“A Lynks Show Is Pride All-Year-Round Baby”: A Portrait of the Fiery Lynks
June 23, 2021By Laurine Payet, Music Journalist
With the lifting of a big part of the Covid-19 restrictions, live music has been able to make a comeback, allowing artists to finally play what they’ve been cooking for the past year. We attended one of the first UK music events of 2021 in London and witnessed what will probably be a top discovery of the year. In front of a sitting crowd, Lynks was able to bring such energy to the room, almost making the public forget they had to stay at their table. Laurine Payet, from myGwork, talked to Lynks about their mysterious persona, their own playlist and Pride Month as an openly queer artist.
Originally from Bristol, Lynks is now part of the South London music scene, orbiting around the famous venue The Windmill with peer artists such as Goat Girl or Sorry. Lynks is an original mix of dance music, alt-pop with a splash of punk. Openly gay, the singer is proud to let it influence their songwriting, creating catchy queer hits such as ‘Str8 Acting’.
“Whenever I've got a to make a choice I would just say ‘okay, if I was in the crowd right now, which one would I enjoy more?’”
Before becoming Lynks, the artist affirms to have been “a lot more like the traditional kind of sadboy”, trying to reach the unwritten law of what they thought made a good musician while being authentic and serious. As Lynks, they experienced a liberation by now aiming to create music for the entertainment of the public only, making choices depending on what they think the live audience would enjoy the most.
“Queer, pop, chaos”
These are the three words Lynks decided to use to define themselves, and their music. Originating from various influences, the songwriter talks about M.I.A as being significantly present in their songwriting. For Lynks, M.I.A creates a contrast to other rappers - who try hard to fit as many words as possible into each bar - and her ability to only focus on making “catchy, gorgeous, hard-hitting little melodies that just stick in your head” stands out. Lynks also mentions Peaches and her journey through so many different eras and playing different sounds. Her punk and unapologetic character sided with crazy live shows are a big part of Lynks’ inspiration.
Lynks recently released a new single ‘This is the Hit’, in collaboration with Shame’s frontman Charlie Steen. The iconic South London collaboration created an iconic queer anthem, written for explosive performances with a screaming public in the middle of a mosh pit. When it comes to their future dream collaboration, Lynks mentions Shygirl, a producer who seems to have “some kind of magic touch”, bringing the best out of everyone she’s collaborated with.
“Being masked allows me to be really in the moment and be really uninhibited, which is amazing.”
Lynks is a fully created persona giving the artist full anonymity. Their different outfits for public appearances always include full-face covering - convenient in during a pandemic. They realised that by being masked at a party or a club, you lose all kind of inhibition because anything you do won’t matter. Being masked helped Lynks to be less nervous, as they no longer worry about how they will come across. “Your ego can't get bruised, because even if you completely embarrass yourself, you just go into a room, take the mask off and no one even knows.”
“There are some musicians who like perform to make it possible for them to make music, to make it viable so that they can keep making music. And there are some musicians that make music so they can perform. It's just so they can get on stage. I think I'm definitely part of the second one.”
Lynks talks about their first post-Covid gig at the Windmill as being the highlight of their career so far. After having wanted to be on stage for so long, the first performance in front of a crowd who’d craved live music for over a year made it intensely good. “I missed it. A huge amount.”
For Lynks, there wouldn’t even be a career possibility if gigs weren’t coming back. The personal interaction this allows is what makes it so interesting, and there just wouldn’t be enough in a musical career without live performances.
“As long as I've got complete control, I love it”
Heading to what they describe as world domination, Lynks has shown skills in a range of fields. After hosting their radio show on BBC Radio 6, the singer is ready to take over everything that interests them, and it could be hosting a TV show as much as starting a fragrance and underwear line. They’ve already put a foot in the fashion industry, designing but also making every single of their live outfits from scratch. Lynks says they try not to wear the same thing more than a few times, leading them to long nights of sewing machine to come up with the perfect clothing for their fantastic and grandiose persona.
“A Lynks show is Pride all-year-round baby, that's the whole thing!”
Being an outspoken queer artist, they know they have the benefit of having a fanbase very present in the LGBTQ+ community, giving a sense of Pride all year round in the world of Lynks. For the artist, Pride Month is when the rest of the world is catching up with the Lynks crowd, rejecting heteronormativity. The singer also brings up the current situation which has led to the cancellation of Pride two years in a row, getting rid of the celebration side of it, and leaving only “the corporate pride, which is just a bunch of adverts targeted to you.”
“Queer people, if they go to a queer gig, it's such a novelty for us that we're like, this is the best night of our life. That's my kind of fan base because it's so much more fun. I think I've got really lucky because I think my fan base tends to be people that if I met at a club, I’d just end up friends with them anyway.”
Lynks also gives us their current top music picks, sharing how thrilled they are to see the rise of the career of other London based artists Shygirl and PVA. Some of their most played artists at the moment are Dizzy Fae and COBRAH. For Lynks, there is no such thing as a guilty pleasure anymore. Robyn, who they considered a guilty pleasure growing up because she was the embodiment of mainstream pop, they now consider as the pinnacle of modern music because there’s no point in being ashamed to listen to whatever they want, even if it is “I Drove All Night” by Celine Dion on repeat. Lynks however confesses being a “shameful shameless fan of Azealia Banks”.
Lynks is more than a promising and explosive performer. Lynks plans to take over all your forms of entertainment and art. Watch out for Lynks.
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