CELLIST & COMPOSER DOM LA NENA
Dom La Nena is a composer, cellist and singer born in Brazil, where she began her music studies at the age of 5. After studying classical cello in Buenos Aires and Paris, Dom accompanied various artists on tour including Jane Birkin, Jeanne Moreau, Etienne Daho and Piers Faccini. Her solo albums are acclaimed by international press such as The Wall Street Journal ("A young Brian Wilson"), The New Yorker ("Every song is sacred"), BBC ("Amazing and beautiful"), and The Guardian (“An enchantment”).
Since 2013 she has performed on the many of the most respected stages in the world (Philharmonie de Paris, Philarmonie du Luxembourg, Montreal Jazz Festival, Vienna Konzerthaus, Barbican Center, Southbank Center, etc.).
Following the critically acclaimed solo album Tempo in 2021, Dom La Nena returns with a new solo instrumental album entitled Leon, named after the nickname she gave to her cello. Leon is an intimate instrumental work, conjuring a haunting and transcendental atmosphere.
Tell us about your greatest inspirations or influences for the album Leon, please.
I think it’s always difficult to speak about inspirations or influences because this is something that is often very unconscious. I truly believe that every piece of music I listen to, all the books I read, the movies I see, all of my travels, and also every little thing of daily life are influences and present within my music, often it is not easy to say how or why.
We’d love to hear more about your creative musical process. How were the compositions for this album born?
Leon is my fourth solo album and I consider it to demonstrate a big change in my musical approach as it is the first time I recorded a fully instrumental album.
In the past, I’ve mostly written songs, as I am also a singer-songwriter. Of course, my cello was always present but not as a soloist. When I started to work on Leon, I had the strong desire to compose solely for the cello, to change the roles and place my cello as a soloist again. I come from a classical background, with many years of classical instrumental repertoire, so in a way, this process was also a reconnection to my musical roots. I didn’t really know where I was going…it was completely experimental. I spent two months in my own studio with my cello. I got into an ‘unconscious’ mood and allowed the music to flow. It was a very solitary process, I’ve done everything alone on the album except for the mix. That’s how Leon was made.
How are the current trends in technology and innovation affecting your work as a creative?
It is a good question and I think I haven't explored the latest technical innovations enough to speak about it. Personally, I consider myself as a kind of ‘resistance’ to too much technology on music. To give you an example, on my live set-up I use a lot of pedals, especially loops pedals. Everything is played live: I build musical loops but there’s nothing pre-recorded. Of course there are imperfections, but that’s part of the magic of live music. Unfortunately, today in pop music it has become normal to make concerts with pre-recorded elements (instruments or vocals)… sometimes I go to see a show and I almost have the feeling I am listening to Karaoké. I think it is hard to feel deeply moved by this kind of premeditated live music. It sounds too clean, too perfect and too cold to be live music.
What most excites you about your upcoming release?
We put so much energy, feelings, emotion and devotion to create an album. I am not certain people can imagine how hard we work to make an album possible, especially today when, very often (and it is my case), you are not only the artist, but also the producer. We often need to wait quite long between the moment you record the album and the release date, because there are lots of things to set up to achieve a proper release… And that waiting is not always easy to deal with! The moment you finally put the music out it is a very big relief and happiness, to finally be able to share all these feelings with other people. In the case of Leon, it is especially exciting because it is something quite different from the albums I’ve done in the past, so it feels like opening a new musical door, taking new paths, exploring new ways to make music and sharing it.
What does well-being mean to you?
Personally, the most difficult thing has been finding a good balance between work and personal life. As musicians we usually have a very intense work schedule, and it is sometimes hard to create breaks. We can easily work non stop for years... I used to do it like this for the most part of my life. But I became a mother recently and that’s definitely not possible anymore! Today one of the most important things for me is to find a good balance, and I know when it’s not well-balanced, I can’t feel good.
