Lovely duo Lonely Boa joined us in the office for an afternoon of music self described as “classical orchestra meets loft rave meets ambient drone meditation.” Playing a selection from their upcoming album Chrysalia, Eve and Jess brought charisma and passion to our space.

Multimedia: So, where did you come up with the name ‘Lonely Boa’?

Eve: “My preferred answer is [that] I was walking alone from being out one night on a particularly dreary, emotional evening, when I came across a boa (like the pink feather kind) on the street. I thought to myself, “there’s just one lonely boa” and bam! A new band name was born. The real answer though, is “lonely boa” was a user’s alias on a shared google doc. In any case, I love the name Lonely Boa because it invokes the idea of how sometimes uniqueness or being different can make you feel lonely — something I used to struggle a lot with, and something I think people can identify with.”

M: What inspired you to start making music?

E: “I’ve been playing music since I was five years old. Both of my parents are professional classical musicians so it was a given that I would start an instrument from an early age. When I went to university, certain aspects of classical music culture, especially around performance, was something I really rejected. I was always annoyed at playing competitions and concerts as a teen and having to fit into this normative box of what to wear, how to act, and how to engage with an audience.”

M: How would you define your musical style and how has your sound changed since you started ‘Lonely Boa’?

E: “If I were to describe the musical style of Lonely Boa in terms of genre, I’d say [that] it’s like classical orchestra, meets loft rave, meets ambient drone meditation, meets 2000s emo music, meets Robyn, meets Owen Pallett. It’s all of those things, and yet none of them at the same time. I still carry a lot of the emotional weight of when I wrote those songs a few years ago, but now I like to produce music that is more vast and cathedral-like, but very intimate and powerful at the same time.”

M: What is the significance of Jess as your bandmate?

E: “Jess, oh Jess. I traded a bag of coffee beans for Jess and a pink hair crimper in 2016 off Bunz Trading Zone, and from the instant we met I knew there was something special about her. It took me years to understand that I’m drawn to Jess because she is this literal ‘floating head’ — a head without a body. For me, that feeling […] syncs up with what it can feel like to be trans, and my own experiences of dysphoria. I like the physical representation that Jess brings to Lonely Boa performances of that feeling, but in a subtle way. Plus, she’s just a really good singer — when she’s feeling up to performing at least.”

Lonely Boa is releasing an upcoming album, Chrysalia, in the new year. Catch her playing at La Vitrola on December 6 and keep track of what she’s up to on Instagram (@Lonely_Boa_Music), Facebook, Bandcamp and other streaming platforms.

Video by Aidan Martin and our Multimedia Team.