Lester The Fierce

(Video content) - Balcony TV

Singer-songwriter Anita Lester has been a force on the Melbourne music scene for some time, involving herself in various ambitious projects- the most renowned being the staging of an orchestral concert of Radiohead covers at an abandoned prison. Her main focus now though is Lester The Fierce and The Summer Deluge is an EP of emotive folk music that’s edgy but crafted with both fragile and powerful moments. Opening track The Hunter sets the scene of the EP and the immediate thing one notices is the pristine instrumentation and how delicate and haunting Lester’s voice is. Her voice seems as delicate as glass yet it soars beautifully above the accompaniment. November has a twinkling piano introduction which accompanies her voice before the song is lifted by a driving rhythm section only to then shrink away once again to leave her voice to see out the song. The debut single from the EP Holland has a more urgent feel and while the push and pull of the drums sets the pace, guitar feedback is cleverly used as soundscapes to set the mood. It will be interesting to see what sort of depth in songwriting Lester has when she eventually releases a long player but based on this EP commercial success is surely on the horizon. - Alternative Media Group

“Are you sure channel V will play the video with a fish gutting bit?”

“Yeah for sure man, remember the fish flapping about in the Faith No More video – they loved that shit!”

So goes the creative decisions over at Lester The Fierce HQ. A simply beautiful song that gets an arty narrative and we end up with a fish head flailing about whilst some old folks dance in the street. It would’ve been tempting to extend the gorgeous shots used for the promo of the EP ‘The Summer Deluge’ but Lester The Fierce has gone on to make an interesting video with a story. Shot on what I imagine is a 5D, the shallow depth of field and lovely if not gloomy shots of Melbourne weave a tale that has a wonderful soundtrack from the very talented Anita Lester. I will definitely be checking out the EP launch at the Phoenix Public House on the 1st Dec. - Who The Hell?

Whooo Weeee! There’s some good music coming out of Australia these past couple of months. A lot of them seem to be highly creative, interesting and talented Australian women:

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LESTER THE FIERCE
Another Melbourne songwriter and chanteuse, Anita Lester is Lester The Fierce. She unveiled her debut EP ‘The Summer Deluge’ last year, and she has recently released a gorgeous new single “Colours”. She’s also a freelance animator and artist, as well as a performer, so she’s very much involved in the Melbourne creative scene. You might have known Lester when she was in a well known Melbourne outfit Me & The Grownups. She has since gone solo and has an identity and sound that is nothing less than enchanting. If you like the idea of a Joni Mitchell, Kate Bush and Lykke Li collab, Lester The Fierce will be right up your alley. Here’s the video for “Colours”, the illustrations, animation and direction was created by Lester. - Eye On Music

Lester the Fierce – Anita Lester – is a visual artist and performer. Her latest EP, The Summer Deluge, brings a mix of melancholy lyrics, cinematic instrumentation and dark folk rock to the Melbourne music scene.

From her prior work in the band Me and the Grownups, Lester the Fierce has performed both locally and interstate.

As she prepares to release her first solo EP, I threw across few questions to gauge how life in the music industry is for this Melbourne local.

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How different is it to release EPs and LPs as a single artist compared to a member of a band?

Being in a band is not dissimilar – the real difference is the decisions are all yours and the pressure is perhaps more because you have total control.

I love working with people, but I also love to be in charge of my own work because I feel like the expression is truer.

In what ways do you work to differentiate yourself from other folk rock and cinematic music?

I really like music of the cinema. I love Ennio Morricone, I love certain rock opera’s (well only a few actually), MGM musicals, and the choices that some directors make musically to enhance a visual (like Oh Brother Where Art Thou, Garden State, Almost Famous, High Fidelity and most of the Wes Anderson Films, just to note a few modern films).

I am as much a visual person as a musical one, and I studied film at uni, so it’s all incidental.

What type of emotions would you like for your music to invoke in your fans and listeners?

It was pointed out to me that a few themes come up in my music consistently (and I agree) – sex, death and the weather. I really think that art and music is the ultimate way to make someone feel, so if people can feel those things I will be really satisfied.

What was the highlight of writing your EP The Summer Deluge?

