Real Sounds Feature
Lexi Berg - Video Interview
By Real Sounds
Lexi Berg is a Swedish and American singer-songwriter in London. A classically trained pianist, Lexi combines her musicality and powerful...
Lexi Berg is a Swedish and American singer-songwriter in London. A classically trained pianist, Lexi combines her musicality and powerful vocals with intimate lyrics and classic melodies. Lexi self-released her debut single What If, which received critical acclaim and featured on the BAFTA and Oscar-nominated Netflix movie Pieces of A Woman. Lexi has since then received support on BBC Radio 2, Sunday Mirror, Channel 4 and has been featured on shows such as Love Island. She is now working on new music to be released in 2024.
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Transcript
Hi, my name is Lexi Berg. Welcome to Real.
Thank you very much for being here today.
Thank you for having me.
My first question is a bit more about your early age. At only age five, you were said to be a very good, classically trained pianist, if not a child prodigy. How did that influence your musical journey later on? And did that help you write your first song?
I wasn't a child prodigy when I was five. I started playing the piano when I was five. But I was treated like piano was my life and that was going to be my career from the age of maybe seven or eight. And that was a lot of pressure, I think. And so it was incredible because I loved the performing and I loved playing the songs. But I had a really hard time with the pressure of it all and like the competition and comparing myself to others. So I think it had like a lot of good things and a few bad things about it. And so when I realized I could sing and I didn't have to practice as much and it wasn't as lonely, I think I chose to go into singing and it wasn't until later, like 17 or 18, when I first really sat down and used the classical piano skills that I'd learned at a young age together with singing. So I think it influences everything that I do, really.
You talk about a family tragedy happening early on. Can you tell me more about what happened and why you had to flee? How did that affect your music and how did that affect your kind of age?
Well, going straight in. I grew up in Sweden, so it was a very safe environment. And then I lived with my uncle who was bipolar and manic depressive. And he had a lot of ups and downs. And when he was good, it was amazing. But when he was low, it was really tough and he was kind of closed off to the world. And he ended up basically taking his life or, as we say now, died by suicide, which is the correct PC term. And at the age of, I think it was 13 or 14, that's like a massive shock to the system. I mean somebody who is that close to you, who you live with, passing away and also choosing to pass away. I completely blocked it out. So I didn't talk about him. I refused to mention his name. When anybody said his name, I would say, no, I don't want to talk about it. And I just suppressed it. And then we left Sweden. I basically didn't really go back. And the few times I went back, I was much older. I was like 17, 18, 19. And the whole city of Stockholm was kind of tainted with the memory of that whole period of my life. And it meant that I repressed all these emotions. And it meant that I didn't really explore a lot of the things that I think a lot of normal teenagers do. Like, I never had any romantic relationships. I was very scared of sharing personal emotions. I was really, really closed off. So it really wasn't until I was about 21 when my sister wrote a play about his suicide. And it basically, watching the play triggered me completely. And I had like a breakdown in front of about 150 people. And that made me realize that I hadn't dealt with it. And when I dealt with it, that was when I started writing music properly. Like really delving into what it means to write about something that's real. And ever since that moment, I've been trying to dig deeper and deeper into lyrics and melodies that are actually really exposing. And the way that it's influenced my writing and my performing is that it's taken me a really, really long time to be myself. Like a very long time. Because it was for 15 years, I just, not 15 years, but like 10 years, I've suppressed it. Suppressed any kind of feeling. So it's just like getting into that. And then also being able to share your emotional feelings through song, I think is an incredible gift. And I think by sharing your personal experiences, maybe you can help other people realize that they're not so alone in their personal experiences of these ups and downs. Yeah. I think if my uncle had been in this world now, it would have been maybe a different story because people talk about it more and people are more open. And I hope that I can make music that makes people think about it more and make people see that they're not so alone.
Would you say that's the general message you want to convey to your listeners?
Yeah I think the thing with me is that I try to write happy songs sometimes, but they're not the ones that connect with people. And I think I don't feel as connected because for me, it's like a purge. When I write a song, it's because I'm so angry or I'm so sad or I'm so lonely. And the only thing I can do is go to the piano and write a song. My piano is like my best friend in that scenario. And so I'm having a conversation with the piano and I'm using the piano to kind of visibly show my emotions. And what was the question? I was just imagining being at the piano and thinking, I really love it. Look, the thing that I think the message that I'm trying to, that was the question, right? Yeah. The message I'm trying to portray is that there are so many people out there who are experiencing the same thing that you are. And often I've felt like I'm completely alone, like completely alone. And so by talking about that, I think other people realize when they're feeling completely alone, oh, wait, I'm not the only one who feels this way. And then one of the songs that I wrote, for example, is called Help Us To Help You. And when I first went on tour with that song, so many people would come up to me and say, I felt exactly how you feel in that song. And that to me is worth everything. Even if it's just three people in your whole life that have said that they've actually experienced some kind of emotional purge from something that you've written. I mean, that's worth it, right? Yeah. I have to keep reminding myself that.
