(SOUNDBITE OF LUNA LI SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
AYESHA RASCOE, HOST:
Luna Li makes music to make sense of life.
LUNA LI: It's very therapeutic for me to get out all my feelings and have an outlet for everything that I experience.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
LI: (Singing) If you want to take a little piece of me for yourself, I would let you. If you want to taste a little sweetness, try it out. I would come to you.
RASCOE: Luna Li's new album is titled "When A Thought Grows Wings." Her song "I Would Let You" explores personal boundaries.
LI: I think it's one of the most honest songs that I've written. I'm always challenging myself to be more vulnerable, and specifically I split with my partner of eight years. And then I also decided to make the move from Toronto to Los Angeles. All of that change came together in this album that really grew to be about change and transition.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUNA LI SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
LI: I wrote it based off of a poem that I had in my Notes app on my phone just kind of outlining my boundaries, what I'm willing to sacrifice, what I'm not willing to sacrifice, and it all kind of came together into lyrics for the song. A couple of the lyrics that really sum up how I felt were I would exchange care for respect, meaning I have to prioritize myself and my well-being before I can bring myself to somebody else.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
LI: (Singing) I would exchange care for respect. I would do anything to be equally addressed.
I just remember sitting in my bedroom, just kind of thinking about melodies and figuring out how the words were going to fit. I think just the moment when I put the lyrics and the melodies together with the backing instrumental, it really felt like a clicking kind of moment. And realizing, this is the direction for the album. I'm really excited about this sound. The album title, "When A Thought Grows Wings," was actually taken from a lyric from my song "Bon Voyage" that asks the question, can a thought grow wings? "When A Thought Grows Wings" refers to allowing your innermost thoughts and desires to take shape, take flight, and become tangible and real.
And during the period of my life while writing this album, I was meeting new people and falling in love again for the first time. And so it was really a time of realizing, you know, I can take my life into my own hands. I can create change in my life that will benefit me and benefit people around me. I can step into my own power.
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
LI: (Singing) Show me your life and I'll fill it with mine, oh...
I still find it challenging to be vulnerable, but I think the more I do it, the easier it gets. What I really wanted to do with this new album was to create music that feels really comforting because that was something I needed. I felt like an outsider at many points in my life. And I want everybody to feel welcome into the world of Luna Li, no matter who they are or where they come from.
(SOUNDBITE OF LUNA LI SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
RASCOE: That was Luna Li discussing her new album, "When A Thought Grows Wings."
(SOUNDBITE OF SONG, "I WOULD LET YOU")
LI: (Singing) If you want to change up your life... Transcript provided by NPR, Copyright NPR.
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