Truth, Transformation, and Music: Lauren Ruth Ward in Conversation
On her forthcoming album Medicine, Lauren Ruth Ward peels back every layer of herself to reveal a record born from radical honesty, spiritual inquiry, and creative rebirth. Led by the soul-baring single Loved Lost And Loved Again, the project reflects years of personal evolution and intuitive artistry. The track blends emotional depth with spiritual clarity, offering a glimpse into a body of work shaped by transformation and a commitment to creating outside the industry’s expectations.
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LRW shares how spiritual practice and deep self-reflection have fueled her creative process, from recording affirmations in a teacher’s basement to capturing raw moments on a vintage camcorder during tours. Songs like Pansexual reveal both vulnerability and resilience, while her return to intimate DIY shows highlights her desire for genuine connection.
Medicine feels like a return to self. What was the first spark or moment that made you realize this was the direction your next body of work needed to take?
I’ve spent a lot of time in the past five years with my spiritual teacher, Diana Zaheer, and with myself. This inner inquiry work has seeped into every part of me, especially what I create. In the midst of creating my Medicine album, I took a trip to Boulder, CO, stayed with my teacher in her home, and in her basement, I wrote and recorded an affirmations EP called Transition Transmissions. It’s a very different side of my artist self that I’ve only just started to meet, so it’s only available on Bandcamp and Patreon. So many more of these transmissions to come; they’re honestly burning inside. I often shout to my girlfriend when I’m in the shower for her to come and record what’s coming through my mind, or else I’ll lose it. My spirit guides love sending me messages while I’m in water; it happens when I’m in the pool or the ocean, too. I’ve started bringing a little notebook to the beach.
Your new single, Loved Lost And Loved Again, is raw and soul-forward. Was there a specific moment or feeling that cracked it open for you during the writing process, and how did that track set the tone for the full album?
Yes, absolutely! Every moment in my life involving love and grief, with myself or with another, led me to write this song. It’s an ode to acceptance. Not only allowing our past to be, but accepting others’ pasts, thus accepting them fully. Hiding and massaging the truth is an exhausting way to live; it’s not living. You’re not living until you accept who you are. And from that place, this fingerprint, perfectly flawed, continues to take shape every time we love, receive, and grieve.
The new single’s video is visually striking and emotionally charged. How involved were you in shaping its aesthetic, and what story were you hoping to tell beyond the lyrics?
Thank you! It’s my first self-edited and self-shot music video, aside from some additional footage my partner took. The footage is from a few years of European/UK tours. I’d been sitting on it for a while; the buzzing motor on my 2000s handycam is so loud, I knew it could only be used in this way. I wanted to take the viewer through a montage of experiencing one of my greatest passions, the exciting, the painful, and the raw of life on the road, akin to the tosses, turns, and softnesses of relationships. The lyrics I wrote were with lovers in mind, but for the visual, I wanted to reflect the many in-love relationships we have with ourselves. We fall in and out of love with ourselves, too.
What was the most emotionally challenging song to write on this album, and what did it teach you about yourself?
Pansexual. I wrote its lyrics a few years back, then, on a writing session tear (aka me looking for a lead guitarist/producer to album-mate with), I was having no luck bringing the tune to a life that satisfied my label. Not in a bad way, though; I agreed with most of their notes, and fully, I enjoy the push to keep trying. This final version wasn’t birthed until the 4th try, with my current (and lifer!) guitarist/producer, Lightfoot. Our first 3 songs live on this album: Pansexual, Camouflage Sabotage, and Slow Down.
There’s a lot of spiritual language in how you talk about this project—medicine, truth, ritual. How do spirituality and creativity intersect in your world?
In everything I create. I create once I take the time to connect to my desires, my truth, and what I need people to know, and I tell my spirit guides I’m ready to receive the best way to show this transmission. I say this spell out loud and write it on paper (in case they didn’t hear me ◡̈̈—which they always do!).
What’s one uncomfortable truth about the music industry you wish more artists talked about openly?
It is less about expression than it is about marketability and quotas. I’ll also say that once I shook hands with this reality, I started to see the marketable part as just another obstacle in the course of creation. It’s a fun challenge for the most part that yields growth as a human and an artist. I do need to make art just for me, just for expression, to stay sane. And this is actually not something artists need to talk about more; we talk about it. Artists are being upfront on socials all the time with what goes on behind the curtain. I wish this was something mass listeners knew clearly, that there’s brilliant talent outside of what Top 40 radio claims. And being on the radio, going viral, all of this is very exciting and an incredible accomplishment, but so is showering, being a good parent, or meditating three days in a row. All are of equal validation.
With the Undertow tour coming up and your background in intimate, DIY-style shows, what are you most looking forward to about returning to that kind of intimate performance space?
The Undertow (living room) tour throughout the US is from October to January. From my DIY and pop-up show days, I’ve got nothing but excitement in my heart for the intimate memories that are ahead of me. I love smaller crowds bc I love being able to connect with every person. I love not using an amp bc I love pushing and pulling my volume to match my in-time emotions. I love not using a microphone because I love swaying my head to keep tempo. All the above in reverse is also a wonderful experience. I’m just really, really looking forward to experiencing simple shit with folks who’re down to receive—that is a gift. And balancing simple moments with more produced moments is my game; it keeps things exciting and keeps my soul goals in perspective.
You describe yourself as a “truth warrior.” What truths were hardest to face while making this album, and how did they transform you?
This is a name given to me by my spiritual teacher. There is no such thing as a hard truth (for me). Truths are what I look for and ask for; they’re the ointment. It is lies that are hard for me; they make me feel ill. I always get physically sick when I lie.
If someone could only hear one song from Medicine to understand where you’re at right now—mind, body, spirit—what would it be and why?
The whole album! Haha. This is a trick question; there is no one song that can describe where I am at mind, body, spirit, not even on this record. We are all too vast for one song.
You’ve talked about contradictions being sacred. What’s one contradiction in your life or art that you’ve learned to embrace rather than resolve?
That, as an artist, I am both independent and industry-signed. I am both feral and tame.
If you could whisper one thing to your younger self, back when you were just starting, what would you say, knowing everything you’ve lived through now?
Don’t kill yourself, it gets so much better.
Photos by Jun Lu
