"Krone" interview

Lenny Kravitz: “I am an ambassador of love”

Physically fit and mentally more balanced than ever at the age of 60: superstar Lenny Kravitz, soon to be seen live in Vienna.

(Bild: © MARK SELIGER)

At the age of 60, US superstar Lenny Kravitz is at the peak of his career and his physical and mental health. With his new album "Blue Electric Light", he is coming to the Wiener Stadthalle for a "Krone" concert on March 9. The "Krone" visited him in Paris in advance to talk to him about his energy, spirituality, love and fame.

"Krone" : Lenny, you played a celebrated show at Burg Clam in the summer of 2024, but it's been seven long years since your last Vienna concert. Can you still remember it?
LennyKravitz: I love Vienna. You'll laugh, but I wanted to visit this city as a child, before I even visited Europe for the first time. I sang in the California Boys Choir and had a classical singing career until I was eleven. At that time, by the way, we were the second best children's singing group in the world behind, that's right, the Vienna Boys Choir. Vienna as a city and its musical history are pure romance for me. I've always had a good time here on my visits, had great performances and also made a few friends.

You have been living in Paris for some time now. When it comes to the architecture and classicism of the two cities, you could easily live in the center of Vienna.
In terms of the romantic feeling, definitely. But above all, I love playing live. At any time, in front of anyone. No matter where and how - every evening is its own celebration of music.

You tested out songs from your album "Blue Electric Light", which was released in spring 2024, in South and Latin America last fall. How well do they work live and what are your feelings about the album from a distance?
I love this album and there is no better feeling than being excited and positive about new music. The audiences in South America have received these songs really well, which is a great gift. Most of the time when an artist plays their new songs, people would rather go and get a beer or their concentration level drops. They want to hear the hits and they've paid for them. Both work for my audience. There was a lot of energy with the new songs.

With every new album, putting together a live setlist becomes more difficult. Especially when you can pull so many well-known songs out of your quiver ...
Of course, you can't play everything, even if you want to. I try to find the right vibe before a tour and choose the right songs for it. You have to let yourself be guided by your feelings and the next time it will look different again. I want to take the fans on my journey at a concert. The tour last fall in South America was perhaps the best in my life so far. There was an incredible closeness and atmosphere.

South Americans are generally more enthusiastic and enthusiastic than Europeans.
One thing I've learned on tours over the last few decades is that people express their enthusiasm in different ways. Some people may not be as loud or animated, but enjoy the evening to the same extent. This has to do with different cultures and behaviors. As everywhere in life, generalizing is not the best solution.

"Blue Electric Light" is full of funk and soul, but above all full of warmth. It sounds like a peaceful island full of security in a world that seems to have been torn from its anchors and is being shaken from all sides. Was it your approach to bring some light into the darkness with this album?
I'm always about positivity. My music is meant to reinforce love and I've been pursuing this mission since my first album "Let Love Rule". The darker the state of the world seems to be, the more it inspires me to get the message of love out there. I want my little light to shine on everyone who wants to see it. And these people are then welcome to carry this light further.

As a musician on stage, do you see yourself as an ambassador of positivism?
I see myself as an ambassador of love. This message is more important than ever. My songs have a certain timelessness. Songs that I wrote 30 years ago could still pass for fresh today.

When you entered the music business at the end of the 80s, hip-hop was just getting really big in the USA and grunge was sprouting its first roots. You, on the other hand, didn't conform to any trends and always sounded different.
It's really funny, but even in the early days of my career I had this urgent desire to release albums whose music could still be heard 30 or 40 years later. Today, 36 years after my first album came out, it feels like I've succeeded. I have no idea why it was so important to me back then, but I understand it better now.

You change as a person and as an artist over the years. Do you have a different approach to music today than you did 30 to 35 years ago?
The basic feeling is still the same. I woke up this morning and listened to Roberta Flack, James Brown and John Coltrane. The great masters still guide me, they serve as teachers. But I don't deny myself new music either and draw a lot of inspiration from it. But there is also so much great music from the past to discover that has yet to be heard.

