Words by

Jóhannes Bjarkason

 Indie artist LadieLex blurs the lines between alt-rock and electronica

LadieLex, the moniker of Sweden-based musician Alexandra Ósk Sigurðardóttir, released her debut EP LADIELEX on July 21. The record is rippling with catchy guitar licks within a soundscape that seamlessly blends alternative rock with electronica. Alexandra is a former member of the 2000s band Hellvar. In addition, she has a long history of collaboration with indie artists throughout the years. She spoke with us about her latest record, track by track.

Never Wanted

This song was never intended to become a LadieLex song, as I wrote it for an application
process. But it stayed with me and I felt inspired to give it a rock and roll twist and keep working on it. While it may seem like the lyrics are about a person, they’re actually about my mobile phone and the wish to never have gotten sucked into its addictive side. I allowed the song to be simple and repetitive and not overthink it too much.

Do As You Wish

The idea of this song was lingering in the voice memos on my phone for the longest time, I would go back to it every now and then and feel inspired. Then, one day in 2021, I finally sat down and started working on it and let out all the electric guitar energy. In the mixing process, we made a cool decision to let the catchy guitar line take the spotlight in the chorus – it really changed the vibe of the song in a fresh and exciting way. The lyrics came together towards the end and I built the story around the phrase, “Do as you wish,” which became the title of the song.

Can’t Reach

Back in 2019, I was going through a tough time and dealing with a lot of FOMO, feeling like I was missing out on my friends back at home and stuck in comparison mode. Instead of sitting around feeling sorry for myself, I tried blurting out all my thoughts in my notebook. Before I knew it, I had written the lyrics for “Can’t Reach.” This song took me a while to finish, but I’m really proud of how it turned out. I hope it resonates with others who, like me, have found themselves daydreaming about their other life in the distance and trying to find their way towards it.

Ocean Of Emotion

One day back in 2019, I went to this cool art event at a café where my friend Danielle McMaster had her poems displayed on square papers. Her handwriting was beautiful and there was one poem that instantly grabbed my attention. It said, “Tired of dealing with all these feelings. Drowning in the ocean of emotion again.” It really resonated with me. So when I got home, I picked up my acoustic guitar and wrote “Ocean of Emotion.”