n an industry known for its ruthless search for the next big thing, Adrianne Lenker is in it for the long haul. The 32-year-old American musician speaks as though she is in the early stages of a marathon: she is a “craftsperson”, who wrote her first song aged eight, recorded her debut album at 13, and is now in the process of figuring things out. “I still consider myself a beginner,” she says.
Disconnecting from technology was crucial for the process. “The energy of a cell phone or a computer does something to the energy field,” says Lenker. “It can be this thing that almost latches on to your eyeballs and sucks you in and takes part of your soul or something.” The album’s recording process was fully analogue: recorded on tape, mixed on an analogue console and cut directly on to the acetate used to make records.
At the other extreme, there is the risk of emotional overexertion, something that is especially difficult to manage on tour. Lenker is a powerhouse performer, giving herself fully to the experience . Just before the pandemic, after six years of almost nonstop touring, Lenker ended up in hospital: “I hit a wall – I had just been going in survival mode.