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Blog interview: Liza Lo

Hello Liza how are you? 

Hey! I’m very well thank you! Truly hope you are too.

I’m great thanks for asking!

You’re a singer songwriter and multi instrumentalist from Amsterdam how did it all begin for you?

I started writing songs on the piano, it was more just random blurbs of songs, like small poems playing. I then joined this extra curricular music course when I was 16 and went in every Saturday where we studied band practice and songwriting in particular, I learned how to actually finish a song here which was quite helpful! I joined a band there which was super fun and was studying here for 2+ years. I decided to study music after and started my solo project. I wrote a lot of music with my friend Emilio at university and together we learned a lot about collaboration, he’s still a very dear friend of mine and there’s actually a song we wrote together on the album too! It’s called ‘Darling’

What did you listen to growing up? 

A variety of different music really, we listened to the Beatles and Amy Winehouse a lot but then my parents also often played classical music, varying between Beethoven and Yann Tiersen mostly

Congratulations on the release of “Catch The Door”, how does it feel now it’s out in the world?

Thank you so much! It honestly feels wonderful, the song lies close to my heart and I’m so happy to see people share the song and have it’s own effect on them. 

What’s the story behind the song?

Catch The Door is a metaphor for the complexities of disagreement and the fear of loving—especially when it comes to those closest for me. I had been feeling this melancholic feeling for a couple of months, uncertain of what it was. I sat down on this rainy April evening and somehow this song and all the emotions came out. 

You’ve also got an album coming out on 31st January, what’s your favourite track from it? 

I think my favourite track is continuously changing, but I currently really love Darling 

What was the easiest and most challenging part of recording it?

The easiest part was when the whole band clicked in and played together, it is honestly such a treat to play with such talented musicians! Having Freek, Tom, Maarten, Sean and Ben form the record with me made everything so worryless and straight forward, they knew exactly what to do! The most challenging was probably deciding what songs would make the cut, we recorded many songs and I was constantly torn between favourites, we made it to a selection of eleven in the end though!

What’s your favourite memory of putting it together?

One of my favourite memories must have been when we were tying together Catch The Door. I’d only written the song a few days before we decided to record it and there were so many big time changes in it that we had to all sit down together and play for about an hour to figure the parts out. I genuinely didn’t think we’d figure out a way to make it work but we ended up glueing everything together eventually

You worked with Jon Kelly, and recorded with your live band what did you learn from the experience?

I learnt to live with the imperfections and to just go with what comes out first. Recording direct to tape and trusting the musicians fully was a real joy and special experience.

Being a multi-instrumentalist what’s your starting point for writing?

I usually start writing with my guitar first, however this does really change from time to time! Sometimes I’ll just have vocal recordings on my phone, sometimes guitar and vocals and sometimes just guitar. I don’t currently tend to write on piano first any more, maybe that’ll change over time though. 

What do you do if you hit a brick wall creatively?

I try to do things that inspire me, spend time in nature and spend time just living rather than forcing something out. I try to journal daily so I declutter my thoughts and make space for the new, this also tends to help when I struggle finding my creative drive. 

You went out on tour with Harrison Storm, how was it?

Yes, I went on tour with Harrison Storm last Spring! It was a real joy, it was my first time opening for an artist around Europe and we really have a wonderful time. After the tour with Harrison I was lucky enough to join Steph Strings on the road as well as Vraell and my own headline tour.

What are you listening to at the moment?

I’m listening to a lot of Bob Dylan, I feel like with the movie coming out and everything I have just been wired to his music!

What are you looking forward to doing most in 2025? 

Hitting the road some more and writing and recording new songs. We’re going to be recording in my stripped back live set-up very soon and I can’t wait for these versions of the songs to see the light of day.

 

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