L.Y.D. Returns with New Ethereal Single ‘Parasol Pine’

Last October, Mumbai/Munich vocalist, composer and DJ Lydia Hendrikje aka L.Y.D. released her R&B-meets-soul offering “Luna.” Now, she’s back with a brand-new single in the shape of the silky “Parasol Pine.” The new song retains Hendrikje’s R&B sound while she also immerses listeners with modern jazz-pop elements and even delivers infectious vocal melodies across the track.

In this interview with Rolling Stone India, L.Y.D. talks to us about her new single “Parasol Pine,” getting back to performing live, her forthcoming album and more.

What have you been up to since “Luna” came out and how’s that process been of getting back to releasing music regularly? 

I’m trying to basically eventually put it all on an album and I would like to make it a nice vinyl because I really feel like we don’t really hold anything in our hands anymore. When we make music sometimes it can feel that something is not finished. So, I’ve just been planning that basically and I have lined out the album. All the songs are pretty much there and I just need to produce and arrange them, but most of the stuff is already there, so I’ve been doing that.

Your new song “Parasol Pine” has a summery vibe to it. When did you write it and what can you tell me about this song?

I remember making the groove and laying down the chords a while back, I think just before COVID. It must have been March or April because every year around March or April, no matter if I’m in Europe or in India, I get this longing to go on a holiday. In Europe, it’s because we have long winters, so by the time it’s April, people are just so done with it. In Bombay, it’s because we work so hard through the winters because that’s season time and everyone has gigs and everything’s going on and people are just exhausted and feel like having a holiday.

I had that feeling of just going to a place with a sweet life and where you feel like you can relax and actually, from that point of view this song means a lot to me because I am a dreamer. I try to live more in the moment for sure, but I do escape into these little sweet pockets where I feel like something that inspires you in the middle of the day when you feel a bit empty and I’m trying to compose something. I do kind of like dream myself away to places that I’ve been that inspire me, things that I’ve experienced. The song is a bit of a chapter and it speaks about that longing. But I mean, it’s also a wish to get away and get some rest and arrive somewhere. So, it’s like that memory of a holiday mode or of refreshing yourself and the longing for it too.

The vocals and harmonies stand out on the song, what can you tell me about the recording and production process for it?

I always loved harmonies. I really love just playing around with making vocal harmonies. This is the first production that is my first collaboration. I produced most of it and arranged it, but I work with a producer in London now, his name is Alessandro de Barbera, and he co-produced this. I think that gives it a slightly different sound but it still fits with ‘Luna.’ The vocals I actually did record them at home. I really enjoyed that too, because I feel most relaxed. This song took me a while to make the melody. I changed it around quite a few times.

Do you have any plans to perform your new songs live?

This is the most exciting part of it for me. I want to put together a nice set with a full band and also maybe have like a smaller setup so that I’m a bit more flexible in how I can play the tunes. I have recently also seen some artists that do quite a tasteful job with the backing track and playing keys and singing and maybe with one more musician like a drummer or something. I think it can happen if you spend some time on it, you tweak your live performance. I’m super excited about that because I honestly think that’s the reason why we make music, at least for me. I want to perform. So it’ll be nice to bring this to life.

What can you tell me about the upcoming album?

It depends a little bit on the funding that I’m getting because you have to put a lot of money into it in the sense that I’m collaborating with some producers, I want to shoot a few music videos and I want to get it printed on vinyl. So far it’s like 12 songs and It’s actually a little bit of a diary, like a storybook from the beginning of when I moved to India till now. There’s some very new songs and there’s some songs that have been just lying there since maybe 2017. They’re all about just love and life in Bombay, personal growth, self-realization, all of those things that we go through. The learnings of the last six or seven years. I’m actually super excited to put it together. The whole album, I think the earliest I would release the full product would be realistically in a year. Until then I’ll have singles coming out.

Stream “Parasol Pine” on Spotify below and on other platforms.