Lykke Li is fortunate enough to appear on the closing track of U2's Songs of Innocence and even she had no idea that the album was going to drop yesterday and be free for half a billion people to download. She happened to be at her chiropractor's when she heard the news and quickly realized that many of the best things in life come as a total surprise.
As for recording the smooth vocals for "The Troubles" Lykke Li went into the studio in L.A. many months ago and cut her vocals only to learn earlier this summer that U2 had changed the key of the song. She then met up with them for the first time in London to lay down her vocals again. As for meeting the band, Lykke Li told Rolling Stone magazine,
"Bono was very kind. He was kind of like the quiet leader, instructing me how to sing in tune — which I usually don't. Mostly, they let me do my own thing, but we tried different things like to whisper it to someone or to scream it to someone, but it was all about creating intimacy. We turned off all the music and sang only to the drums, so it was really getting to what the core of the song meant. I had a wonderful time."
As for the lyrics, Lykke Li says that she never really discussed them with Bono because the song had so much depth to it that she easily connected with it in both her soul and in her heart. Keeping the fact that she had collaborated on the track with U2 was an easy secret for Lykke Li to keep because she was honored to have even been asked.
Have you checked out the tracks on Songs of Innocence yet? What are your thoughts on Lykke Li's backing vocals on "The Troubles?" Tell us in the comments below!
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