I wrote ‘The Asylum’ the day before recording. It took a day to arrange and it was a really new experience to pump out a song like that.

Also, I met Colin Leadbetter, who really understands my point-of-view musically. He has changed a whole lot of my music in the best way.

Who or what influenced you to write and play this genre of music?

I know a lot of people say this, but my parents had the most incredible taste in music- my dad used to play old Blues records, lots of 60s folk, world music, Leonard Cohen, Pink Floyd, Radiohead. My mum played more rock music like The Beatles, The Doors, Kate Bush, Talking Heads, Crosby Stills and Nash etc. My musical rebellion was Hanson, but after that I just tangent-ed to other music. I really love most music actually.

In what ways have social media and online broadcasting helped you brand yourself to music lovers?

It’s been a really strange thing seeing the effects of the net. I am a techno-tard at my core and Facebook, Twitter, blogs, Soundcloud, Bandcamp etc have been revolutionary.

How different does it feel to perform to larger crowds in a tribute concert, to releasing your own music to a smaller crowd?

It’s a slightly more removed experience doing a tribute. I’ve only done one once and I loved it, but I found it was more about the craft than the art. I don’t lose myself as much. As far as crowds go, I don’t love playing to 5 people in a 350 venue audience, but crowds don’t really phase me.

What would you say to your fans who are listening to you develop your brand and music?

Listen to the lyrics, look at the visuals and feel what you feel. - Elise Hughan

Though still largely unknown, local artist Anita Lester has already done more in her four year career to push the envelope in music and performance than many do in their lifetime.

Lester's first exposure was as the singer songwriter of unorthodox acoustic trio Me And The Grownups, a group whose rich fusion of folk melodic sensibility, classical composition and poetic lyrics, was all the richer for its minimalism. Last year Lester was co-creator of Fridgebuzz, a Radiohead tribute concert staged at Old Melbourne Gaol. The first and only public performance in the heritage site, it was unforgettable for its atmosphere alone.

My point is, Lester is no mere indie songstress, but an artist whose aesthetic sensibility transcends both genres and mediums. And in this four track EP - recorded with a selection of session musicians rather than a band per se - she fully realises her talent for combining well-conceived arrangements with evocative prose to create that rare kind of music where the emotion appears to have shape and texture.

While the palette is generally dark throughout The Summer Deluge, there is a spectrum of sorts that runs between serene opening track The Hunter, with its delicately unfurling strings and vocal harmonies, and the brooding anger inherent in the pounding beat and disfigured guitar of closing track The Asylum. There is definitely more of an 'indie rock' sound to this stuff than Lester's previous work, but even the EPs most driving strummer, November, is terrifically nuanced with other instrumental touches and countermelodies... not to mention the confronting personal lyrics.

When Me And The Grownups disbanded, I held my breath. Now, I can exhale. Clearly, as a creative force, Anita Lester is only just getting warmed up.

Best Track: The Asylum

If You Like These, You'll Like This : Knowing Lovers Naive Lovers ME AND THE GROWNUPS, Brous BROUS, Ok Computer RADIOHEAD In A

Word: Visceral

The Summer Deluge is out now. - Beat Magazine

If Florence + The Machine is a little too 'last year' (and Kate Bush is a little too 'last century') for you, may we suggest Lester The Fierce?

One of Melbourne's best kept secrets, the cinematic folk songbird just dropped her debut EP, The Summer Deluge. Known to her mum as Anita Lester (formerly of Me And The Grownups infamy), the visual-artist-turned-performer writes about love and death and somehow makes them sound equally appealing. - Junior Online

Every now and then we come across a voice that fills a little part of us that we didn't know was missing. Anita Lester, whom last year put on a huge concert of orchestral Radiohead covers in a disused jail, has had a career steeped in the Melbourne music scene, and Lester The Fierce is her latest project. It's a little bit dark, a little bit haunting, and a whole lot of awesome. Her debut EP, The Summer Deluge, comes out today and is full of tunes that express what is no doubt an incredibly unique talent. It is a perfect record for these mid-spring days, watching raindrops race each other down window panes while contemplating what next year will bring. Below is a little taster of what is to come. Stunning, eh? - Frankie Magazine