Lena

The Arc of Lena

The pivots — what forced Lena to reinvent.

1. 01

   The Eurovision Gold Rush

   In 2010, the Raab machine threw her into the studio with cheap acoustic guitars, brass stabs, and retro-pop beats. The debut record, My Cassette Player, sounds like a hurried rush job. It was written in days because they had to capitalize on the massive European hype. Still, her weird vocal phrasing made those bubblegum tracks hit way harder than they had any right to.

2. 02

   The London Independence

   By 2012, she wanted out of the TV-show novelty shadow and went to London to work with Swedes and Brits. Stardust was the pivot point. The sound shifted to big, organic indie-pop. You can hear it in the title track's massive drums and handclaps, which sound closer to Florence and the Machine than German television variety shows.

3. 03

   The Electronic Shift

   She hired Isabella Summers from Florence and the Machine to co-produce Crystal Sky in 2015. They threw out the acoustic guitars entirely. They brought in heavy synthesizers, glitchy vocal chops, and dark, massive basslines. It was a deliberate, sharp turn into moody electronic pop that finally killed off her old retro-girl image.

Influences

• Kate Nash — Lena openly cited Nash's Foundations as the blueprint for her early singing style. You hear it in the deadpan, highly stylized British-accented delivery on her early singles. She basically took Nash's bedroom indie-pop vocal mannerisms and used them to win a massive European pop contest.
• Adele — During her 2010 TV run, Lena covered Adele's My Same, which actually pushed Adele's debut album back onto the German charts. That bluesy, rhythmic vocal swing heavily informed the retro-soul vibe of My Cassette Player. It was her main reference point before she pivoted to electronic pop.
• Florence and the Machine — Lena hired Florence's key collaborator Isabella Summers to produce and co-write several tracks on Crystal Sky. You can hear the grand, theatrical drum patterns and sweeping vocal arrangements directly mimicking Florence's Lungs era. It was the catalyst for her entire electronic transition.
• Lykke Li — Lena covered Li's Youth Novels tracks on her early promotional tours. The Scandinavian artist's template of combining cold, sparse percussion with high-register pop hooks is all over Lena's mid-period output. You hear it clearly on the minimal synth-pop arrangements of her 2015 B-sides.
• Lily Allen — Allen's breezy, sarcastic ska-pop style was a major touchstone for Lena's early live sets. The bouncy, brassy pop of her second record, Good News, heavily borrowed the suburban-candid lyric style that Allen popularized. It was the bridge between her TV persona and her self-written material.