How important is it to you to always stay musically true to your roots despite all the progression? To let the origins of your music flow into the present?
When I go into the studio to record an album, I don't often think about it. I implement what I'm given. Whether an album sounds more like blues, rock or funk comes about in the course of the process. Basically, however, every single album has a good portion of love in it.

You recorded "Blue Electric Light" in your studio in the Bahamas. The pandemic basically kept you there ...
That's right. It wasn't planned at all, but everything you hear now developed there. The Bahamas are cut off from the outside world, it's a quiet place that brings me back down to earth. A world opens up to me there, with music seeping through every pore.

As someone who feels music, how do you deal with the fast pace of today's business? Where there used to be a record industry and MTV, today you are bombarded with countless devices and are in constant competition with others on streaming platforms and social media channels.
I use social media, but only when it feels right. I don't have to post something every day or somehow keep people happy, that's too exhausting for me. Like everything else in my life, it just happens naturally.

When you reflect on your entire career - what are you most proud of?
That I'm still here. I'm incredibly grateful that I'm in the best physical and mental shape of my life. I can do what I enjoy and what I love - that's the greatest gift in life.

What sacrifices do you have to make for this life, which also involves a lot of discipline?
I have to manage my time well because I invest a lot of energy in training and looking after my condition. To play these tours, I have to train a lot and always be ready to go beyond the limits. Last night I went to the gym straight after work at 2.30am and trained for an hour. Is it always fun? No. But there's no alternative. Of course, people don't see that kind of dedication and discipline.

Have you always been this disciplined or has it only developed over the years?
I learned this discipline from my grandfather. My father was also in the military and had this attitude, which was passed on to me early on.

What about your old songs? Do you see yourself as the current Lenny Kravitz in them?
I'm not one to sit at home and listen to my old songs, but when we have to rehearse them for a tour, they come back to me. It's interesting to travel back in time in this way because it's a bit like leafing through a photo album. I approach many things differently today or sing differently than I used to. This direct comparison always surprises me.

Is creating music synonymous with the search for artistic perfection for you?
I look for perfection in expression, but that doesn't mean that everything should sound perfect and sterile. A certain form of nonchalance or sloppiness can also sound perfect. Sometimes you end up getting annoyed because you didn't hit the right note somewhere, and it turns out that it's this part that people really like. Mistakes can be real gems.

Are you a spiritual person? Are your songs also infused with spirituality?
Absolutely. My songs have everything in them - spirituality, God, the soul. I also have no idea how I write songs, it's a gift from another dimension. I have the ability to play instruments and get something out of them, but what comes out of them always surprises me.

Does it start with a spark of an idea and then everything develops congruently into a song?
With the current album, it all started with the opener "It's Just Another Fine Day (In This Universe Of Love)". My songwriting partner Craig Ross and I juggled around and created the song. I realized that song was the door opener and it really took off from there.

Your relationship with Craig Ross is a very special one that has worked successfully for many years.
He is my artistic partner and we understand each other blindly. I write most of the songs myself, but if not, then definitely with Craig. We bounce ideas and thoughts back and forth, we have a good basis and everything runs smoothly. He's also been responsible for the technical aspects for some time now, he's just brilliant. He's like a real brother to me.

After all these years and experiences, how important is it to you to have a small but trustworthy team around you?
The people who are really regular in my life have thinned out a lot over the years. I know who I can trust and who I can count on. That is priceless.

Having previously spoken about your favorite artists and the "great masters" - on the current album you also pay homage to the legendary Prince, with whom you cultivated a friendship. Was it time for that now?
Any kind of music that I like and that has fed me from an early age flows into my own sound. It's not about specific artists, but about the big picture.

Today, you have long had a fundamental influence on young artists and have become an idol for others yourself. Are you happy in this role?
When you meet young artists and they tell you that you've influenced them, it's a particularly interesting feeling. I never thought about it and only came to terms with it when I was confronted with it for the first time. In any case, I would be honored if I had a similar influence on others as the great masters had on me.

