Lana Del Rabies is an artist who defies easy categorization. Her music blends industrial noise with elements of dub, classical, and EDM, creating a sound that is both abrasive and deeply engaging. Beyond the music, Del Rabies incorporates a powerful visual component, often directing the process herself. Her live performances are not just concerts, but rituals, imbued with a sense of intention and a willingness to embrace the unpredictable. In a recent conversation, Del Rabies opened up about her creative process, her influences, and the spiritual dimension of her work.
Del Rabies is currently working on a new record, aiming for completion by mid-year. While she hasn’t finalized label plans, she’s hoping to work with a label that can elevate her reach.
On this upcoming record and her most recent album, Strega Beata, Del Rabies’ creative process is deeply research-driven. “I tend to do a lot of nerdy research on the themes and concepts I’m writing about, and I like to really create a world with it,” she explains. “That’s what I did with Strega, and that’s kind of how I’m approaching this record.”
Her live performances are more than just musical events; they are carefully constructed practices. “I view them as sort of a ritual,” she says. While she has basic vision for each set, she allows for a degree of improvisation and adaptation. “The context of each set is going to be different, right? And as I’ve started touring extensively again, more recently, I really remembered the power in that chaos element of, like, I can’t physically control where I’m at.”
This acceptance of chaos is a key element of her performances. “I have a baseline intention, but where it was at the beginning of this tour, versus where it was personally and, you know, energetically to the audience—by the end of that tour, it’s shifted,” she explains. “And I like to leave room for those things. I think that’s why I don’t like to get too dogmatic about my practice, because I like that chaos.”
“Like when I was in Vancouver, we had major sound issues happen that even confounded the sound guy,” she elaborates. “My stuff was getting unplugged, and it created this moment where it completely changed the end of the set, where it turned into the wall of noise you saw when I played in Denver. That was fully improvised, just because of the conditions of how things were in Vancouver, and the things I was picking up on energetically, the physical circumstances, the energy circumstances. So it’s important to me to let those things reveal and to let that intention shift as the set happens. And by the end of it, it’s like I’m transformed. Hopefully the audience is transformed.”
This willingness to adapt and incorporate unexpected elements is a hallmark of her work. “I’m really enjoying taking those fuck up moments and transmuting them into a part of that power and that ritual.”
Del Rabies’ physical presence on stage is captivating, suggesting a background in dance. “When I was a kid, I did a lot of dance. I did gymnastics and dance. Later in life, I got into yoga. I ended up getting free training at a studio for a year, and I got really into the spiritual side of yoga as well.”
This connection to her physicality informs her performances. Although she moves on stage in a way that initially seems violent, she does so with intention. “The longer I do this project, the more physical it gets. And it’s transformed from being this brutal throwing myself around, to actually being very intentional and having grace during the chaos. I even wear dancer’s knee pads now because it’s not me 10 years ago, throwing myself around just for the sake of doing it. Like, I’m really trying to do something with it, so I try to take those experiences with physical practices and bring it into the set in a way that’s appropriate.”
While her music incorporates elements of noise, it possesses a distinct musicality that sets it apart. Del Rabies’ diverse influences and her unique approach to creating music contribute to her distinctive sound. “Some people are like, ‘Oh, you’re an industrial musician. Some people, oh, you’re a noise musician. Some people are like, Oh, you’re like, heavy, fringe, weird. I relate to subculture in a way that’s very different than I think a lot of people who traditionally come up in these scenes. And I’m still kind of processing what that means.”
She acknowledges her unique position within the music world. “Sometimes I’ve said to people, I feel like a tourist. I fully get if someone looks at me, and they think, she’s like, ‘not in this.’ It’s like, no, I’m not. This is not how I came up, and it’s a weird thing to be like, really appreciating a lot of these facets of these subcultures, but to know that I’m really kind of an alien. I really do feel like an outsider to the outsiders, but I’m kind of embracing it and trying to kind of figure out what that means moving forward. I know I want to grow and do more with my career.”
Del Rabies’ music is a testament to the power of embracing diverse influences and allowing for the unpredictable. Her willingness to explore the depths of human experience, both personal and universal, combined with her captivating live performances, makes her stand out from other noise artists as a unique creator.
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