old Schmieds Puls albums or her more recent solo works. Fragility and honesty are always in balance. Reduced, often purely acoustic songs are paired with clear lyrics and Kovacs' expressive vocal timbre. "Please, Save Yourself" is the name of her third solo album, which is currently seeing the light of day and places the term "mindfulness" at the center of the action.

Setting boundaries at last
"My album titles are always very big sentences," laughs the artist during the Krone interview in her Vienna studio, "but they are deliberately chosen so that everyone can make something of them. The title spoke to me. It is not meant to be reproachful or aggressive, but tender and loving. It's difficult to translate, but it's about the fact that you should save yourself." Many of the song chapters are about setting boundaries in interpersonal relationships. The question of how far someone is allowed to go with the other person without consciously or unconsciously crossing a threshold. "This topic has preoccupied many people over the last decade. The current generation is finally allowed to set these boundaries without looking like an asshole. It's about loving, mindful and careful boundaries so that everyone can lead a better life. Not about those who just offend others."

The first single, "Shut The Fuck Up And Let Go", which wobbles out of the ether with surprising verve, is not a trend-setter in terms of sound. As is usual for Mira's solo works, rapture and emotional melancholy remain the most important ingredients for the sophisticated sound mash. There is always a small meta level full of humor and a wink in her offensively addressed and hard-hitting songs. "I only consume English-language media and there's always a sketch in even the harder stories. The hardest songs in terms of emotionality are often the most fun because you trick yourself with this attitude." The first difficult topic is already addressed in the opener "Hard To Watch". You have to virtually stand idly by and watch a loved one ruin themselves. "I always try to act respectfully. They are basically my stories, but it's not exactly autobiographical. If it all came just from me and my experiences, I would have to offer semi-open therapy instead of an album."

Confrontation leads to a solution
Kovacs has no interest in crossing boundaries or hurting others or himself. However, with intimate lyrics in a musically intimate corset, deeper approaches are sometimes unavoidable. "I set the boundaries more and more intuitively. I'm now a confrontational person because I think that's better than playing around. That only steals time and, as a result, joy from our lives. If there's a disagreement, we have a quick word. Maybe it gets loud for a moment, maybe even unpleasant, but then it's over. You can use it to solve problems. Actually, seeking confrontation is quite a proof of love, because you suggest to the other person that he or she is worth the effort. You take the hard road and not the short one." Kovacs has gained self-confidence, not least through her varied role as a decision-maker on the musical stage. "I like working and living with people who are open to debate. Something like this always happens out of a desire to make things better for everyone and not because I'm malicious."

The quasi-title song "Save Yourself" is clearly about male violence against women. "It's a very old memory from my childhood and actually a political issue. In a broader sense, it's also about what such experiences do to you as an adult and how they shape your image of your own relationships. But it's important to me that the album title 'Please, Save Yourself' is not misinterpreted. It's not about a woman simply getting out of a relationship. I know how difficult it is to free yourself from these toxic relationships. The song should be much more empowering for those who find themselves in these situations." As with her previous album "What Else Can Break" from 2021, the 36-year-old hardly hides behind metaphors, instead taking a deliberately clear and offensive approach to the lyrics.

From survival to life
"Some songs, like 'Pain Train', are very clear narratives. I like it when you get to the point and don't always paint half-clear pictures where people have to guess. I've also found a clear way of dealing with certain things. I can no longer cry all the time when something offends me. Laughing gives me much more strength." When Kovacs writes songs for her solo project, it is because of a certain necessity. "I have to push myself to give myself enough time and space for it. I like to compare my solo albums with those of Schmieds Puls. In terms of content, it used to be more about surviving, today it's about living better. It's now a beautiful journey and I hope it continues for a long time to come."

The album is divided in the middle by the instrumental interlude "Hoffnung Angst Angst Hoffnung". An inconspicuous track, but a key passage. "It's the natural circle. Like tension and relaxation. Ebb and flow. It always needs both. It's not bad to be afraid in between, just as I'm also suspicious when you have too much hope. Sometimes you have to realize that things are over or won't work out and give up hope. But without hope, your imagination dies. In addition to the personal songs, there are also political connotations. "Make It Stop" is clearly against turbo capitalism and giving up. "We can't afford not to demonstrate and not to keep fighting for a better world. You can be tired, you can sleep in and take it easy, but you can't stop standing up for a better world. We are far too privileged for that."

Exaggeration as a stylistic device
One of Kovacs' typical grand gestures is the song "I Care For You". "It's a romantic and absolutist statement. Sometimes you just have to exaggerate because the situation demands it." Last but not least, the song is also an all-encompassing declaration of love. "Today, traditions are being renegotiated and there are different relationship constructs. Sometimes you can and should be exuberant and celebrate great love, even if you might not stay together for 50 years, as was often the case in the past. My album titles are not slogans that will be on my tombstone. Maybe we'll have an interview one day where I say that I'm taking it all back. You never know, everything is constantly changing." A certain form of ignorance, curiosity and questioning is what art and ultimately life are all about. "Please, Save Yourself" is therefore not only an appeal for mindfulness, but also a musical work that embraces and comforts.

Kovacs will be presenting her albumlive in Austria at
2025. On February 19 at Wiener Stadtsaal, on February 26 at Dom im Berg in Graz, on February 27 at Kammerlichtspiele in Klagenfurt, on February 28 at Treibhaus Innsbruck, on March 28 at ARGEKultur in Salzburg and at the end of June at Lido Sounds in Linz. Tickets and further information for the concerts can be found at www.oeticket.com.