by Israel Mejia
I can’t fault Lauren Auder for being a few minutes late to our scheduled video call. Short of breath as she logs on, she informs me she just came back from a walk. It seems we all have been finding our individual way of keeping some sort of normalcy during our current climate. Lauren quickly brushes her vibrant, curly red hair from her face and politely smiles as I ask her how she is, almost unsure as to how to answer my question. Understandable.
With the excitement of her third EP, 5 Songs for the Dysphoric, being released the day after our conversation, one could imagine how a 22-year-old would feel. Surely there is a mixture of curiosity and apprehensiveness, gifting to the world a piece of art during a global pandemic. Lauren already has two previous projects under her belt, along with collaborations with Caroline Polachek, going on tour with Christine and the Queens, and having modeled for Gucci and Celine under Heidi Slimane. As she’s done far more than her peers at this point, it’s no surprise she seems a bit unfazed by her own prowess.
“This time I wanted to have a less of a conceptual record and [rather] a full piece and a more of a snapshot of time,” Lauren explains to me as she points out that her second EP, Two Caves In (March 2020). 5 Songs for the Dysphoric is her second project released during the current pandemic. “If I write the songs that I made during this period both of the world and my life, I had kind of a yardstick to remember this time by.”
Israel Mejia: It’s always exciting when anyone releases a new project, and a little nerve-racking as it’s work to be seen, listened to and consumed. How are you feeling?
Lauren Auder: It’s a strange time to release new music. Normally speaking there would be some kind of symbolic moment that would represent the release, generally speaking there would be a release show which obviously isn’t possible. But I’m very happy to have the music out, and I’m very proud of the songs so that’s a good feeling.
IM: A little bittersweet if anything
LA: That’s the vibe
IM: Being that 5 Songs for the Dysphoric is your second project released during the pandemic, do you think you will revisit any of your previous work when showcasing your new project?
LA: This time I wanted to have something that felt less of a conceptual record and more of just a snapshot of time. I guess I’m keeping myself very busy. It felt right that the songs that I made during this period both of the world and my life, I had kind of like a yardstick to remember it by. I will revisit it eventually and there will be songs that I will reinterpret.
IM: Do you find artistic change easy?
LA: I don’t think it comes easy but it’s kind of necessary to feel motivated to make anything really.
IM: I want to ask you about something quite obvious about yourself — your hair. You have gorgeous, curly, red hair.
LA: I think the way I’ve presented myself in the public sphere or through my artwork, especially for the first two EP’s, there was like a very purposeful shift between my eyes closed, two eyes opened to flicking of the face and all this stuff. Progressively there is an intention of shooting myself less visual and that’s due to my own personal growth.
IM: How do you think our current time will influence your future work?
LA: Even before the pandemic hit, the record I’ve been writing for a while is heavily about the emotional repercussions of capitalism. It’s kind of doubled down on a lot of the stuff I’m writing.
IM: When you look back to your childhood, and you look at your life now, are you surprised of who you’ve become and who you’ve grown into?
LA: In some ways obviously. I think it’s quite satisfying to know that if I was talking to myself at age 14, I would think I was doing alright. I would be pretty happy with who I am and where I am going.
With the world laid at her feet it’s obvious why Lauren chooses to go on walks to clear her head. How many moments of free time will she have to herself before she is thrust into a post-pandemic future?
5 Songs for the Dysphoric is now streaming on all platforms. Watch her video for “Heathen” here.
Photos by Crowns & Owls ℅ Lauren Auder.