Q&A: In Conversation with Lily Talmers about “The Big Idea”
INTERVIEW
INTERVIEW
☆ BY NTHATILE MAVUSO ☆
“THE BIG IDEA,” THE LATEST SINGLE FROM LILY TALMERS, IS A POIGNANT REFLECTION ON LIFE'S COMPLEXITIES BALANCED PRECARIOUSLY ON THE EDGE OF SORROW AND JOY. With its infectious groove and uplifting horn section, this folk-infused track emphasizes the depth of its existential themes in a delightful, meaningful manner.
Talmers, a Michigan-born, Brooklyn-based artist and band leader, is leading a new era of Americana. Praised by NPR for her "graceful, delicate voice" reminiscent of Big Thief's Adrianne Lenker and Lomelda's Hannah Read, her lyricism draws inspiration from 1960s folk revivalists like Leonard Cohen and Judee Sill. Her melodies blend intimacy, refined wit, and a distinctly Midwestern charm.
Talmers' music is a masterclass in nuance and exploration weaving together threads of Americana, Greek roots, and Western classical music to create a rich and colorful mosaic of sound. Her storytelling is transportive, thanks to a folk sound that's both timeless and contemporary.
Luna had an introspective conversation with Lily Talmers about her songwriting process and what the hell the “big idea” is.
LUNA: How does your Midwestern upbringing shape your lyrical themes and musical sensibilities?
TALMERS: Now that I live on the East Coast, I think a lot about how being landlocked influences a regional identity. I think there’s a certain vastness to Midwestern scapes that feels important to the scope of my writing, there is a constant, looming feeling of more land and more land and more yard and more distance to drive. There’s a sense of that interminable distance in my songs. I can write tunes that are plenty groovy and fun, but they’re always going to elicit a certain sense of stuck-ness, and ask that you dwell inside of them. It can be a real chore, to be frank. Whoops! We don’t choose where we grew up.
LUNA: Your music blends elements from various traditions, including Americana, Greek, Lusophone, and classical music. Can you discuss how these diverse influences converge in your songwriting process, and how you navigate genre boundaries to create a distinctive sound?
TALMERS: Melodic intervals, or the spaces between one note and the next, are the real heroes of musical expression and feeling, I think. It’s the unit of musical expression I can most often find intentionally stealing from other music, but it’s also the hardest to detect. I love the drama of Greek and Portuguese and Western classical music, and their biggest, most gaping, aching intervals. A lot of Brazilian music I love for the opposite reason— so much of my favorite music comes out of the 60’s, where the smallest intervallic movement can hold so much. And of course, the influence of American music pervades everything, inevitably, so much so that it’s hard to track.
LUNA: Can you walk us through your songwriting process for "The Big Idea?”
TALMERS: My process usually entails following the lead of a pithy little melodic bit—this tune was exactly that. “What the hell is the big idea? Nothing really bad, brother!” came to me, and I just rode the wave. I wrote the melody and demoed it acapella, outlying the rhythm by clapping and scribbling some notes, and then the next day I tightened it all up a bit and wrote the guitar part.
LUNA: "The Big Idea" seems to balance optimism and existential angst. Can you elaborate on the inspiration behind this dichotomy and how you aimed to translate it musically?
TALMERS: I think the real humor in the song lies in understanding it in the broader context of my writing. Like—I wrote two full-length records obsessively detailing the ways that hope is both completely deceptive AND inescapably human. One of them is even titled “Hope Is The Whore I Go To.” HA! I think when you hear someone who did that song “nothing’s bad,” the flippancy gains new dimensions.
That said, there’s also a real sincerity. This song is laughing at the simplicity and profundity of forgiveness at once! And how something heavy can become weightless over time. I am revealing myself to be an unreliable narrator. There’s nothing more human than that.
LUNA: Recording songs live in one continuous take with a full band requires remarkable musicianship and skill. What inspired this approach?
TALMERS: So many things—to begin with, I hate playing to a click and isolating my guitar playing and singing. To me, they are one organism! And then click stomps on my phrasing intuition, which is the essential pulse of the song. I am, of course, open to these outlooks changing as I learn and grow as a musician. They are not absolute. But it’s been the ethos of my last few records, and I’m lucky my recording engineer Morgan Brown is firmly on the same page in the challenges of live recording being best for my music.
I also think there’s clarity in letting the record reflect what you can execute in one take. I sometimes think of recordings like historical records—I want to be able to remember who we all were as musicians at each juncture of my recording history, mistakes and all!
LUNA: What's next for you? Any upcoming tours, releases, or collaborations on the horizon?
TALMERS: I’ll be putting out the full LP in January! The exactitudes are to be announced.
