LORA, the rising Sydney artist who has been making waves in the indie-pop scene, is back with a gripping new single that will tug at your heartstrings. With her first track taken from an upcoming EP set to be released in spring 2023, LORA’s latest offering, “drive,” is an introspective look at the fears and vulnerabilities that come with falling in love.

In “drive,” LORA speaks candidly about the rollercoaster of emotions that one experiences when letting someone in, even if it means risking a broken heart. With her signature bouncy and colorful sound, the track manages to capture the tumultuous joy of adulting, which has become one of her many trademarks as a musician.

Following a massive 2022, where her sophomore EP adulting received airplay from some of the world’s biggest tastemakers, LORA is set to take the indie-pop world by storm once again this coming spring. We had the pleasure of chatting with the artist about getting into the world of music, her new record, and so much more.

Hey LORA! How did you first get into music, and when did you realize it was something you wanted to pursue professionally? 

I started singing lessons when I was 13 because my older brothers used to make fun of me for my awful singing, so in spite, I decided I’d get lessons. I fell in love with singing and then wrote my first song when I was 15. I didn’t really decide to actually pursue music until about 2020 when I first worked with my producer Joe Mason. We wrote a bunch of songs together and decided it would be fun to release them, and then things just grew from there. 

Out of curiosity, can you tell us more about the inspiration behind your moniker, LORA, and how it came to be? 

This is a dreaded question for me – I wish I had some interesting reason as to why I named the project LORA. Basically, I was keen to release an indie folk album under my own name in the future, so I needed something for this Indie Pop project. I tried a few different names, my middle name is Louise so it went from LOUISE to LORNA and landed on LORA. I had it as a placeholder for a while and eventually really liked it, so it stuck! 

Your new single “drive” explores the fear of vulnerability in relationships. Was there a particular experience or inspiration that led you to write this song? 

There sure was. I fell for someone quite hard just before I was about to go overseas for 4 months. I knew that I wanted to be with her, but it took me a long time to come to terms with that because I was afraid of what could happen, would she feel the same, will she find someone else in that time, am I crazy for feeling so much so quickly, if things do progress will she like what she sees, etc etc. The thoughts were going wild! Luckily, everything worked out! 

One of the things that I love about this record is the production. How do you balance creating upbeat and catchy melodies with honest and emotional lyrics? 

I think it really comes down to my comfort working with Joe Mason, my producer. Joe and I have an amazing friendship which makes it really easy to be vulnerable and say what I want to say in my lyrics, but we also have so much fun writing and creating which makes it easy to pull from the mood in the room to find the right balance. 

You’re also set to release an EP later this year. Can you give us any hints about what we can expect from this new project?

This is definitely the most vulnerable EP so far. I find it terrifying to be vulnerable so I’m trying to push myself out of my comfort zone a little bit. The EP has a theme of finding home within yourself and allowing others to be welcomed into that home. I talk about having walls up to protect yourself but as I’ve come to learn, sometimes it’s better to let them down if it’s for the right person. 

It’ll arrive on the heels of adulting, which helmed fan favorites like “slumber” and “bittersweet.” What’s your favorite part about putting out a full body of work as opposed to singles? 

I absolutely love making a body of work. It’s like creating chapters for a book about your life. When you hear a song you wrote two years ago it takes you right back to that place and you remember what you were feeling that day. It’s a journal that you can never lose. 

I know you’ve also got some tour dates coming up later this month with ioakim and Friends of Friends. What records are you most excited to play? 

I’m playing a few tracks for the first time that will come out on this new EP, so I’m super excited to play those and see how they are received. Drive is definitely one of my favorites to play—it’s so much fun and people seem to really enjoy it live which is always amazing to see. 

Lastly, who are some exciting new artists that you enjoy listening to at the moment? 

These aren’t particularly new artists, but are artists I’ve recently found and loved. I’m a massive fan of Nulifer Yanya’s latest record, an artist named memo boy, and have been pumping “Green Honda” by BENEE non-stop since it came out.