Oh, yeah.
Sometimes you can forget and that is there.
If you could gain a new skill or ability instantly, what would it be and why? It could be music related.
I want to be DJing really well soon. If I could just get that immediately, I would love that.
How do you, is it, do you want to DJ somebody else's music or your own?
Both. Both. Oh, and produce. Like produce perfectly. Like if I could just like this be a professional producer, mixer, DJ, that would be amazing. But I'm learning. House music and dance music can be really emotional. And that's what I would love to kind of play with. Like that balance of almost creating sad dance music.
Have you heard of ecstatic dance?
No, I haven't.
Ecstatic dance is spiritual. You basically go and dance as freely as you can, almost like spiritual techno.
It would be awesome to bring that into a more mainstream house music vibe, with the same feeling of releasing something on the dance floor. I want to experience it one day.
What's your favorite vegetable?
Cucumber. Cucumber.
Why a cucumber?
Cucumber. I don't know. I think I'd like cucumber with everything. What's my favorite vegetable? I mean, what is a vegetable? Avocado is a fruit, so that doesn't count. Spinach is delicious. There are loads of things. What a weird question.
That's what we're here for: weird questions.
Cucumber is good because you can dip it in loads of things, and if you have eye bags you can put it on and somehow it will fix everything. Cauliflower is really good too because it is so multifunctional.
Can you tell me more about your experience of being scouted by a record label from a very young age? And you're signed now to a company that's from Warner Music.
Not anymore.
Oh, not anymore? Sorry about that.
That's okay.
Actually, let's talk about that. Would you actually recommend artists consider signing? And what was your experience with that?
Yes, I would recommend signing. But I think when you sign, you have to have a very strong idea of what you want and who you are. And I think the mistake that I had was thinking that if I just did what other people told me to do, that it would work. And actually what you need to do when you sign to something or a company is have a really strong idea of what you want and how to use the money. And basically you can listen to advice from others, but really it has to come from you. And I had quite a lot of mixed advice from a lot of different people. And I'm going to blame also the fact that it was COVID. And so the things that I'm really good at and that I love were all taken away from me, which is like performing, which is like interviews like this, meeting people, meeting fans, going on tour. That was all gone. So the only thing we could focus on was the visual stuff. I didn't have any confidence in my taste. I don't know anything about visual arts. I don't know anything about music videos or whatever, even though I'd made two by myself independently, which I actually think are the best ones I've made.
Which one were they?
Take Off Your Disguise and What If. They were my first two ones. They're like in the mountains. I don't know if you've seen them. Yeah. And then the first video I did was Into the Sea. And I worked so specifically with the director. I was like, this is what I want. This is what I want. This is what I want. That was my favorite one out of everything. I think you have to stick to what you really know, what you love and what you think is the best. Yeah. And also just trust yourself. People can tell you this or that and this is what's going to be big. And like no one knows. So as long as you are yourself, like 100% yourself and 100% authentic, people will resonate with you. Or someone out there will resonate with you. So rather than trying to chase something, try and do your own thing and see who follows.
And is that why you decided to get away from being a signed artist? Would you consider signing again?
I would, but I would love to sign to a small label.
Would you say, because Warner it was a branch of Warner that you were signed to. Was that like why you think it was difficult?
No, I think, I mean, I think they were really great with me, honestly. I think the main thing was, was that we didn't really know which way to go. And so, and I'm very much about trying loads of different things. But what I should have done and what I could have done, but I didn't know at the time, was to really start from scratch with me and focus on the craft. Focus on what makes me distinct. What makes an artist, the artist. What's made them come this far in the first place. Whilst we looked at things like, what has made this other artist big. Can we follow that method? Or like, oh, should we dress me up like this? Or should we do this sound? Well, instead of doing that, what we should have done is looked at, okay, what am I good at? Piano. So what I would have loved to have done, if I'd known this information then, would have been like, okay, I'm really good at the piano. What makes my style like a little bit me? Okay. Take that, expand it, like maybe edit it, bring it out. What do I like to draw? Like bring that into it and bring that into the design. What art do I like? Bring that into the album art. Like really focus on what makes that artist individual. And what I would love to do now is work with a smaller record label and do that. Okay. But I would have loved to have known that when I was with Warner because obviously Warner is a major label and they have a lot of money. And that would have been fun to play with. But at the same time, again, it was COVID. Like I couldn't perform. I couldn't…