Lights Goes It Alone on Acoustic EP

Posted on Jul 23rd 2010 1:30PM by Jason MacNeil
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Over the last 18 months, synth-pop artist Lights has played about 170 shows around the world to promote her debut album, 'The Listening.' So when the Toronto-based singer (born Valerie Anne Poxleitner) finally had 10 days off this past March, it should have been a chance to chill out and rest.

Instead, Lights spent the time working on acoustic tracks, which evolved into the 'Lights.Acoustic' EP, which hit stores in Canada this week and was also released online.

"I did it all on my own," she tells Spinner. "I did all the engineering, producing, performances. Even the pictures were taken by friends on Polaroid cameras -- it was just very hands-on.

"It's just really cool to see something out and done just by me."

Lights cut her musical teeth playing acoustically in coffee shops, and the performer says she got an extra boost from fans during Ustream chats and YouTube posts featuring just her and an acoustic guitar.

"A lot of fans were kind of asking for it," she says. "I thought it would be a really cool way to show people another side of the music and bring things back to basics for the summer, give the fans what they wanted."

The five-song EP includes three tracks found on 'The Listening' -- 'Saviour,' 'February Air' and 'River' -- alongside two previously unreleased tunes. Lights says choosing which songs to include was tough, but her biggest hurdle was accepting what the EP would sound like.

"I'm a big fan of production, I love production and I love [for] everything to sound perfect," she says. "And when you make an acoustic EP, it's not going to sound perfect. It's getting comfortable with that and... knowing when to stop [trying to make it perfect]. That's a level of comfort with something so raw that it's a challenge for me and it's a really, really important challenge. It's going to make me better at what I do, so I'm excited to put that out. It's a little uncomfortable but in a good way."

To celebrate the release, Lights will mount a six stop, sold-out U.S. tour starting in Philadelphia, following her July 24 Lilith Fair gig in Toronto. Though it will be a different experience for her to perform solo, she's looking forward to knowing everything will be within her control.

"It's going to be a really cool opportunity to step outside something that I'm comfortable with," she says. "I'm just going to be up there on my own for an hour and that's going to be new and a real challenge as an artist. It's going to teach me a lot."

After that, she plays two more Lilith Fair dates and will head to the Reading and Leeds Festivals in the UK next month. She's also thinking of her next album, although it's still too early to tell where it's heading sonically.

"'The Listening' took a good number of years to get the right songs for," she says. "I better get started soon because I want it to be as good or better. It's definitely not going to be like an acoustic album, it's going to be electro but I'm hoping it's an elevation of everything that I am -- me getting more mature as an artist."

And while Lights is happy with her 'Lights.Acoustic' EP and touring, she doesn't seem pleased with how she was portrayed in her appearance on MTV's 'The City' reality show earlier this month.

"They definitely edited things to make it look like I did things I hadn't," she says. "It just opened my eyes to reality TV.

"Let's hope I'm not appearing on 'Cops' anytime soon -- although that would be interesting because that show rules!"