From Winnipeg, Canada, the pop artist, producer, multi-instrumentalist, and singer-songwriter Lhasa Petik channels pop's deepness and darkness with her latest single, "Here & Gone."
A prime example of versatility, Lhasa Petik is well-known for her distinct and husky vocal stylings while accompanied by her dear ukulele or guitar. Not to mention performing stand-up and learning the ins and outs of violin, electric bass, and piano, it's safe to say that Lhasa Petik always has a few tricks up her sleeve.
Getting down and dirty with her recent single, "Here & Gone," Lhasa Petik delivers a prime-time and modern dark-pop anthem where chills and thrills are inevitable. While Lhasa Petik offers her rhythmic and sultry performance, the surrounding production drenches our speakers in lust through each melodic and ominous tone.
Taking a listen to the dark single, "Here & Gone," we're met with Lhasa Petik's whispery and airy vocal stylings, offering similar dark tones to a classic Billie Eilish. While the beat begins expanding through mid-tempo hip-hop drums, melodic piano melodies, and growling sub-bass, the song's atmosphere swiftly sets into a sweltering and lustful groove.
Listening to Lhasa Petik's lyricism, she explains rather personal and emotional themes of feeling down and out. While her breathy vocals continue to haunt us throughout the song's entirety, the dreamy background vocals make their way in and sprint to the atmospheric and introspective outro.
Fall into the vibe of Lhasa Petik's latest dark-pop anthem, "Here & Gone," and introduce yourself to her explorative stylings on all digital streaming platforms.
Hello Lhasas and welcome to BuzzMusic. We adore the dark groove and feel of your recent single, "Here & Gone." What was the central theme and message you wanted to convey through this single?
Ayee, thank you so much, so glad you dig! ‘Here and Gone’ is definitely pretty dark because it details my struggles with my mental health in the last couple of months and just in general. Quarantine has got me in my feels a little bit more than usual, and this tune is me wearing my heart on my sleeve. I’m high key guilty of bottling my emotions and trying to push them away, so this vulnerability was definitely new. The track starts out in a place of nostalgia remembering life before Covid, but it also acknowledges that life was not perfect and there are flaws in any situation. I’ve been working towards embracing the highs and the lows that I’ve experienced because I think that contrast is what makes life interesting. The themes throughout the track include: the duality of emotions, indecision, running away from emotions, hence the title ‘Here and Gone.’
Did you produce "Here & Gone" yourself? What sort of feel and mood were you initially going for when navigating the song's sonics?
I did actually produce “Here and Gone” on my own, which is something I have been working towards. Although I absolutely love working with different artists and producers, I felt that this song along with a couple of my next releases needed to be solo projects. Because this song is so brutally honest, I wanted to put myself out there in every single aspect, and releasing something I produced myself was just another way of doing that. I absolutely loved pulling this track together because the process was totally opposite to how I usually work. The track doesn’t have many instruments like guitar or uke, so I just experimented with the production and created different elements/versions until it felt right. Regarding the sonics/energy, I wanted the heaviness of the track to reflect and compliment the lyrics. Naturally, I started with the bassline and built the entire track around it because it felt like the strongest element. To emphasize a change in vibe from all of my other stuff, I wanted to bring in some hyper-pop elements as well, so I tossed some autotune on a bunch of the background vocals. Eventually, the track got ridiculously massive and busy, so I ended up stripping some elements back or eliminating them completely. I think a lot of times with pop music, less is more, so this track involved a lot of prioritizing and ensuring that everything had a clear purpose.
Do you normally create such laid-back and haunting pop songs? Is this something we should continuously expect from you?
I feel like my way of writing shifts so much based on my mood, the season, the day, so I’m not even sure what to expect when I open a project. However, my biggest influences are definitely Lorde, Billie Eilish, and Sebastian Paul, so my natural leaning is towards darker songs both musically and lyrically.
We've noticed that your sound has been well-received by many blogs and playlists. Why do you think your music has been so successful and reached such acclaim?
Oh sheesh… I think the most important lesson I've learned was that you can’t please everyone; especially with art. I know that not everyone will resonate or even like my music, and I’m pretty ok with that. I don’t take offense easily to that sort of thing, so I’m not trying to pump out music that isn’t genuine. I’m just trying to make music that I’m happy with and would listen to myself, and cross my fingers that someone else will dig it as well.
What's next for you?
Super excited to be working on a TON of new music/projects, and I’m just trying to make every release better than the last. I’m also super hyped to start thinking and planning traveling/touring sometime soon (provided it is safe to do so.)
instagram.com/lhasapetik