ABOUT LANA

Lana Carlson is a creative force - a multilingual luminary, art impresario, and classically trained musician with a gift for storytelling. Most in her hometown of Austin, Texas, are familiar with her as a disruptive art curator and entrepreneur with European roots and exceptional global connections. But as a true Renaissance woman, Lana has more than one talent up her sleeve. Her latest project is a transition to curating words and sounds as she embarks on releasing her very own music. Lana’s ethereal and haunting debut album “REDEMPTION” will be released in 2025. Blending soft melodies with cinematic depth, she steps into the spotlight with her own voice now being a proverbial “oeuvre d'art.”

It was with great vulnerability that Lana decided to pivot to this new creative direction. While composing this collection of songs, she quelches a yearning for this aspect of her own self-expression. Lana has always been drawn to how music and art intersect and now she has the chance to embark on her newest chapter, allowing the world to see another side of her soul. Lana’s passion for music was born in St. Petersburg, Russia, where she first discovered her passion for poetry. "I have been a poetry writer for as long as I can remember," she recalls. Her first degree was in music, and as a teenager, she performed in a pop band, though never with her own songs. Lana always felt a pull to write original pieces in English, a goal that took many years to realize. During her time living in Paris, she shifted her focus to the art world, which eventually led her to the United States. After living in Austin for ten years and working as an art curator, Lana began to feel more comfortable expressing her thoughts and emotions in English, her third language, though it took considerable effort to master the craft of songwriting in a foreign tongue.

Drawing inspiration from contemporary artists like Lana Del Rey and Alicia Keys as well as classical influences, “REDEMPTION” unfolds across nine tracks. Distinct in its style and approach, each song captures a chapter of an emotional journey And although she will be first releasing singles from the project, each piece feels inseparable from the larger narrative. Even the most gentle songs on “REDEMPTION” themselves build to powerful crescendos, each part of a larger, carefully structured narrative drawn from real-life events. Such is the case with “Freedom Isn’t Free,” a track that began as a satirical commentary but grew poignant and emotionally charged as Lana delved deeper into the writing process.

Lana worked alongside friend and producer Ronnie Heart, who played an essential role in shaping the album’s raw sound. “Ronnie added a great amount of sounds that really suited my voice and the style of the record. There was no band involved - no drummer - so Ronnie had a hard task to keep the flow of every song and the feeling of the rhythm.”

With the album also recorded partially in Lana’s home studio in Austin, she pays homage to the city on her favorite track, “Austin.” “I can’t fully express how much love I have for this city. How much happened here for me. Despite some very difficult moments, Austin has never let me down. It’s been so supportive and no matter what, it brings me new opportunities and gives me more chances,” she shares.

“Perfect Breakup Line,” the opening track on “REDEMPTION”, was the first full song Lana wrote in English, a process that came slowly and deliberately. “I was changing and rewriting parts of it for about a year,” she reveals. This experience marked a pivotal moment in her musical journey, bridging the gap between her Russian roots and her evolving artistic voice.

Outside of her musical journey, Lana has been heralded as an established figure in the art community as Co-Founder and Curator of HOUSE OF L Art Events Production, the Co-Founder and Head Curator of the POP Austin International Art Show and she serves as a member of the SXSW Art Program Advisory Board, the THINKERY IMAGINARIUM Host Committee, and the Host Committee at Ballet Austin. Lana’s concept for HOUSE OF L was featured in Forbes magazine in 2018, where she reiterated her creative approach: “We are most looking forward to discovering and introducing our clients to our emerging artists,” she said. “Buying art can be kind of intimidating. We are trying to disrupt and change the way people purchase art by making it more immersive and interactive.”

Internationally, Lana has built a reputation by curating and producing large-scale exhibitions and art fairs. Her career in the global art world began in Paris, where she worked as an art consultant under renowned dealer Patrick Carpentier and assisted with art fairs in Hong Kong, Miami, Los Angeles, and Moscow. Becoming Founder and Director of the Modern Art Gallery, Lana forged partnerships with galleries and state museums to bring new perspectives to contemporary art. The Modern Art Gallery hosted the first-ever Auguste Rodin exhibition in Russia, culminating in the donation of “The Thinker” sculpture to the Saint Petersburg Academy of Fine Arts. Under her leadership, the gallery also created the official cultural programming for the International Economic Forum, an event hosted under the auspices of the Russian Federation’s president. Lana was also key in organizing POP Asia, an exhibition that traveled to major international art fairs, and spearheaded the original marketing efforts for the Street Art Museum in Saint Petersburg.

Lana’s artistic evolution led her from music to art and back again. The detour into the art world was an invaluable learning experience. "I’ve worked with an incredible amount of talented artists from around the globe, organizing exhibitions, art fairs and other types of events. I am also very passionate about art, so these days I mostly collect and can call myself an art collector." And now, as she continues to evolve into a musical artist, Lana remains committed to authenticity. “I’m still figuring out the way that suits me best. The best way for me is to stay true to myself, create what comes naturally, and develop over time.”