We were lucky enough to participate in this intimate event. But the show aside for a second – before the performance LP was interviewed on stage by Trójka’s host, Piotr Metz, who opened the interview with an earthquake kind of statement, which LP managed to handle, and beautifully. It was a very dynamic and immersive exchange, and it would be a shame if it got lost in the avalanche of the new interviews with LP popping up every day.

The conversation is fun, intellectual and light, and these three rarely happen at the same time. Catch the moment and enjoy!

✶  Interview at Radio Trójka (video)

TRANSCRIPT

Radio: [in Polish] Trójka – Polish Radio 3. It’s six past seven pm, let’s connect now with Trójka’s Agnieszka Osiecka Studio, where Piotr Metz awaits you.

Piotr Metz: [In Polish] Good evening. I have never seen such an audience in Osiecka in terms of the number of viewers. Ladies and gentleman, we all know that when it comes to music, this is a magical place. Today an extraordinary artist had a chance to learn about it as well. After the rehearsal she said: “This is the place where I’ll be able to show what I can do.” So, let her show us, but first, she’ll talk to us. Welcome to the stage: LP!

PM: LP is sexy, immortal, has got a beautiful sound, and provides a long-term musical experience. I’m talking about long playing record, of course.

LP: All right, I was like, wow, sexy first! From you! Thank you.

PM: But this is a great artistic nickname. But is it troublesome sometimes?

LP: It was tough to google for a while, I think, for people.  That’s kind of a… me in a nutshell. I tend to… I don’t wanna say I take the harder route, but I don’t try to take the easy route it seems. I just… I just do what I want.

PM:  Now, this is difficult. Is the latest EP, and especially the new album, the most “LP” LP of all LP’s LPs? Meaning – real you.

LP: Yeah… Yes and no.… I think it maybe is, because I finally was able to find the proper production team. I’ve struggled with that a lot in my career. ‘Cause I really started out as an indie artist, but there’s a constant fight in my sound, in the way I sing that fights this kind of mainstream kind of thing. That’s why I’ve had so many major label deals and indie deals. And a lot of times when I was on major label they struggled with what to do with me. ‘Cause there was something in between that they… I would always hear people say, you know this is… And I just signed another deal with RCA Records in the States and it’s like my fourth major label deal. And the other times people would always talk about: “This could be THIS!” [LP raises her hand up high.] And I’d be like, “How about it could be this, and this, and this before that?” [LP gestures walking up the stairs.] That’s the thing about big business and entertainment. It’s a little bit too much to me. I find it a little bit garish and a little bit embarrassing sometimes. I try to be the realest self I can be, ‘cause that’s the only way I know how. So it’s a difficult balance to get. And I think I finally with this record figured out how to get the production that brings my soul and voice across properly, so I think you’re right, I think this might be the most “LP” LP of all time.

PM: [Translates what LP said to Polish] You also wrote…

LP: Did you really just say everything I said?  I went on for a really long time, almost too long, and then he would go, like, “She said yes.” I was like – “Ok.”

PM: Tried my best.

LP: Damn it!

PM: You also wrote so many songs for other artists. What makes a song different, I mean, what makes it less, perhaps, personal and more universal?

LP: A lot of times lyrics do that, for sure. But I think it’s also… There’s so much in between the lines of lyrics and melody in a song that we don’t talk about. We’re always like, “Lyrics and melody!” But there’s all this other stuff that we just feel, you know. It’s like the things you can’t really explain. So I think, what changes things is… we call it in the States “the ness” – something that’s… The intangibles. And I think that changes from artist to artist. And for me, I just go a little deeper with the lyric in my songs, but I still always trying to make things universal. I mean, the whole reason I do it is to connect and to make myself feel closer to other people. So I used to change it up more, now I just write. Unless I’m writing with a person that’s the artist and then we kinda go into their world a little bit more. And when I’m just writing for people and I haven’t met them, I just write.

PM: Trying my best.

LP: Yeah. Go ahead!

PM: [Translates what LP said to Polish]

LP: I think you left out the part about the “ness,” did you tell them about that?

PM: Yes I did, but we are really short on time now…

LP: Oh, ok.

PM: Your songwriting icons?

LP: Oh gosh… You know, Beatles and Stones are the big deal for me, I think…

PM: Wow. You love them both!

LP: Yeah. I love them both! Yeah, they do different things for you, you know. Definitely Roy Orbison. I pretty much go classic all the time. Roy Orbison, Joni Mitchell, I’m a huge fan of Jeff Buckley and Bob Dylan, and just so many… I keep coming back to those kind of bands like Led Zeppelin and stuff like that, Freddie Mercury from Queen… I just think I like drama, obviously in my songs I do a lot of that, but I’m always finding new people that I love all the time, and I really can admire present day songwriters. I think, songs are life to me and, I think, to a lot of people. It’s good to go back, but it’s good to go forward too, we have to keep updating ourselves a bit.

PM: This is simple because of all of the names.

LP: There you go!

PM: [Translates what LP said to Polish] And finally on a personal note, thank you so much for getting me back with many long lost  friends who called out of the blue, yesterday, asking for seats for tonight.

LP: Sure! No problem!

PM: They’re all over the place.

LP: All right, hi… [waves to the audience]

PM: Ladies and gentlemen: LP! Thank you!

LP: Thank you. Thank you so much.

[Muddy Waters]

LP: Thank you. So anyways… Thank you guys so much for coming tonight. Really, it’s really… It’s my third time in Poland and it’s always like seriously really, really good time. And I really always have such a warm, good feeling here. And again, it’s just one of those places I never thought I’d find myself in. But it’s been an unexpected pleasure and I really appreciate all of your support. And I just thank you.

