Kollaboration 9 Spotlight: Indie Sensation Jane Lui

More often than not, “soulful” has a way of being casually thrown about in a manner that smacks of the schlocky. But when it comes to Jane Lui, it’s not an empty word or a false praise: listening to her music is seriously a tune-up for the soul. Armed with a billowy voice, a penchant for melody and a way with words, Lui is very much the quintessential singer-songwriter.

At times, Lui is reminiscent of acts like Tori Amos, Leslie Feist (Feist) and Chan Marshall (Cat Power), yet retains a voice, musical approach and stage presence that’s distinctly her own. Simply put, she’s the real deal. After speaking with Lui, it’s clear this woman lives and breathes music—even her answers have a way of turning into lyrical and whimsical musings:

TJL: As an artist, what do you look forward to in 2009?
JL: A lot of my songwriting happens in the shower, but sometimes, lapsed memories from childhood hit [me] like a brick while lathering. Yesterday, I suddenly remembered that when I was teeny, I often stood alone in my room singing to the window. Having lived high up in HK [Hong Kong] back then, I pretended there were thousands watching. It was The Dream. Music business is its own inevitable monster of an industry, but that aside, I realized after rinsing that I’ll be achieving that dream this year at Kollaboration 9. I get clammy just thinking about that many [people] watching; it is a rather cheesy dream come true.

I also want to dive deeper into writing this year [because] I feel like I’ve changed as a songwriter/performer and need to spend more time getting to know myself there. It’s often hard to separate the artist life from personal life. The art form I create is a medium of my personal life. Since I feel refreshed, but also very green–having just moved to a new city– it’s the perfect time and place to get creative.

TJL: About your recent move, where are you currently based now?
JL: I live in San Francisco now. moved up here from San Diego in August. We live at the top of Potrero Hill, so it’s an elevation drop just to get lunch. The drugs, break-ins, shootings, hippies, love it all. (give me back my iPod! you know who you are.)
Speaking of which, my boyfriend and I were walking in the Castro District, of all places, and a homeless man asked us for spare change. We didn’t have any, so we said, “Sorry..” and he mumbled under his breath (with disgust), “… interracial marriage…” i just started laughing. He’s begging in the wrong era. Really though, it’s been an amazing change—needed it. I love being intimidated by competent people. Makes me want to step it up a notch.

TJL: Do you plan to record and/or tour this year, or do you have any particular projects lined up?
JL: I plan on recording probably [in] late fall. I have a sound in mind [that] I want [to record] and hope to work with my favorite engineer back in San Diego… I’m also currently booking a West Coast tour in March, [an] East Coast [tour] and [a] European [tour] in April. Then, I will be in Canada in the fall. The world can seem so big when you stay in one place for too long.

TJL: Who have you been listening to lately/who are some of your favorite musicians/bands at the moment?
JL:
1. Weekend Vampire!! What a bouncy, fun, yet lush sound?! I had no idea those descriptions could ever go together.
2. Bjork. Vespertine is always a favorite.
3. Beach Boys. I bow down.
4. Clare & The Reasons. It’s like listening to a drive-in movie.
5. Feist
6. Cat Power
7. Elliot Smith
8. Kings of Convenience
9. Kirk Franklin (Live in Houston) (gospel)
10. Mum (electronica)
11. Woods Brothers (blues)
12. Ben Hernandez & Nathan James (blues)

TJL: Speaking of Feist, “Firely” could easily fit into her repertoire—great song. It doesn’t sound like this applies to you, but do you ever find it difficult to focus on your own voice whenever you find yourself absorbed with another performer’s work?
JL: I used to, absolutely. When you love an artist so much, you tend to take on their personality even if just a little, because they Spoke to you in a way you liked to be spoken to. In the beginning, I think every artist takes on someone else in order to find their own voice. Their vocal tendencies are in your mouth, even writing in similar intervals/stylings. The hard part: finding out what’s honest & natural to ourselves. It’s hard because WE are constantly changing, growing. I remember watching a recording of myself play when I first started. I was shocked at how much I couldn’t take my own performance. Given, I have self-loathing issues to work out, but I realized that I wasn’t Me yet in the video. I feel comfortable with my voice these days and love finding new ways of writing melodies, which can give my voice a fresh approach. These days, I don’t obsessively listen to one artist anymore. I extract the things I like quickly, learn from it, and try to spin into my own musical language.

TJL: “Barkentine Interlude” is such a charming piece. Are you a fan of Yann Tiersen [French composer], by chance?
JL: I don’t know who that is!? (I feel so ignorant.) I just love sea-shanties. Interlude is a sea-shanty written to give movement to the album. We went out and recorded sounds from a real barkentine and did the rest in our living room. The tune is at its best in headphones.

TJL: Is there anyone you would like to collaborate with in the future?
JL: I’ve always had this dream of collaborating with a filmmaker friend of mine. We’d start with a short for experiment sake, but basically, he would make the film, and I would provide live music during the screenings: even with preludes and outgoing music, both composed and lightly improvisational, within a frame of mood, sync, and punctuation with movements of the film. Sometimes, the audience response vary from crowd to crowd during funny & sad parts—I’d play accordingly—to reinforce the vibe of the room. I wouldn’t want it to be a silent film—the 20’s had it perfect already. This would be a modern take, with a slightly different performance every screening, traveling from town to town. The filmmaker would just sit & observe, OR go get a burrito since his work’s already done.

TJL: How did you get involved with the Kollaboration 9 event? Have you been acquainted with/worked with Kollaboration before?
JL: About eight months ago, a listener emailed me about this big show that happens with Asian talent. I didn’t think anything of it, but they contacted me when they created this open mic at Tangier. Never in town for the right night, I finally drove up from San Diego just to play twenty minutes at the open mic. There weren’t many in the room, but the producers were watching and emailed me a few weeks later about replacing a cancellation at Kollaboration Acoustic (August). Winning the acoustic show secured me a spot in this large production (and granted me some much needed cash…gah I’m a broke). It’s rather scary. I lose sleep over it all the time. My hands are sweaty and cold just typing this. Ew.

TJL: Somehow, it feels very appropriate that your recent wave of success started at Tangier. Your music and the venue have similar vibes: hearty and unpretentious. What are some of your favorite venues in LA (or anywhere in general) and why?
JL: Room 5 is still my favorite place. Small, intimate, red, great sound, friendly crew and a killer spaghetti. In the end, I’m a friendly introvert, so I’m not one for too much rock & roll lifestyle, i just want to perform and do good work. I’m about to try Hotel Cafe in March, we’ll see! Oh, but I can’t stand the layout of The Mint. Mind you, the crew there is Incredible. So sweet. But the room has a pretentious vibe, where you can feel people sizing up each other.. tassels… too many tassels.

TJL: What are your thoughts on being a professional creative-type amidst the current economic climate? I mean, it’s rough enough being an indie musician—actually, a musician in general—so how have you had to adjust these past couple of months? What keeps you afloat?
JL: I sleep inside a duffel bag spooning my keyboard. It’s tight, but we manage!