Born in New Orleans, Louisiana, Acantha Lang is now a formidable presence within London’s live music scene. Her concert at the Pizza Express Jazz Club landed at #2 in The House That Soul Built’s ‘Best Soul Gigs of 2019’, second only to the Empress of Soul Gladys Knight.
The London soul scene is weighted more towards great voices than great songwriters. But Lang has a repertoire of earthy blues and rock-infused soul that deserves studio release. She closed her Pizza Express show with ‘He Said/She Said’, a scorching attack on the culture of ‘fake news’, which is now her much-anticipated debut single.
Lang packs each syllable with anger and irritation. ‘Aren’t we tired of faking it / Somebody tell me please,’ she spits with a hint of growl in her vocal. ‘Can ya believe it?‘ she asks rhetorically about the half-truths and misinformation flying about. The tune opens with a guitar riff before jolting the listener with stabs of brass. The full band comes together to create a funky, energetic jam that conjures the excitement of Lang’s live sets.
Listen to ‘He Said/She Said’ and read our interview with Acantha below!
Interview with Acantha Lang
The song’s message about misinformation feels very relevant. What inspired you to write the song? Were you inspired by any specific events?
The song wasn’t inspired by a specific event. I was having conversations with friends about where they were getting their news from. There seems to be a lot of rumors, half-truths, click-bait, and misinformation around. It seems to be a problem that’s getting worse and we just don’t know what to believe these days. I’m not sure where this road leads but it certainly isn’t anywhere good.
How did the song’s funky arrangement come together?
My guitarist came up with the opening guitar riff. Then he came to me with the idea and we started working it out. He had very clear ideas about the direction for this song. (Funky, bluesy, New Orleans.) I had mentioned that I wanted a song with some dynamic ‘stabs’ and he told me that he was hearing ‘stabs’ for the intro of the song, which worked out perfectly. I started drafting the lyrics but I didn’t come up with the chorus until I was driving in the car to the rehearsal where we were going to try it out for the first time. I guess I work well when there’s a deadline!
You are primarily a live performer. What has Lockdown been like for you? How have you coped?
Lockdown has been a challenge, to say the least. Thank god I live with my guitarist (who is also my partner), so we were able to do a few live streams and a weekly series on Instagram (more on that in the next question). I also had plenty to work on in the run-up to releasing my first single, so that gave me something important to focus on, which helped me to stay positive through the madness. I also did a lot of meditating, exercising and lots of walking in the park to stay sane.
Tell us a bit about your Instagram ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of…’ series. Why did you start it?
So during lockdown, I started a weekly IGTV series called ‘Standing On The Shoulders Of…’ where I pay tribute to Soul Legends. I did this partly to stay creative and partly because there were no live shows for anyone to go to (and people seemed to really enjoy them), so I just kept going. Currently, I’m on Episode 18. These songs are acoustic performances from my living room so they are pretty chilled. The funny thing is, there are people who have only just discovered me through this series, who have no idea that I have a full funky band with a horn section! They think I just sing ballads in the living room (haha).
What can we expect from Acantha Lang in 2021?
In 2021, you can expect more single releases leading up to my debut album, probably towards the end of 2021. (Covid has delayed me a bit so I’m trying to get back on track.) Hopefully, live music will be back in 2021 so I’ll be getting back on stage with my band at the first possible opportunity. And I can’t wait!!
