Artist Spotlight: Meet Lethia’s Natorium
How did you come up with the idea?
Hi, Pena here (Lethia’s Natorium). I came up with the idea for “Is it a Crime to be Me?” due to being fed up with society expecting everyone to conform as the same as everyone else. For example, in music where autotune is king, thus creating a ‘sameness’ to many of the songs out there or conforming to the likes of Simon Cowell et al or a cover version of a cover version of a cover version. (Yes, I’ve deliberately mentioned it three times.) Image: pick up any magazine and the young are ‘influenced’ into looking a certain way (never mind that most of the images displayed are airbrushed or photoshopped). There are many people, for instance, who so much want to fit in with everyone else, that they would try to hide their individuality. This could be them changing or adapting their accents to ‘blend in’ and becoming a completely different personality entirely. All these elements led me to write this track. A track that says: ‘Look! Be yourself and do not become someone you are not, all because society expects you to.’
Were there any challenges or breakthrough moments during the songwriting process for this "Is it a Crime to be Me?"
No.
What did you enjoy most about making "Is it a Crime to be Me?"
The recording of the song at the studio. All of us thoroughly enjoyed recording it as it’s such a fun song to do. It was also one of those songs where I could really let loose on the punk vocals.
What challenges have you faced as a singer-songwriter, and how have you overcome them?
I think one of the challenges is keeping true to myself and not being ‘influenced’ to be what I’m not. For instance, I am not an RnB singer and modern RnB I find (personally) to be a complete snooze-fest. My voice is not an RnB voice either. When I was much younger, I faced pressures by ‘some’ in the music business to ‘try and sound like’ Mariah Carey/Whitney Houston or have more soul in my voice. I attended many auditions when I was much younger where they were after the ‘token black female singer’ and because I did not fit the mould, had the usual “Don’t call us, we’ll call you” response, mainly because they wanted the wailing and the high pitched ‘hold the note for 2 months’ requirement.
These types of attitudes used to really get to me as these people made me feel like a failure as a singer/songwriter. Nowadays, I adopt the ‘couldn’t give a flying fig about what you think’ I sing the way I want to sing and I’ll write what I want to write. If I want to write a ballad, a rock track, a punk track, a reggae track or whatever, then I will do so, regardless of what other people think! Someone wrote me a note that said: ‘Be True to Yourself’ which I framed. I always have those words always resonated with me.
How do you approach collaborations with other musicians and maintain creative synergy?
Well, I’ve been working with the same group of (session) musicians and music Producers who I am fortunate to have a similar creative mindset to myself. It all starts with the bare bones of the song and from that point of my basic home studio recording, I decide who would be ‘the best fit’ for the song. Many of the songs I write, I approach my session guitarist who builds on what I have recorded with this part. Does the song require strings? Does it require a piano? Again, I have a couple of musicians that I approach to do this. Once all of these are added to the song, I then decide which studio/music producer would be best to work on it. In addition to ‘Lethia’s Natorium’, I do have other music projects that I work on such as my solo work, ‘Heartfelt Dreamland’, ‘Tepliunia Soundscapes’ and ‘The Angry Ukulele Lady’ (the latter was what led to the creation of ‘Lethia’s Natorium’, with the difference that not all songs have a Ukulele in it). One of the music producers that I use comes from mainly a rock background and is behind the majority of ‘Lethia’s Natorium’s songs. The other music producer and studio I use has more of a broad range background in terms of the music he does. It’s good to have my music shared between the two studios in terms of production, as it helps keep the songs fresh and not ‘samey’. Fortunately, the two Producers are good in terms of bouncy ideas. There may have been something I have thought of in terms of the creative process and their input helps take the songs to the next level.