[Strange]

LP: Thank you. You’re ok, JD? This is JD Carrera on the guitar.

[Into The Wild]

LP: I was gonna say, you guys don’t have to be that tame, it’s okay. Seems like it’s a very serious, serious event. So, yeah, this is  one of the newer songs, that wasn’t on the new LP. The most “LP” of all the LPs. I think he’s right, though, I think you’re right. It’s very interesting how many winding roads you can go down and I think sometimes people try to… as if I’m pissed that I didn’t get here until now, and I’m like “Oh, I was okay, I was doing some stuff,” you know, but it’s really very cool to have experienced things the way I did and I’m thankful for that. I think that it definitely made me who I am as an artist. I never thought about it, but songwriting has taken me on a huge journey and it’s a good one, so the answer to that is: I’m stoked, man! This is great! It’s called “Up Against Me.”

[Up Against Me]

LP: Thank you. And I will also say that my last two shows of the European tour that I just did in December, November-December, the two Polish shows were my two favorite shows, for sure. You were incredible. Of course I’ve got deathly ill after the second one. Umm, yeah. But it was an incredible and amazing… Amazing places, and the crowd was just unbelievable. This is called “Death Valley.”

[Death Valley]

LP: Thank you so much. It was weird, someone asked me today if it’s difficult to have to keep re-living the same scenarios every time you sing a song that you wrote about something. And I said “no,” but I meant “yes.” I don’t know, it’s weird, I meant yes and no, because sometimes it’s weird – you do start thinking about a person over and over and then it’s like “Wow, I’m just re-living this thing over and over again.” Do you guys know that Groundhog Day thing? The way that we’re supposed to re-live the same scenario over and over again. ‘Cause I don’t really understand that term, I mean, I think that’s what it’s supposed to mean. Right? I just keep doing the same thing. Maybe it’s a little bit like that. So if I ever see that person again I’m gonna go: “You know what, I lied to you. It sucks.” You’re ready? All right.

[Other People]

LP: Thank you. Was anybody at that signing today? Wow. Well, thank you for coming to the signing though, woo-hoo! [from the crowd: “No problem, babe!”] Oh yeah, it was very fun today. I had the Polish fan club out in full force. There’s an actual Polish fan club! They boast about three members. No, you know, something like a thousand people in it. Very cool. This is another newer song. We just released like two days ago “Other People” and “Tightrope” videos that are available now, so, this is called “Tightrope.”

[Tightrope]

LP: Thank you. Thank you so much. So, this song is probably the reason why I think I know you all, or you know me, and it’s just one of those things , just, you never know, like the last song said. I have so many friends that are songwriters and I have mentors that have written songs like “True Colors” and “Like a Virgin,” and “Livin’ on a Prayer,” and, you know, ridiculous things. And then I have friends that wrote one big song a couple of years ago, whatever it is, and everyone has their ups and downs. And we always say – you’re just one song away, at all times, as a songwriter. It keeps a lot of people going. I’m not a gambler. I’ve gone to Vegas several times and I think… And I’m not cheap or anything, but I just never… I don’t even put twenty dollars down this, I don’t care. It just doesn’t register with me, I’m like “I’ve got a hundred dollars, I’m gonna keep a hundred dollars, yay!” But with my life, I’ve just been like at that roulette table with all my chips on, like, red, 25, you know. So, it’s weird to me to be like that, and… I try not to think about songs like: “This song.” And I tell this story, I’ll tell it briefly. I don’t tell it for reasons of bitterness or blame about my past or who did what, but I wrote this song and I played it. I was on a major label called Warner Bros. And whole lot of good things happened there. But people ask me if I knew this song was a hit and I’m always like, “I didn’t , I didn’t know.” I played them this song, I played “Muddy Waters” and I played “Strange” for them. And they had new people that weren’t my people, that’s why my record before that wasn’t really pushed much, ‘cause I wasn’t their thing. That’s what art is built on. People like and don’t like, you know, it’s subjective. But I played them those songs and a month later I was dropped. And I was like: “Um, I don’t know what to do.” I try not to think about it too much, I’ve dealt with some coping mechanisms. Some good, some bad. And then I was lucky enough to be picked by Vagrant Records and they kept me afloat and kept my mind occupied. And then a little label in Greece added me, and then a little label in Italy, and then a little label in Poland… By the way, thank you Monika and Jan, you’re the best, I appreciate you very much. And I’m really… you just never know. All of a sudden the song is a massive hit and I’m obviously extremely grateful and it’s very cool, but it’s also, you know, one man’s trash is another man’s treasure. And whatever it is – don’t give up. Whatever you do. Try not to give up, because you just… you never know. I feel very lucky to have experienced the other side of it. And I think a lot of people would, if they maybe stopped being bitter. You know, we’re lucky enough to keep afloat. Anyway, here we go! Sorry for being so long-winded, I just figured I tell that stuff. This is called “Lost On You.”

[Lost On You]

LP: Thank you. So thank you once again. This is JD Carrera on the guitar. It’s been a really wonderful evening and thank you so much, all of you guys, for coming. And I’m sorry, I do this thing sometimes, when I freak out I forget names at the end that I wanna thank, but I’ll try to remember by the end of the song. You know who you are. That’s what they do, that’s what people do, I guess: “You know who you are!” I was gonna start very quiet song, rising like this… Ok.

[Forever For Now]

LP: Thank you again so much, thank you.

PM: This was the most LP gig of all LP gigs. Thank you! Thank you very much. There’s no encore today, but we’ve just experienced an amazing moment. Come again to Osiecka Studio. Good night.