Lila Tristram is a musician, fiction writer, artist and teacher based in East London. Sister EPs Our Friends pt. I & II were released over the course of 2020 via wiaiwya (UK) and Inpartmaint Inc (Japan). Characterised by melancholic fingerpicking, warm and intimate vocal harmonies and a weaving of bucolic British landscapes. Black and White Memories Ignited by the Scent of Springtime Explode in Colour was released on cassette via Modern Aviation on December 2022. The five-song EP is a collaborative project with The Last Dinosaur’s Jamie Cameron and combines sparse piano, rich strings and elusive vocals in a mysterious, ghostly soundscape. home, a set of 5 intimate songs were recorded, produced and mixed by Lila Tristram herself. The EP was released on 19th May 2023, with physical editions released on two labels; handmade CDs are available via Woodland Recordings, and 10″ vinyls (created by Lathe to the Grave, the only UK female-run lathe cutting business) are available via wiaiwya. The first track, January, features texan singer-songwriter Austin Basham, with whom Tristram collaborated via facetme during lockdown. Lila has been working closely with producer Gus White at his remote studio in Wiltshire on a forthcoming release, yet to be announced. Alongside writing and performing music, Tristram contributes to Folk Radio UK and Loud & Quiet magazines.

What She says: “I’m Lila, a singer songwriter from East London. Last month my EP ‘home’ was released into the world ~ the first body of work that I have recorded, produced and mixed myself, right here in my little room. Creating something from scratch in this way is an incredible learning process, for training the stamina of the mind, as well as skills acquired and honed. The creative process is a beautiful one, the work teaching and guiding you as you mould it into its final shape. I am delighted to say that wiaiwya has kindly created a run of vinyls for it, using lathe to the grave (the only female-run lathe cutting business in the UK) and Woodland Recordings have made 50 hand crafted CDs, using old maps of places which I call home.“

Her Mixtape:

Joni Mitchell – Refuge Of The Roads

I couldn’t make a playlist without including a song from Joni. If I were to have one desert island disc, this would be it. This song is a so deeply insightful, yet also so human, “he saw my complications / and mirrored me back simplified / and we laughed how our perfections / would always be denied”.

Adrianne Lenker – Ingydar

For me this song is like a hypnotic zen trance, slowly letting you into the secrets of the universe. Adrianne Lenker is a hero of mine, one of the most creative writers that I know of. I find her approach to lyricism very inspiring, alternating surrealism with life experiences and personal insights, and her technical ability with the guitar is incredible too. She just kinda channels something. (I cried at least four times when I saw her at Earth last year..)

Ailsa Tully – Salt Glaze

I’m so lucky to have Ailsa in my band! She is among the most intuitive and sensitive musicians I know. She plays the bass as though it is both a melody and harmony instrument, using it as the basis to write her own songs. Somehow she gets a sound out of that instrument quite unlike anything I’ve heard before. This song is delicate yet striking, her silky voice sitting above watery textures in the most beautiful way.

Blondshell – Salad 

My friend Hayley sent me this record recently and it’s been on repeat for weeks. This song is particularly powerful to me, addressing themes of abuse and the complicated, messy navigation of female rage. “Look what you did / you made a killer of a pacifist”. It’s such an important song, and is particularly potent for me as I work part-time in a Medical PRU, where many of the girls there have experienced some truly dreadful things. I always think of them when this song comes on.

Cross Record – Y/o Dragon

I love this song for it’s percussion. It has so much rhythm and movement in it, after listening I always feel like I’ve been on a journey through a foreign realm and made it safely through to the other side. “What am I / what am I / I’m a dragon.” It’s weirdly empowering to think of oneself as a mythical beast.

Hana Stretton – Bid’s Animals

This song is from another record which has been on repeat in my house. I believe it was recorded in the Australian outback, and it’s full of field recordings which create such a warm and homely sense of place. This song has the power to completely take me out of my life and into somewhere incredibly calm, quiet, peaceful.. 

home is out now on Woodland Recordings and wiaiwya. Look HERE for more information on Lila Tristram.