For up and coming female artist I Am Boleyn, music has been part of her life for as long as she can remember. And since then, she’s never wanted to pursue anything else. Today she’s carving out her own path, making music that she classifies as synth pop.
“It’s been the only thing I’ve ever wanted to do,” I Am Boleyn tells us upon arriving to Los Angeles.
A strong force of femininity herself, I Am Boleyn models her stage name after the famous second wife of Henry VIII of England, Anne Boleyn. The infamous Queen of England was known for her controversial aggressive and calculative behavior for a woman in the 16th century. Inspired by the Queen’s early feminist-like legacy, I Am Boleyn pays homage, using Anne’s last name. But to her close friends and family, she goes by Lydia.
From an early age, Lydia remembers music playing an integral role in her upbringing. Growing up, her father would return from a day’s work and fill the house with music, playing records by Bowie, Lou Reed and Van Morrison. As she got older, her taste in music grew even more diverse when her uncle gifted her with a Fleetwood Mac album when she was a teenager.
“That’s when I really fell in love with Stevie Nicks,” she says.Stevie would remain a prominent influence in Lydia’s musical career even today as she channels the female rock and roll legend while performing as well as with her fashion choices. She also took interest in Dolly Parton’s music, recording her own covers of her famous hit “Jolene.”
“I remember at 16 really thinking that I understood all the meaning behind Jolene and that I really felt the pain of that song. Then listening to it when I got older, I remember thinking, “Maybe I didn’t actually grasp what this song was about,” Lydia says with a laugh.These days she’s inspired by a wide range of female powerhouse artists like Robyn, Goldfrapp and of course, Stevie and Dolly. She’s even been compared to legends like Lana Del Rey and Florence and the Machine with multiple record labels fighting to sign her.
Her latest single called "Limit of Love" details a relationship between two people trying to find authenticity and vulnerability in one another. Limit of Love, now available on Spotify and Apple Music, will also be released as a music video on May 17th.
“It’s very difficult to write a song about love. We thought about a different way of looking at love. The question Limit of Love asks is, ‘What would you find out about someone else or what is there in yourself that you’re trying to keep secret that might be the limit of the love in a relationship?’” Lydia says. “Obviously if you want to really give yourself to someone and let them love you then you have to tell them things that maybe you’re not proud of. It’s like that last little bit of yourself that you have to give over.”
Along with the music video release of Limit of Love, I Am Boleyn has just announced that she will be releasing a new single called Just Friends on June 14th.
When she’s not residing in the UK, Lydia spends days in Stockholm, Sweden where she writes her songs with a production collective called FMLY Sthlm (Family Stockholm). Away from the craziness of life in London, she is able to create and write her music.
“I think that’s why I love going to Stockholm to write because when I’m at home it’s really difficult to switch off because you’re constantly thinking about what you have to do later or whether you should see someone or whatever,” she says. “But in Stockholm I literally know only the three people I write with and nobody else so I can just really zone in and focus on songs I want to write. Normally it starts with a lyric idea like a theme and I build it from there.”
After perfecting the music and lyrics in Stockholm, I Am Boleyn can’t wait to perform her new songs. With her cascading blonde hair, glittery makeup and disco-inspired wardrobe, she takes the stage. This past February she made her Los Angeles debut at West Hollywood hotspot The Peppermint Club where the dazzled the audience.
Up next I Am Boleyn will be performing at Laylow in London on May 14th and again on June 3rd in New York City at The Cutting Room.
Be sure to check out I Am Boleyn and her new take on synth pop music.
