Interview with Brio Media Group

There’s a moment in “What Brings You Back” where Lana Crows’ voice seems to float somewhere between earth and something else entirely. It happened to me on a grey morning—the kind where the sky sits low and heavy—and for three minutes and twenty seconds, the world outside my window stopped mattering.

Lana Crows is a British indie pop/pop-rock singer-songwriter with a voice that grabs you right away: powerful, warm, and utterly real. She’s got two albums under her belt—I Will and Live It, which she calls a “sonic diary” of growth and self-liberation—plus a handful of singles that have built a small but devoted following. But her new track, “What Brings You Back,” released January 7th, 2026, feels like something else entirely. More intimate. More naked.

The song is a slow ballad—78 BPM, contemplative and spacious—that imagines what God might say to us if we could actually hear that voice. Not the distant, judgmentful God of sermons, but something closer. A presence that asks, “What makes you laugh? What makes you sad? What brings you back to me?” while the world outside gets darker and fears creep into our heads.

I told her straight up: “Lana, writing a pop song about God is a brave move. Where did that come from?” She smiled, tucked a strand of hair behind her ear, and started telling me a story that goes way back. What followed was one of those conversations that stays with you.

The Interview: A Chat with Lana Crow

1. Lana, “What Brings You Back” imagines the voice of God speaking to someone who’s struggling. That’s a powerful idea—and pretty bold for a pop song. Where did it come from? Was there a specific moment when you felt the need to write this conversation?

I do feel that the world is going through a reshaping process at the moment, and more and more people are seeking answers because so many things just do not make sense anymore. This track is my invitation to look for those answers within.

2. There’s a line in the press material that really stuck with me: “I was told many years ago that it is this immense intelligence—half of which resides somewhere beyond our human comprehension and another within each human being.” Can you tell me about that? Who told you, and why did that idea stay with you all these years?

That idea fundamentally changed the trajectory of my life. Growing up in the Soviet Union and post-Soviet Kazakhstan, my personal value was stripped away, replaced by a measure of productivity and usefulness to the parents and the state. To anyone who romanticizes socialism: there is nothing romantic about it. You cannot equalize vastly different human beings without applying force. Socialism is just a modern day slavery. In an environment where abuse was common, my early view of humanity was dark; I saw humans as a destructive infection.

Then I found the book Anastasia, and it turned my world around. It taught me that our thoughts generate our reality and the reality of the world at large. It presented God as an infinite intelligence that wants us to be happy because every human holds a part of that intelligence within them.

The book explained that our happy, grateful thoughts reach upward and reflect back to us as wellbeing and peace; conversely, dark thoughts and deeds reach downward and reflect back as wars and disasters. These ideas were radical—unconventional, to say the least—but they resonated with me. My view of humanity changed dramatically. I began to see people as these Godly beings who are placed into a realm of doctrine and limitation, having forgotten who they really are. As my mindset shifted, my life followed. Miraculous things began to happen, including my move to Western Europe, which helped consolidate these ideas because core Western values do place a higher premium on human happiness. I didn’t connect this change of mindset to the positive changes in my life immediately; I only traced the correlation much later.

3. Musically, the track is very intimate—slow, almost suspended. 78 BPM if we’re getting technical. How did the arrangement come together? Did you work with someone specific to get that feeling of “light arriving” in the final section?

The track was produced by George Harris, who I have worked with on several of my latest songs. I feel very lucky to have found George; after producing ‘I Do,’ I knew he would have no difficulty creating a similar track. I told him this song was my interpretation of the Divine, and he translated that into these beautiful, subtle textures—like that rhythmic, heartbeat-like pulsing.

The ‘light arriving’ moment in the finale was actually quite organic. I’d asked for that soaring guitar solo in the bridge, which George did beautifully, and when I sat down to record what was supposed to be just another chorus, the lyrics and the vocal melody of the last part evolved naturally in response to the music.

The irony is that the final stages of the process were anything but ‘light.’ It was late December, I had bronchitis and struggled with singing, and my mixing engineer, CeePee, was battling the flu and struggled with hearing! I vividly remember that fear of pain before I would start to sing. I kept telling myself that fear wouldn’t remove the pain—it would only prolong the process because the vocals wouldn’t sound good if I held back. Ideally, I should have waited to record later but I was determined to hit a January 7th release date because of its personal significance. In my view, the vocals in the verses sound kind of layered at times, but then again, I was talking about struggle, so I left them as they were. Strangely, the chorus came easy to me despite the high notes.

4. In the bridge you sing: “We all have been lost in darkness, seemingly / But darkness is just the absence of your light.” It’s almost philosophical. When you write, are you thinking of someone specific? Or is it more of a dialogue with yourself?

In this song, only the first verse is a human monologue; everything that follows comes from the Divine. I mentioned earlier that, according to the ideas of Anastasia, we carry a part of God within us. We are given this free will, and we do not always choose wisely.

Think of a light bulb that never stops shining. With every dark thought or deed, we cover it up until the light becomes less prominent. It may get completely covered, but the light bulb itself isn’t going anywhere—it is your very nature, your very core; it stays within you no matter what. Those who choose a darker path often don’t realize that by doing so, they are going against their own nature. And when you go against your very nature, you create suffering both for yourself and others. The reason happy thoughts feel good is because they align with our divine core, whereas negative thoughts and feelings do not.

