Lana Crow’s “Orwellian Times” confronts manipulation, outrage culture, and digital confusion. In this interview, she explores truth, vulnerability, and the creative vision shaping her bold, genre-blending new single.
1. “Orwellian Times” tackles themes of conformity, outrage culture, and digital chaos. What moment or realization first sparked the idea for this song?
I was raised in a post-Soviet society. Year after year after the Soviet collapse, the lies that had propped up the empire unravelled—and the sheer scale of the deception and brutality was staggering. What I now consider an advantage is that, when I went to university, Kazakhstan was in the process of finding its own cultural and moral identity. As a result, no particular ideology was forced upon me. Yet those who had been indoctrinated by Soviet higher education remained completely immune to any exposure of the regime’s lies. Nothing could convince them that the Soviet Union had been a deeply flawed and oppressive system. Truth simply didn’t matter. That experience taught me something important: we tend to believe only what we want to believe. Very few people are genuinely interested in the truth; most care only about how it makes them feel about themselves.
This human tendency is being exploited on a massive scale today. When I moved to the West many years ago, I was initially heartened by the greater transparency in the media. Over time, however, I watched that transparency slowly erode. For me, the moment it became unmistakable how Soviet-like parts of the West had become was the media onslaught against Israel following Hamas’s terrorist attack on October 7, 2023. Two things struck me as utterly surreal:
This absurdity prompted me to try and find out what is being pushed on popular social media these days and what is currently being taught in English-speaking universities, and I discovered some deeply disturbing things (which I won’t detail here). My only advice is this: if you truly want to understand a country or a conflict, don’t rely on books or media. Go live in the place that moves you, learn the language, and find out what actually drives people to act the way they do.
Sadly, much of the Western world has been manipulated into believing that being loudly pro-Palestinian makes them virtuous. In reality, the dominant strain of that movement is not “pro” anything — it is anti, fueled by hatred. The street protests did not shorten the war; if anything, they prolonged it by playing into the hands of those who started it.
I can almost understand those who have been bombarded with anti-Israel propaganda from every direction. Few of us do real research before forming strong opinions, especially when jumping on the popular bandwagon makes us look morally superior. Most non-Arabic-speaking protesters have no idea that the chant “Free Palestine” actually says “From the water to the water, Palestine is Arab, all land is Arab” in Arabic. They also don’t realise that Palestine would have no problem with Israel if Israel shared Palestine’s religious faith. The sad thing is that certain ideologies have become part of many people’s identity, and identities adopted in youth are hard to shake. When an ideology convinces you that it is virtuous to hate, the future looks bleak for all of us.
In short, what sparked the idea of the song was how easily we are manipulated today — how effortlessly we can be made to feel righteous and good while actually being driven by some of our darkest emotions, and how easy it is to divide us.
2. Your lyrics blend irony with emotional vulnerability. How did you find the balance between calling out societal behavior and keeping the message personal and relatable?
Because I am just one of many, I know how easy it is to get trapped in a narrative we’re being fed. We are all guilty of bias, and we’re all shaped by whatever pops up on our screens. I often catch myself judging something—or someone—based on a report or a comment, only to find out later that I was wrong. There’s simply too much noise around us.
I think the best way to stay grounded right now is to avoid letting foreign conflicts take over our personal space. We can’t help projecting our own values and perceptions onto others, and some cultures are so vastly different that only people with real, personal insight into the daily life of that culture would know what they are dealing with. Some conflicts are just not ours to judge.
And it’s a strength, not a weakness, to admit when you got something wrong. The world is changing very fast at the moment and it is ok to make mistakes.
3. The track mixes punchy guitars with cinematic synths, creating a powerful pop-rock atmosphere. What was your sonic vision going into the studio for this single?
I asked the producer, George Harris, to create a sound that would land somewhere between Taylor Swift’s “Actually Romantic” (I loved the guitar there) and my own “Don’t Look Up.” He’s a clever guy and a talented artist in his own right—he releases music as Brando Walker on Spotify—and I think when he heard the demo, he immediately sensed that the track needed that eerie atmosphere the synths could bring. And he absolutely nailed it. It was the first time a producer has delivered the perfect track for me on the very first attempt.
4. You’ve said this song is like holding up a mirror to listeners. What do you hope people feel or confront within themselves after hearing “Orwellian Times”?
I wish people would stop chasing movements that give them a cheap sense of moral superiority and self-validation. We are already enough as we are.
I’ve heard from students who felt forced to join pro-Palestinian marches—not out of conviction, but because staying away left them isolated, whispered about, or even targeted. Anyone who creates that kind of pressure needs to recognise one simple truth: they have become the bully. No matter how noble you believe your cause to be, the moment you feel an urge to harass or shame others into compliance, an alarm should go off. Ask yourself, honestly: “Am I truly acting righteously?”
Self-righteousness isn’t evil in itself, but it’s deeply tied to the ego—which makes it one of the darkest and most easily manipulated emotions we have. Those clever enough know that all they have to do is make the self-righteous person feel even more convinced of their righteousness, and they will gladly do the rest of the work themselves.
5. Your music often pushes boundaries and questions modern culture. How do you navigate being a “fearless voice” while still staying true to your artistic emotions and personal life?
It’s a lot easier to come across as fearless when popularity isn’t the goal. Trust me, I’m scared of plenty, and I genuinely didn’t intend to put this song out. A few random events just collided and nudged me into doing it.
What I’m not afraid of is showing my flaws and admitting I’m as vulnerable as anyone else. I think that’s what keeps me authentic and, hopefully, relatable.
6. As an artist who blends indie pop, alt-pop, and rock elements, where do you see your sound evolving after this release? Are there themes or musical directions you’re excited to explore next?
I plan to keep blending the three elements you mentioned. For me, each style carries a different emotion, and together they create an emotional range. My central theme remains self-awareness, and that’s what I’ll continue to focus on.
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