Formerly known as Laena Geronimo and L.M.I. / Laena Myers-Ionita, Laena is perhaps best known as lead singer, songwriter and guitarist of critically-acclaimed and internationally touring rockers FEELS, but that is only the tip of the iceberg. She’s also known for her time as bassist for goth-punk band Numb.er as well as the Motown-inspired pop outfit The Like, and as the go-to-violinist for a myriad of artists from the L.A. music scene and beyond – contributing to released recordings by John Frusciante, Jhené Aiko, Ty Segall, Shannon Lay and The Allah Las to name a few. Behind the scenes, Laena also works as a session vocalist and her voice has been featured in the official Netflix trailers for 2022’s ‘Barbarians: Season 2’ as well as 2023’s ‘The Deepest Breath’.
“I have one of those brains that thrives on variety, when I have to get creative on the spot and navigate the unknown”, Laena explains, “I love working with different artists and styles of music. I get into the headspace of a song, the heart of what’s being expressed. Each interaction leaves an imprint on me.”
Describing herself as “An awkward, shy kid who played in the Jr. Philharmonic Orchestra of California and wore headphones blasting NIN, The Velvet Underground and Sonic Youth all the time”, Laena cut her teeth in a busking band, performing purely improvised material on street corners in Hollywood and spent the entirety of her young adulthood as a supporting player in countless L.A. bands – at times as many as five simultaneously, while working full time and sleeping in her car during lunch breaks.
Inspired as much by the soft weight of Hope Sandoval and Patsy Cline’s dramatic powers, Patti Smith’s poetic punk and Nico’s avant-garde musings as she is by contemporaries like Angel Olsen, Aldous Harding and Cate LeBon, her musical roots run deep. She is the daughter of American drummer Alan Myers (DEVO, Skyline Electric, Jean Paul Yamamoto) and Romanian singer/songwriter and visual artist Greta Ionita (Babooshka).
As a solo artist, Laena’s punk background of guitar-based songwriting and swagger merges with her innovative classical/experimental roots and love for singing ballads, and this is shown throughout ‘LUV (Songs Of Yesterday’), leading to a depth of emotion that cuts to the heart of even the most hardened, revealing a more tender side to her vocal and lyrical prowess over lush string arrangements.
“For me this new solo venture is about setting aside my armour to embrace vulnerability”, Laena says of the album. “This is my first release where I’m not hiding behind anything, and even though I’ve been writing songs and playing music since I can remember, releasing this record has been a really long process. I’ve come from a place of being a really shy person to one where I feel I can share my most tender feelings publicly, even finding strength in it, and I’m realising I can also connect with people on a deeper level this way too.”
Whereas lyrically FEELS’ last album ‘Post Earth’, was mostly concerned with the climate crisis and calling out corporate greed, the songs on ‘LUV (Songs of Yesterday)’ are a lot more introspective. “‘Post Earth’ was written at the same time as I was preparing the songs for this record, and lyrically the real distinguishing factor between the two is the external focus vs internal focus.”
