Australian singer-songwriter Lenka Kripac performs her first-ever solo show as part of this year’s Adelaide Fringe.
A well-seasoned performer who was once vocalist for Decoder Ring and has released five solo albums, Lenka says she is yet to play live without the comforting security net of a back-up band. “It's quite big for me, even though it doesn’t sound it,” Lenka says.
“But it's the first time I’m going to do a full-length solo show, which is something I’ve wanted to dive into for a while but being quite scared, especially when I was less experienced, because of that vulnerability you have on stage.
"I always felt I wanted to be backed-up by people that can keep the show going if I can't, but I am feeling like I am ready for that now.
“It's a very different show when someone plays solo; I find as an audience member they tell more stories, you can really hook right in to a real closeness with the artist and I tend to sometimes feel like an entertainer, but this will be a different level for me: a bit more intimate, vulnerable and hopefully it will be a great experience for me and the audience.”
Lenka’s Fringe show will be a one-off, with an option to expand it into a tour if it goes well.
With just one show at this stage, Lenka says her aim is to engage the audience that allows for both intimacy and fun. “My mission is to, within that intimacy, bring a lot of energy; some of my songs are upbeat and fuller sounding, so my challenge is to make sure there is still that dynamic on stage so you can still tap your toes and get a bit of a groove on.”
Since 2008, Lenka has released five albums under her name, the latest being 2017’s ‘Attune’. Lenka explains that the self-produced album was one she did not intend to make, but that it was received well by fans and critics.
“It got some strong reviews and for me there are three aspects: what the fans think of it, what the musical zeitgeist of magazines, academics and reviewers think of it, and then how much of a hullaballoo it creates,” she explains.
“Now it didn’t create much of a hullaballoo but that's absolutely fine by me because I didn’t want it to and I didn’t try to make that happen.
"But what was important to me and the reason why I did it was first of all that I liked it – I produced it myself and I was really happy with the way it turned out – and then that fans found it to be nice music for them and on a level that they would hope for from me; and then it also got really strong reviews so I was really happy.”
As for further touring as a strictly solo act, Lenka has no wish to return to a punishing road schedule and would rather play smaller circuits both here and overseas. “I really slugged it out around 2008 and 2011, there was a lot of touring for me and I got kind of burned out from endlessly being on the road,” she says.
“So I don’t ever in my life want to go back to life on the road. But handpicked, selected tours in Australia and around the world, yeah I’m definitely open to that.”
