Meet Tiger Lilly, the chick who has been gracing my speakers with her Alanis Morissette-cum-Jewel like vocal tones for the past couple of months. As feisty as Morissette (although not so much “would she go down on you in a theatre?” and more “you live, you learn”) and with lyrics as hauntingly beautiful as Tori Amos, Tiger Lilly combines everything us music fans love about the women dominating the music industry these days. Grab a mixing bowl, throw in a tablespoon of “hell hath no fury like a woman scorned”, a dash of pop princess, a handful of individuality, a big helping of ambition & kindness and a huge sprinkling of talent and you’ve pretty much got the perfect recipe for Tiger Lilly, the lady I spent some time getting to know.
"Let me paint a picture, show you who I am today. Let me make it clear, I've got no regrets or confusion cause I am who I am today and I am what I want to be."
“I’ve been writing music for years – it’s my therapy. I was bullied at school and the only way I could cope was by writing. I know that sounds cliché, but it was the only thing that helped. Eventually, my writing just turned into lyrics and it all suddenly began to make sense,” explains Tiger Lilly, when I ask her what inspired her to approach the music industry. A simple answer, an honest answer in fact and an answer that makes me believe music is instilled in Tiger Lilly. “When I was 26, I read a book called The Secret by Rhonda Byrne. It’s all about the laws of attraction and that’s what encouraged me to turn my coping mechanism into a career.”
Her album, Reflections, was released in 2009 and, having just released a video to her song Promises, it is obvious music is a huge passion of Tiger Lilly’s. Not only being a means to cope for her, music has always inspired and captured Tiger Lilly’s attention. “When I was younger, Perfect by Alanis Morissette completely summed up how I felt about life. Now I’m much more positive and would say that I’ve used past experiences to help others and my own song New Life sums up my journey, so to speak.”
With an album, an EP and two singles all available on iTunes, three music videos under her belt and an upcoming album due for release in March 2012, it’s hard to imagine this rock chick being as driven about anything else, career wise. But with television shows like The X Factor and Britain’s Got Talent on the scene, I questioned Tiger Lilly as to whether she would ever consider taking part in a show of the same format. It must be hard being an independent artist especially in this day and age of ‘internet superstars’ (think Justin Beiber) and reality TV shows, like the ones mentioned above, that have been accused of ruining the industry. “I respect everybody who takes part in those kind of shows, but it’s not for me. I love watching them, regardless of what anybody says there’s no denying that they’re entertaining.” What about those artists that are a bit like Marmite, you either love them or hate them? “In all honesty, I think everyone has their own place and someone’s lark is another man’s crow so I do have a lot of respect for all artists. It’s hard to make it in this industry and if you make it, than good for you.”
Along with Tiger’s influences (Alanis Morissette, P!nk, Jewel etc), she’s made it pretty clear that her ideal collaboration would be with either Ed Sheeran, Jessie J or Kal Lavelle. “I love every single song on Jewel’s Spirit album and Blower’s Daughter by Damien Rice is one of my favourite songs.”
“You have to be ready to step on board an emotional rollercoaster and you also have to be prepared to hear the word no,” says Tiger Lilly on the negatives of the music industry. Her advice to young people wanting to step on board the music scene train is to “keep going and keep loving it.” And there you have it: simple, yet powerful, instructions from one of the UK’s hottest independent artists. Surely with so much under her belt already, there can’t be much more for Tiger Lilly to do? “In three years time, I would like to have released at least 3 albums, received a few prestigious awards and formulated a plan that allows me to tour the world with my band and schmooze as best as I possibly can.” You heard it here first, ladies and gentlemen, so I advise you to keep your eyes and ears peeled for Tiger Lilly in the future. Just like the greats that have strutted their stuff and sung about heartbreak in a fashionable manner, she is definitely not one to be missed.
Interview by Victoria Gottschalk. You can read her own blog here. Photograph by Vicky Baptiste,
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