'Lethia's Natorium' is not a band but is the name of Pena's music project. Having been in bands in the past, it was the personal choice of Pena not to put a band together or this. 'Lethia's Natorium' consists of two sets of session musicians:- The first set are musicians based remotely both in the UK, overseas as well as face to face at the recording studio. Pena worked with these musicians and studio Producers in the past on previous music projects and formed good collaborative relationships. Pena wanted to continue working with these musicians and collectively they form 'the sound of 'Lethia's Natorium'. The second set of session musicians are the individuals that form accompany Pena at Festivals and gigs under the 'Lethia's Natorium' name.
By Kamil Bobin
Discovered via Musosoup
Kamil) Hey Lethia's Natorium, super nice to have the chance to chat with you. What first got you into music?
Hi Pena here and ‘Lethia’s Natorium’ is my music project!
It was way back when I was at secondary school where the only subject I expressed an interest in was music. I was what you would call a slow learner and it was a middle-aged very eccentric female music teacher that got grabbed my interest in the subject. She made music fun in terms of not making the theory side sound boring and breathed new life into the subject. Noticing my keen interest, I became a member of the school’s orchestra (I used to play the violin – can’t play it now) as well as the school’s choir.
I saw music as a good means of escape and a way of self-expression. I used to write a lot of poems and during my mid-teens, these steadily turned into songs, which marked the beginning of music journey.
How do you balance your time in the studio with other commitments such as a part-time job, family, admin?
With great difficulty (hahaha). No, seriously though I’ve always been a relatively organised person and armed with a diary or notebook nearby. In my past life, I used to be a Partner’s PA in the legal sector so organising things was part of my DNA. In terms of my music, I plan everything six months in advance, this includes studio time and which songs to release. I also allocate time for updating the website and socials.
Late Autumn to late Spring are spent in the recording studio on the songs that will form the album and I pencil release date to be late Autumn. As a general rule, I try to organise all my studio sessions and songs to be completed by early Summer. This is to allow my mind to be focussed purely on Festivals and events.
There are two ‘versions’ of Lethia’s Natorium which require a fair amount of organisation. There’s the ‘sound’ of Lethia’s Natorium, which are session musicians that I work with remotely from mainland Europe and the UK (excluding the drummer who I work with in the studio). The second version is ‘The Lethia’s Natorium’ (band) and these again are session musicians that I perform with at Festivals.
Away from music, I have a day job which fortunately, is part-time and somehow works around my music and my other commitments.
It can be extremely exhausting doing all of the music elements on my own and although I could put a band together, choosing not to was based on personal choice. Having being in bands in the past, I do not missing the inner-band politics or the : “I can’t come to rehearsal tonight because my goldfish is ill.”
Your latest song is 'That's the Way I Am'. Can you tell us more about the making of it and if there were any unusual things happening during the process?
“That’s the Way I Am” originally started life with just my guide vocals and Ukulele Chords (I write songs using my Ukulele). During the writing process, I knew that I had to ‘become’ the Narcissist in my delivery of the song. I did not have any problems in that department as I had to become my ex and use his thought process during the song (hahaha).
The lyrics came together well in this song and it all started during a conversation I had with a very good male friend of mine, when in mid topic, my friend said : “That guy’s a leach”. From that line alone, the rest of the lyrics flowed seamlessly with me writing in first person format.
On the music side of things, I then forward my home recording over to a guy called Josh Elliott, owner of JGE Studios in Dorset who is very instrumental (excuse the pun) in the ‘sound’ of Lethia’s Natorium. Josh adds the guitars and bass to the track and forwards it back to me. We do work very well because he knows the mood of the song and we agreed that this song would be a ‘day and night’ feel.
Unlike the other songs we have done for ‘Lethia’s Natorium’, we both decided to keep my guide Ukulele chords in the verse to create the light ‘daytime’ feel to the song. In contrast, with the choruses we wanted to create a very dark feel and my guide vocals that I recorded at home were delivered in almost the same style as the final re-recorded version at the recording studio. This was enough for Josh to work with in terms of him letting rip on the guitar parts – especially during the wailing guitar solo in the middle eight of the song.
Once Josh’s bass and guitars were added, the song was then taken to Max Read at The Lodge Recording Studio, Northampton where I re-recorded the vocals. It was there that the drum loops that were used in the track were then replaced by real drums at the studio, which were played by Karl Thompson. Max then created the final mix and mastered the song.
I found recording the vocals for ‘That’s the Way I Am’ at the studio to be so much fun, so much that Max had to remind me to rein things in a bit during the chorus part, mainly because I was getting so much into character, that I had to remember to actually sing the lyrics as well.
What is one message you would give to your fans?
Believe in yourself, trust your instinct and chase your dreams as you only live once.
What would you be doing right now, if it wasn’t for your music career?
Acting (I used to go to acting classes as kid).
How do you know when a work is finished?
I always know (even as early as writing out the song), how much work is needed on the song (or album) before I’m totally satisfied that it’s finished. In my mind, I already have a framework as to how far I should take a song before stepping back from it as a finished item of work. Some songs would only require a very sparce setup (guitars, drums and just bass), whereas others may need more instrumentation such as real strings and piano. I do not believe in ‘overcrowding’ a song and this decision (as to when a song is completed) is shared both by myself and the studio producer that’s working on the songs with me.
Do you have any hobbies or interests outside of music?
Away from music, I do enjoy swimming as I find it to be a good way of taking my mind away from the day to day life.
What is it about music that makes you feel passionate?
I’ve always found music to be a good form of expression and therapeutic. Having people appreciating the songs I write and enjoying them is what inspires me to keep writing.
Who is your favourite musician?
That’s a very tricky one as there are a few musicians that are my favourites and difficult to just narrow it down to just one musician. I can of course cut it down to five : Toyah, Siouxsie and the Banshees, Blondie, The Specials and Madness.
What are your plans for the future?
At the moment, I’ve just started going back into the studio to commence work on the follow-up album for ‘Lethia’s Natorium’. Next year, like this year, will be steadily releasing some of the songs that will be included on the follow-up album. There’s also plans in place for the release of the first EP, which features remixes and alternative versions of previously released songs from the debut album. The plan is for these to be released in between each new release from the follow-up album.
Next year’s going to be a very busy indeed!