Edition 02. Lisa Kelly
We are not ashamed to admit that we have a major girl crush on Lisa Tran Kelly…
Performing as Lake Kelly, Lisa is a talented artist and musician who has mastered various instruments, although it is her ability to play the harp that is truly captivating. Lisa exudes a certain otherworldly charm by nature but to watch her strum away on the harp is pure magic.
Originally hailing from Meanjin, Brisbane, Lisa grew up painting and playing musical instruments gifted by her parents from a young age. Alongside her love of the fantasy world, her natural musical inclinations and a serendipitous encounter with a renowned harp maker eventually lead her down the path of the harp where she taught herself to play in her early twenties.
When the opportunity arose to build her very own harp, Lisa took it immediately, an experience she describes as destiny and one that has changed the path of her life. Now many years on Lisa is slowly building her niche as a harp musician which she expertly balances alongside her day to day career in mental health counselling.
We were lucky enough to be invited in for an iced matcha (which Lisa generously topped with a scoop of ice cream) and were serenaded in her hinterland backyard on Bundjalung Country. Read on for a glimpse of what Lisa had to say about how nature infiltrates her songwriting, the importance of having a community of creatives, and an opportune border crossing in between COVID-19 lockdowns.
MM. We are in awe of your ability to play the harp! What a magical soundscape. Can you tell us a little about your background in music and what lead you down the path of the harp?
LK. Sometimes I think it’s the harp that plays me. Aren’t they such magical instruments? I feel lucky whenever I get to play or try a different type of harp, I think they have an ancient beauty that is universally understood.
I started with piano at the age of 6 but had always been very drawn to the sound of harp. I loved fantasy, folk tales and video games as a child and would always draw harps alongside elves, dragons or goblins in my sketchbook. They are a rather boujee and exclusive instrument though, so that very much guided my choices growing up. I did percussion in primary and highschool as it was the most affordable instrument, then self taught guitar, ukulele, ocarina, toy harmonicas; anything I could get my hands on.
When I was 21, I encountered a moment of clarity and upon realising my free-will, the fruits of babysitting and various hospo jobs, my harp-erfixation spiral lead me to a luthier named Geoff Wellham. We were fortuitously connected through a grandparent community of folk musicians. He was a harp maker who happened to be in town on the way to a Woodworking Festival in Maleny, with a few small lap harps in the back of his van. I bought a 26 string harp from him and started slowly teaching myself to play.
MM. You mentioned when we visited your studio that you had the incredible opportunity to build your own harp in Nymboida, NSW. What was that like for you? Is this the same harp you play on today?
LK. It was a fortuitous moment that I can only ascribe to destiny and the beginning of my Saturn Return, a time of being pushed towards more soul fulfilling choices and all paths leading away from my mostly corporate hoe life, back towards the forest. 7 years after purchasing the lap harp from him (and two haunted harp trials later) I decided the best next harp to level up to, was one I would have to build myself with Geoff at his workshop.
In between COVID lockdowns, a window appeared around the week of my birthday in May and I made it across the border to his forested property in Nymboida, to spend a week building my harp alongside two other sweet, beginner luthiers. From 6am to 6pm we carved and clamped wood, strung strings, listened to Paraguayan and Welsh harp CDs, drunk tea and shared decadent, gentle feasts prepared by his wife Anni. After emerging from a combination of hoop pine, tassie blackwood and new guinea rose wood, my harp (a fellow Taurus) appeared at the end of the week and we raced back across the border to let her strings and tension settle into this new life of extra octaves and greater resonance.
I had ordered a set of gold levers in preparation to be installed with Geoff 6 months later, but sadly COVID restrictions continued to limit border crossings and Geoff became quite ill, later passing away. I was incredibly grateful to have the opportunity to learn and build with him in his final workshop. He was a real life wizard and mentor, incredible craftsman/carpenter/luthier and had an inspiring dedication to the harp that continues to forge the sound of my main harp that I currently play and perform with.
MM. Having grown up in Meanjin, Brisbane, how did you find the transition from the city to regional Northern Rivers?
LK. I weaned myself off city living by increasingly indulging an incessant need to drive to bodies of water every sweet weekend window of freedom. It was a wonderful thing to switch up what was visited, to now what is home. The pace is more gentle by the ocean and it is so nice appreciating the benefits of the city steam, hustle and grind as a visitor, then being able to nest back in the hills with the bird city here.
