As her star continues to rise, Cork singer-songwriter Lyra chats to Janice Butler about new music, a new relationship and a summer of festivals.
In recent years, Lyra has proved herself a powerhouse of the Irish music scene and her trajectory is only on the rise. Her big anthem track Losing My Mind was a chart topper last year and the artist kept herself busy during lockdown as a judge on Virgin Media’s talent show, The Big Deal.
This summer, the Cork native is doing what she does best; donning some flamboyant outfits and bringing high energy to the stages of big summer festivals in Ireland and the UK. She also released a new single at the end of May with dance hitmaker John Gibbons.
In their first collaboration, they have taken on a track by the legend that is Stevie Nicks; the ’80s anthem, Edge of Seventeen. "I am so excited to have this single out. I am very proud to be able to honour the inimitable Steve Nicks and I can’t wait for you to hear it, and also to be a part of this new collaboration with the incredible John Gibbons," says Lyra.
The star recently appeared on the series finale of the Late Late Show, celebrating its 60th anniversary with a mix of other Irish talents. In fact, she’s become a staple on the Friday night chat show, cementing herself as a nation’s favourite.
She lives between London and Dublin, flying over and back regularly, depending on where she’s working. When it comes to really getting home; well that’s back to ‘the real capital’ Cork; "home is where I turn into the babysitter for my sister’s three kids. The make-up comes off and I can just be myself."
Your new single Edge of Seventeen is a Stevie Nicks cover: how was the experience of recording it?
It was great fun, something a bit different. I love Stevie Nicks, her vocals are so amazing, so to be able to cover a song of hers was a bit nerve-wrecking to start with. I knew I was taking on a great, so that’s why I had to change it to make it mine because you can’t just do what Stevie does. You’ll never come out in front.
You’re known for writing your own songs, which can be very personal, so how do you find doing covers?
Sometimes I struggle with them because you really have to take the song apart and you’re singing someone else’s words or experiences. But in a way, it relieves the stress a bit because you’re not proving yourself as an artist with a cover, you’re just enjoying singing a song by another artist.
You wear your heart on your sleeve with your own songs, but as you’ve become better known, do you feel you need to hold back a bit on giving away too much of yourself?
So far, I haven’t been like that, I put everything into a song at the time that I’m writing it and if something needs to be said, I say it. I wrote a song recently and I know that with some of the words, when people hear it, they’ll think it’s quite raw. I was going to take a certain line out, but then I thought ‘This is the reality of the song and the line needs to be in there’. In music, as an artist, I like to be as true to myself as I can be. I find it makes the process a lot more unique to me. So at the moment, I’m not scared letting fans know everything. Maybe that will change if I do get more famous, but at the moment, I’m just enjoying letting people in and writing about break-ups, going out with my friends and being on the lash.
Are you in a relationship now or dating anyone?
I am dating someone, shock, horror! We’re going out probably a little over a year. He’s seen me with the no make-up on, it’s good. For me, it’s about finding someone that doesn’t mind my lifestyle and the fact I’m on the road a lot. I’m always open with people about that at the start of a relationship and the fact that I will want to move back to Ireland full-time at some point in my life. So if you want to sign up to that, you’re more than welcome! That’s the deal. I wrote a song about him a few weeks ago and he was thrilled with it.
So you definitely didn’t marry Hozier recently, as people surmised from an Instagram post of the two of you?
No, we definitely didn’t get married, although I probably should have just gone with it and put out a registry list for gifts. You wouldn’t believe how many messages I got on social media over that picture. To be fair, we do look like we’re getting married in the picture. He has a girlfriend and she must be mortified. I’m sorry!
I spoke to you just before lockdown, when you said that you felt you had a real momentum behind you. Then everything stopped, so have you regained that momentum?
Yes, definitely, it’s after picking up again, especially after I brought out Losing My Mind. I feel I’m starting to get it back and now with all the festivals back on, I’ve a full summer back up on stage and performing. I’m ready to go bigger and better this year, now that we had those two years off. I can’t wait to do Electric Picnic and of course, Indiependence down in Cork, where I’m third from the main act, so it will be night-time, full lighting, a real experience for me.
Will you return to The Big Deal if it is renewed?
Looking at the calendar at the moment, I doubt it, because there’s a lot coming up. I really enjoyed doing the show. It was so much fun and it was great to be able to try something different to performing, but for me, at the moment, my music is my main priority, especially since we’re able to tour again, so I want to focus on that.
Lyra will appear on the first episode of The Main Stage which airs this Friday on RTÉ One at 9:35pm.
