Age is just a number and there is no clear definition of being what is an adult and every person is different. We can’t define it, so everybody is looking for their own answers in life. 14 is a sensitive age. It’s when you start thinking about your own future, so we wanted to make a series of age 14. After the Tokyo and New York issue, we selected 15 people in Berlin who have very diverse background, different ages and professions for 14 Issue in Berlin.Sixth interview is with American singer, composer, producer and performance artist Lyra Pramuk who currently lives in Berlin. We met her at her studio on a sunny Sunday afternoon and talked about how her teenage years have influences her life.
—Could you tell us about yourself when you were 14 years old?
Lyra: I’m from Pennsylvania in America. My hometown is called Hollidaysburg. It’s located in the countryside and there are lots of farms and highways around. I remember working at an ice cream shop for five years after I turned 14. I lived a duality life. On one side I felt the need to perform to make people happy, telling jokes and being very outgoing. But I was actually extremely shy and there were a lot of things I couldn’t show to people. I had a two different characters in those days.
—What did you do in those days?
—What did you think about at age 14?
—Please tell us your most memorable moment at age 14?
Lyra: It felt quite empty and I just felt the passing of time. When I was in my room I played a lot of video games.
—What kind of video games did you play?
Lyra: I was really interested in online role-playing games, or MMORPG (Massively Multiplayer Online Role-Playing Games). In the summer, I played 10 hours per day. You can create your character and play together with other people. In the game you can be someone else and everyone else is playing a character too. I built a foundational concept of queer politics in those spaces, which is: you should believe someone is who they say they are. Explore who you think you are. That space is very important and I could find aspects of this video game culture in my life to this day.
—Actually it looks you did many activities.
Lyra: I thought playing sports is socially important. Somehow people respect you if you play sports. That’s why I did it. Also I was a member of the orchestra and choir at the school. It was really nice and a highlight of my time in school. To feel the vibration from the wooden box when I was playing cello. And then twenty people around you make all these sounds and all bodies are vibrating. It’s a very unifying physical experience.
—What did you want to do when you were 14 years old?
Lyra: Something that combines music and imagination. I was really dreaming and imagining about my life. Where can I go and live, what can I do? Also I was dreaming to get out of my small town. The first step is escaping, haha.
—How did you start your carrier?
Lyra: I was singing and performing since I was 5 or 6 years old, so I was doing it all the time. After I graduated high school I went to a music university in New York. I was a member of the student contemporary music group and got to know a lot of experimental music. I was also working at a music library for three years. I made a lot of music and performance stuff in my university days. Then I moved to Berlin and started to get into clubbing, the underground queer scene and interesting performances. I took all of these elements and tried to put something together from that.
—How much effort did you put into your work?
Lyra: I did a lot. I practiced music and singing three or four hours everyday during my university days. I still like to stay busy.
—What inspired you at age 14?
Lyra: “Diablo Ⅱ (2000)”. There are five different characters you can choose and build their skills and get weapons etc… The soundtrack is very gothic, scary and sexy. The game actually helped me to find my personality.
—We can recommend to play it to the youth of today.
Lyra: Yes, definitely 🙂
—What kind of music did you listen in those days?
Lyra: I started listening to a lot of music after I was 14 years old and had more regular access to the internet. I was really into Russian composer Sergei Prokofiev. He made really epic and dark but also funny music. Very beautiful and crazy. My other favorite musician was Regina Spektor. She is quite famous now. I was so into M.I.A. I was really into weird classical music like Prokofiev and experimental female songwriters and pop musicians.
Sergei Prokofiev “Piano Concerto No 3”
—Is there anything you would recommend to 14 years olds?
Lyra: “Hello Cruel World: 101 Alternatives to Suicide for Teens, Freaks and Other Outlaws (2006)” written by Kate Bornstein, who is a trans pioneer. I read this book when I was in my mid twenties. It’s a really cool book and I wish I had it when I was 14. In the book she wrote that you have to update the operating system like a computer if you feel something isn’t working in your identity or your life. We change as the world changes.
—Great recommendation! And how do you stay yourself?
Lyra: Trust your intuition. Being able to imagine that you could change your mind and grow beyond yourself. If you don’t trust your intuition there is no base and no roots. But if you have these you can imagine beyond that.
—Do you have any upcoming news that you want to share to the readers?
Lyra: Now I have an upcoming music release. I can’t say a lot about it yet but I’m very excited share it with the world. I would really love to go to Hongkong or China, Taiwan for touring. Of course Japan too! I wish I could go back to Japan again twice a year.
photography Tereza Mundilová
text Yukiko Yamane
Lyra’s outfit by Ottolinger
Lyra Pramuk
www.lyrapramuk.com
@lyra.pramuk：https://www.instagram.com/lyra.pramuk/
https://soundcloud.com/lyra_songs
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