MM. What inspires your song writing? Are there any dominant themes that come through?
LK. Usually melodies will just fall from the harp when I’m playing, or begin as a distant hum in my head. My songs are usually quite thematic and in response to the environment which is why I often start with a base layer of a field recording from a place I really love visiting. This could be birds singing in the valley at dawn, frogs doing their night song, babbling brooks or ocean scenes. I will usually start building harp loops in response to these recordings and then layer from there.
The recent EP I have been working on is all based around the wind and how the wind interacts with the instrument. When the harp is outside and the wind moves through it at a certain angle, a gentle whirring, orchestral hymn stirs through the body of the harp and starts to resonate on itself in the most amazing way. The songs on this EP are built with harp layers based around this alluring ambient base. For any of my lyrical pieces a lot of it is inspired by my work in therapy, working with eating issues and matters of the heart. Most of my lyrics are introspective journeys of self soothing and emboldening, usually messages that are reminders to stay gentle while finding strength.
MM. We love your quaint home studio (that view!). How much of the recording process do you have control over?
LK. I wake up every day breathing in that view like it's the first time I saw it! With my current blessed regional location, recording for my own work does solely happen in that room. I love to collaborate and create with other makers because I learn so much, and still have so much to learn. I also really enjoy being able to control most of the process when I record my own work, tinker at my own slow pace, as there is nothing more still and peaceful than the meditative state I find myself in when I’m with the harp, and the (sometimes very challenging) technological process of capturing that feeling.
MM. You are soon to release a new film clip - it must be fun collaborating with other creatives. What did you enjoy most about creating in this way?
LK. Yes! Windsong has been an incredibly special project to develop with Levi Strauss Cranston, a local film maker, who has a dedication like no other to film as an art form and the development process. Witnessing the alchemy of analogue film was unforgettable: light, patience (go Levi and Elliott on the cam), and chemistry woven together to create images you want to live inside of. We waded through mud, threw fabric into the wind, and hunted down both fleeting and meticulously staged moments of beauty.
I loved being able to work with the glowing community of film makers, photographers, film workers that he brought together through Friends Lab and Bayou Film, who were integral to the project coming to life. This project has taught me the earnest beauty of analogue and a deep respect for Levi’s commitment to archaic, timeless methods of documentation. I love learning from other artists.
MM. You seem very at ease and confident when performing. Does performing come naturally for you or has this been something that you’ve had to work on over the years?
LK. It brings me comfort to hear that because there have been many performances in my short time getting out there where I have been quietly shitting myself. It’s definitely something outside of my comfort zone, I didn’t have any intention of performing when playing music originally but organically different opportunities to give it a go showed up and it has been a really special way of sharing the harp with people. I’m a lot more internally at peace when I perform now (no nappies needed), I usually just pretend I’m in my bedroom having a gentle muck around before bed and imagine the audience as a room full of friendly ghosts.
MM. You are also a talented artist! Creating in all its forms must come second nature to you. What mediums do you work with?
LK. Thank you for these kind words. Morbidly, as a child I used to think how I would go on if I couldn’t hear or couldn’t see, so figured if I couldn’t play music then at least I would have art and vice versa. I find it’s a creative break for when I get stuck in either medium, the switch is helpful to relocate joy and excitement if I fall into a creative rut. I love to sketch silly things daily and paint with oils or water colour, focusing on still life and finding the magic in mundanity.
MM. Are there any other musicians or creatives that inspire or influence you?
LK. I find a lot of inspiration in parallel play with creative friends who are ceramicists, artists, jewellers, wood workers, musicians from different walks of life. Witnessing and supporting the creative drive of others always gives me the greatest sense of wonder and purpose for making that inspires me to continue my own practice. Great wonders of music including Dorothy Ashby, Joanna Newsom, Kelsey Lu, Sven Wunder, Celine Dessberg, Mary Lattimore, Liana Flores and Alabaster Deplume (to name a few) are also impactful musical influences for me.
MM. What brings you joy outside of creating art and music?
LK. I find the greatest joy in water time, whether in the ocean or in some dappled light by a stream, spending quiet time in the elements is deeply restorative and an important factor of every day for me. The elements create the greatest art and music of all, an effervescent world we can find all around us, anytime, if we need it. To quote Rico Besserdich:
“Mother Nature is the greatest artist and water is one of her favorite brushes.”
Words. Rachel Thatcher
Images. Zali Rae