"Krone" talk

Lauren Mayberry: The necessary pop emancipation

With her solo debut "Vicious Creature", Lauren Mayberry is immersing herself in a new career side-stream.

(Bild: Krone KREATIV/Vertigo Berlin (2))

After four albums and a successful career with the Chvrches, frontwoman Lauren Mayberry has spent the last two years concentrating on her solo debut "Vicious Creature". In an interview with the "Krone", she revealed why the break-up was necessary, what she missed in the main band and what prejudices she had to fight for years.

The influence of the Scots Chvrches on the modern synthpop world should not be underestimated. The trio around singer Lauren Mayberry conquered the charts and concert halls across the globe and have become the saviors of the electronic indie scene. In 2023, the Chvrches debut album "The Bones Of What You Believe" celebrated its tenth anniversary. During the celebrations, the now 37-year-old also focused increasingly on solo activities. The first singles were followed by a live tour including a (poorly attended) performance at Flex in Vienna. Mayberry concentrated on her first own songs and cover versions - tracks by Chvrches deliberately remained taboo. "I started writing my first solo songs during the tours in February 2022," the singer explains in the Krone interview, "I never intended to do anything outside the band, especially because everyone always panics when the singer of a band dares to go it alone."

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Two important rules
It was important to Mayberry that everything ran smoothly. The tours with the band are over, the celebrations are done, everyone is - as usual - streaming out in different directions. The time away from the band gives the Scot the chance to think about how she wants to organize everything. "Rule number one was that the solo songs mustn't sound like Chvrches under any circumstances. There's nothing less interesting than copying what you're already doing. Rule number two was: I have to feel comfortable with the songs. No matter how they may sound to the outside world - I have to like them. I have to be able to enjoy them." Visually, Mayberry ventures into new spheres. Inspired by role models such as Björk, PJ Harvey and Kate Bush, she focuses heavily on the visual and theatrical alongside the sound. "With these artists, you can relate each album exactly to their respective mood. That means they always put everything into the art. That's how I want to do it too."

The artist and record company took a lot of time for her debut album "Vicious Creature". Almost three years passed between the first songs and the finished album. Singles such as "Shame" and "Change Shapes" were already widely presented live in 2023 and can now be found on the album, which is reminiscent of the established main band at the very beginning, but then takes musical turns and veers off in other directions. For Mayberry, the writing process was also a process of cutting the cord. "I've been a member of Chvrches since I was 23. In a band with older men. Surrounded by older men in engineering, as producers and at the label. Even though they are all nice and okay, I always lacked the freedom to express myself and my femininity in a different environment. That part of me couldn't find its way for more than 15 years." This is the reason why Mayberry's live band consists of female or non-binary people. "It creates a completely different expression."

Finding their own way
The band structure is also important to Mayberry in the solo world. "Having played in bands since I was 15, I was shocked at how little confidence I had when I was working on songs on my own. I was also never asked about the Chvrches lyrics in interviews. It was as if I was invisible or just the nice little doll carrying someone else's message." In the end, Mayberry sees the fact that she kept many of her songs and song ideas secret for 14 to 15 months as a big plus. "It allowed me to find my way and work patiently on the songs and lyrics. On good days, I thought I had a real talent for songwriting. On bad days, I wanted to discard everything because I thought I was completely incapable. The fact that so many people didn't believe for so many years that I could create music and lyrics has eaten deep into my subconscious."

The 37-year-old sees herself as a perfectionist and someone who likes to think things through down to the last detail. "Making a solo album really good from an objective point of view is actually harder than doing it in a real band. But I've learned a lot along the way and taken a lot away with me. With the Chvrches, however, there was never a big advertising or PR presence. We wrote a lot of songs and performed a lot, but we didn't actively push ourselves into the limelight. We just followed our noses and I have continued this principle here." "Vicious Creature" deals very openly with topics such as gender identity, fame or emancipation and wanders both lyrically and musically between flashing euphoria, fragile fragility and deadly sad resignation. Depending on what the song and mood demand.

(Bild: Andreas Graf)

Every detail is important
"There's nothing I hate more than washed-out or slick lyrics that put the need for security before genuine emotion. I admit that I've been guilty of this many times in my life, but I've learned from it. I write texts in normal everyday situations, without any great ulterior motives. Things come to me and I then try to realize them in the studio." Mayberry also focuses on attention to detail when it comes to everything else. "With the merchandise, for example. I'm a fan myself and I know how exhausting it can be when you go to a concert as a fan and the shirts look awful. I've been annoyed often enough myself about such mistakes in the system. The visuals, the presentation, the merch - all of these are extensions of the music and the art."

A fifth Chvrches album is not out of the question, but not yet on the horizon. With a work like "Vicious Creature", which is also strong by international standards, Mayberry certainly has nothing to hide as a solo artist.