Present yourself to the readers
My name is Anna-Christina and I'm the singer/songwriter/guitarist of London based rock band Lilygun.
Your texts? What are they talking about? How does inspiration come?
Like most other songwriters, I draw inspiration for lyrics from life experiences. I am an organic songwriter. I write songs fast with little thought, only feeling. This means, that on occasion, I have written songs and not really understood their true meaning until some time after, when I read through the lyrics or hear the recording of the song. I only write songs when I feel I have something to say and to help me clear a negative emotion which needs to be released. Songwriting is like therapy!
Are you day or night?
I am both day and night, light and dark, gentle and strong. A contradiction to what others may think of me on first glance. I have never been one who fits in but then again, I think we are all the same. Souls trying to fulfill our purpose, peace, love and joy.
What are your personal musical tastes and your influences?
I have a wide taste of music styles I like to listen to. Everything from classical to metal, goth to pop, I just love music as a general. To be honest, I like so many different styles and genres of music that I really don't think Lilygun's sound has been influenced at all by any one artist or band. The same can be said of my personal image. In fact, I make it a point to make sure I don't look or sound like anyone else!
Generally, what's the reaction of the public during your concerts?
Because Lilygun is so difficult to pin down to any one sound, we're lucky in the way we are able to play such varied gigs. We've played at rock, metal, goth, alternative and even indie gigs. Our set list is adaptable. Generally at first, every band has to win an audience over but if you're honest about who you are and deliver your music with passion, you can win over any crowd. People don't like bullshit offered to them. Lilygun has never been a band that played often, so when we have had gigs, the reaction to us has always been brilliant!
What's your best live memory? And why?
The first time we played Gotham Festival at 02 Academy Islington in 2009. It was a big gig for us at the time and I remember feeling like the underdog there, even though we had a bigger crowd to see us perform than some of the other bands. Some of the other bands were stuck up, acting as though they were bigger and better than us. I couldn't even get in the dressing room to touch up my makeup! We had to make do in the corridor! Before we went on stage, I wandered about the audience feeling their vibe and being "one" with them. Most singers don't do this but I like to connect with people. It's an important part of how I perform. A few minutes before we went on stage, Piranha (my bass player at the time) turned to me and said "show them who you are". And so I did. No faking, no bullshit, just honesty, power and balls! By the end of the set we had the whole crowd, maybe 400 people or so, chanting "more, more, more!". It was magical. After that, Lilygun never played to an empty room and I made sure we had a dressing room! :-)