You emphasized in an interview that the album title "Blue Electric Light" stands for the energy that feeds you in everyday life. Can you elaborate on that?
I get my energy directly from God and from life itself. I am grateful for this life and the creativity that I have been given. Above all, I am grateful that I am still so inspired and hungry for more. I know a lot of musicians who have been in the business as long as I have or longer and some of them have lost the spark more often than not. They get jaded or lose their energy. I still feel like I did when I was a teenager. There are no signs of fatigue, just anticipation and excitement. When I wake up, I know that something is going to happen today. I have no idea what yet, but something is happening - and that leaves me excited.

Can you still surprise yourself after all these years?
That's actually essential. Many things on the new album surprised me. Where did this idea come from? How did this style suddenly emerge? What am I actually doing right now? It's an ongoing process.

Last year you received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. An award that means a lot to you and you were very touched by it. Some people close to you gave touching laudatory speeches ...
It was surreal. As a teenager I used to walk down that street and admire all the big names and now I'm there myself - it's still hard for me to believe. Denzel Washington and my daughter Zoë gave speeches that touched me deeply. Denzel thinks very carefully about when he goes out in public and really went all out for it. My daughter was so honest and also funny in that moment. She and one of my best friends honored me here - what more could you want from life? There were also so many people there who are important to me. Family, friends, companions.

Was it one of those rare moments in life when you realize what you have achieved and accomplished?
That's exactly what it was. I stood there, listened to the speeches, watched the people and asked myself how it could have come this far. How did I manage to be here and now in this life? Where have all the years gone? Just surreal.

Show business in general can be very superficial and impersonal. Does that make it all the happier to experience moments like this?
It was definitely the exact opposite of superficial. All the people who have shaped and embellished my life were there and shared this moment with me. In my own speech, I emphasized that this star doesn't belong to me, but to all of us. That we earned and worked for it together. That is my honest feeling about it and I stand by it firmly.

A ceremony like this also makes you reflect on your own life and career. Are you a nostalgic person who likes to look back and put things into perspective?
I mainly think about all the versions of myself that have changed me and have accompanied me from the beginning to the present. As you get older, you look back more often and think about what you did and why, which affairs you had or which people you were involved with. Many of the people from the past are no longer around today and that makes me think. I do have nostalgic feelings, there's no denying that. Everyone tries to remember the good things about the past. You draw on that.

What was the most important piece of advice you gave yourself during your career? What tip or insight has really helped you get ahead?
The most important thing is to trust your heart and follow it. No matter what other people say, always do what you think is right and where your gut feeling takes you. Stick to yourself and your vision. Take advice from outside, but never stray from your goal.

Have you ever lost focus in the course of your life and fallen off track?
Thank goodness not. At least not with my music. But there are moments in life when other people want to seduce you and win you over. They want to introduce you to some trend or claim that they have the formula for great success. I've never listened to these people and I'm very happy about that. No matter how hard they tried to push me into a corner, I never let them, I always followed my instincts.

How do you cope with celebrity culture after all these years? The aspect of fame is one that can be constricting and oppressive. Have you learned to deal with it?
I was very lucky to have a mother who knew the business herself and handled it very well. So even as a teenager I was able to observe how fame and notoriety are handled. What to get involved in and where to keep your hands off it - I was aware of all this before I was thrust into the limelight myself. I never fell into these traps because I had the best teacher.

How would you define success? What does this term mean to you?
Success means having a healthy soul and a pure mind. When you can sleep well and peacefully at night and can be sure that you are always doing the best for yourself and getting the most out of yourself despite all your efforts. And, of course, to stay healthy. If that works and you also take care of your creativity, then you are pretty much in the middle with yourself.

Live in Vienna
On March 9, Lenny Kravitz will finally return to the Wiener Stadthalle with his new album "Blue Electric Light" and all the big hits from the past after a seven-year absence. The last remaining tickets and all further information about the concert highlight are still available at www.oeticket.com.