The twenty-three years old singer-songwriter and producer talks about her last EP, 5 Songs for the Dysphoric, and her experiences in music and fashion
Songs for the Dysphoric by Lauren Auder
Lauren Auder’s latest EP is called 5 Songs for the Dysphoric. Dysphoria can occupy a large part of a person’s life, even when young: «As a trans person it is something that I have experienced every day», narrates artist Lauren Auder tracing the major stages of her debut. «I started making music for fun with friends. I matured the ambition to be a writer, and I understood that I could express myself through words, using music and songs». Inspiration comes from the world of novels and poetry. «My interest has to do with the words and the way you use those words – they drive my lyrical process».
«Primarily it is the first music that I have written off to have come out. I tried to address these things with less mystery and less metaphor around it. I just wanted to call things by their name, by using the most straightforward language that I can. Also titles are so simple and those five songs have been a key step for me: finally speaking out on these things». That record is different from the previous one, talking about the sound, too.
«There was a desire to try different things on this album. It has to do with the fact that I have felt much more comfortable with myself and it allowed me to work with more tranquillity and to open my possibilities with other people, expanding my collaborations and to try new ways. I like to show the different sides of myself in music. I wanted to have a whole palette of different sounds so I could play with them. And I wanted to highlight my vocal and lyrical presence. Working on this album, my voice and lyrics were always the core and that is a fixed point, whatever music scenery moves around me».
Lampoon review: the paradox of success
Auder’s name is associated with the fashion world, as she has appeared in a few campaigns of major brands. «I have an appreciation for the crafts and for the creative minds behind it. I enjoy fashion. It is also something functional, because you must wear clothes, but I appreciate that it is a means of expression».
Emotions and thoughts that you have inside and how you show yourself to other people, they are elements for personal peace of mind, but where do you live is where you feel at home and comfortable everywhere and every time. «London. I have chosen to live here because, despite inconveniences and ups and downs, it is open. There is an equivalency between the place where you are and what you are doing there, but also between what you want to put and give there and what you want to receive and get there».
Being successful at a very young age, like Lauren Auder, can be also overwhelming. For now, everything has gone well: «I have received positive feedback for my music and for me as a stage act, and they have not implied my personal and private life. It has never been a tough part of my artistic life yet, it is more like an encouragement and I have not come yet to perceive these manifestations of consent as something intrusive or negative, I am just at the beginning of my musical career though and positive comments are more than offending things».
Lauren Auder
Singer-songwriter and a record producer, born in England but raised in France. She has released three ep so far: Who Carry’s You (2018), Two Caves In (2020) and 5 Songs for the Dysphoric (2021). She has been working in fashion for a few years, appearing in fashion campaigns of top brands.
Baroque pop is the label that music critics love to use describing the orchestral, cinematic and emotional songs by the twenty-three years old singer/songwriter and producer Lauren Auder, born in England but raised in the French small town of Albi, Occitanie. Despite her young age, Lauren Auder has been active in the alternative music scene for several years and in 2021 her new ep, titled 5 Songs for the Dysphoric, has been published by the New York City-based independent record label True Panther Records.
Claudia Galal