I believe we are placed into certain circumstances at birth by choice to challenge ourselves, but nobody can fully predict how we will turn out. This is where those questions in the song come in: ‘What makes you laugh? What makes you sad?’ The reasons will be different for everyone. For instance, there are societies that celebrate death, yet the people born into them aren’t guaranteed to hate life in their adulthood. There are always those who break the ‘spell’ of that initial indoctrination, and they are some of the most inspiring people on Earth. To me, the greatest human strength is the ability to forgo ego and pride and admit one’s own mistakes. That is what sets us free from childhood and society-imposed limitations; this is how we release the light of our internal lightbulb.

5. Let’s talk about your journey: two albums, I Willand Live It, which you’ve described as a “sonic diary.” What changed between the first and the second? And where does “What Brings You Back” fit in that evolution?

You could say that my narrative has progressed from being descriptive to being constructive. While the earlier work was about documenting experiences and feelings, this new music is more about a search for meaning. It’s less about observing the world and more about understanding our place in it. ‘What Brings You Back’ is a natural step in this evolutionary process.

6. I’ve read that your music gets described as pop-rock with alternative influences. But how would you describe your sound to someone who’s never heard you? And more importantly—how do you feel about the “singer-songwriter” label? Does it fit?

The singer-songwriter label fits perfectly, mainly because it’s exactly what I do: I write the songs and I sing them. As for the sound, I usually describe it as indie-pop, mostly because that’s a broad enough umbrella to cover all the different directions I like to take. I’m comfortable moving from lighthearted indie-pop to more driven alt-rock, and I plan to keep doing that. To me, staying in one lane feels limiting; I find that the music stays more alive and interesting when the sound is allowed to evolve with the song.

7. In your earlier tracks, like “Orwellian Times” or “I Do,” there’s always this tension between personal and political, intimate and universal. With this song, you seem to go even deeper. Was it hard to write something so exposed?

To me, all these concepts—the personal, the political, and the spiritual—intertwine and influence one another. I don’t mind being exposed; in fact, this isn’t the first time I’ve referenced the Divine in my music. Even a humorous song like ‘Live It’ features a full ‘God monologue’ in the bridge.

If any of these ideas help someone find even a single minute of peace, that is all I’m asking. One minute of peace can lead to two minutes of peace, followed by a minute of clarity. It’s like planting a seed: some will grow, and some may not. While this song is just one tiny seed, the suggestion to view God as a loving parent—as part of your own DNA—has the potential to grow into something beautiful. The possibilities are all there.

8. If you had to pick just one question from the chorus—”What makes you laugh? What makes you sad? What brings you back?”—which one feels most like yours right now, at this point in your life?

Definitely ‘What brings you back?’

Like everyone else, I go through dark periods from time to time. However, because I’ve gotten to know myself so well, I recognize much faster when I’ve lost my way. For example, I might be eating lunch and suddenly notice that my head is angrily processing the mess the world is in. I have to stop and ask myself: ‘Are you for real? You have food on the table—just enjoy it for goodness sake!’

Ever since I read that book earlier in life, I’ve taken greater responsibility for my thoughts, knowing they can change the world for better or worse. My contribution is just a drop in the ocean, but it is still a drop. I truly believe if we all understood the value of our individual ‘thought contribution,’ we would live in a much happier place.

So, what brings me back? It starts with noticing. Noticing builds self-awareness, and self-awareness builds an acceptance of your own flaws and mistakes. So many of us live on autopilot, unaware of the sheer volume of unhelpful noise in our heads, and we miss so many precious things in life because of it.

9. Let’s talk about the music scene. You’re an independent artist, doing things on your own terms. How’s that working for you? Is there a community of artists you bounce ideas off, or are you more of a lone wolf? And what do you think of the space that exists today for voices like yours?

I’m a lone wolf. Music isn’t my main occupation yet—though I’d love for it to be—and the reality of being independent is that it’s a significant financial drain. I keep telling myself that I need to stop, but then something happens that pulls me back in. Most recently, the Grammy-winning producer Tristan Boston reached out with production rates that were simply too good to pass up. So, I decided I’ll keep going for now.

That said, I think voices like mine are often stifled in today’s landscape. The current space is dominated by massive marketing budgets that independent artists just don’t have access to. It’s a draining exercise, both emotionally and financially.

10. Last question, a bit personal: who do you want “What Brings You Back” to reach? Is there an ideal listener you picture when you’re singing—someone maybe going through a dark patch who needs to hear that they’re not alone?

 I was deeply moved by the bravery of the Iranian people during the protests late last year. Kazakhstan is not a direct neighbor of Iran, but the two countries between us were also part of the USSR. You know, some Soviets actually fled the USSR for Iran looking for a better life in a freer society—and Iran offered that until 1979, when left-wing Iranians joined forces with the Islamists to overthrow the monarch. Those Iranians who enabled the change of regime were subsequently tortured and executed in the most brutal manner, and that free society was no more. The descendants of those USSR refugees were now fleeing the very country that once offered their ancestors freedom; Marina Nemat describes this beautifully in her book “Prisoner of Tehran”. I think Iran’s story is a cautionary tale for everyone.

So, when the protests started, I watched with hope, but I was in despair over the death toll and the amount of torture the protesters endured. I could never run YouTube ads in Iran due to the country’s restrictions, and I really wish I could have.

In short, the song was inspired by the protesting Iranians, but I think it can help anyone going through darker spells in life to find a few moments of solace. We are never alone. We cannot always change our immediate environment, but I have seen through my personal experience that we can shorten the dark spells if we change the way we view them for just a few precious minutes.