We still remember starting out as musicians waaayyyy back in the early 90s. Writing the first songs, finding your voice as an artist, "trying on" all the different styles and instruments... Now, that we are re-starting our music career, we are really interested in hooking up with young indie-musicians and learn about how they feel about beginning this exciting journey of artistic self-discovery. Today, we hear from Lady Liv, who has just started university and who has also just released her first single, "Eleven Days"...
You have just released your first single - can you tell us a little about the songwriting and recording process? What were some outstanding moments? Can you describe the song and its meaning?
Eleven Days is an acoustic pop song about the stresses that come alongside confessing feelings to someone. The songwriting process for this one was kinda unique actually. It started off as me experimenting with open E tuning on the guitar, where I came up with the main chord sequence. I went on holiday shortly after, and the only instrument I could bring with me was a ukulele. I ended up developing the rest of the song on that ukulele despite ukulele not appearing on the final track. I desperately wanted to write lyrics but writer’s block was preventing this, all I could manage was a line or two per day. And so I kept working at it and after a couple of weeks it was done!
I recorded this one a while ago, before I upgraded my setup. I didn’t own an audio interface at the time so I used my dad’s 80’s Tascam Portastudio instead, as well as a cheap dynamic mic I got on Amazon. I recorded on to audacity and mixed it in the free version of FL Studio. My laptop then died but luckily I saved the completed mix on the cloud so, when I upgraded my setup, I properly mastered the track in Logic Pro and voila!
What does being a musician mean to you?
Being a musician means the world to me! I love writing, performing and recording… the whole package really!!
When did you first realise that you wanted to be a musician?
Ever since I started playing keyboards when I was 9, I have wanted to express myself musically. My plan throughout secondary school was that I wanted to be a musician but I would complete a degree in computer science as a backup. But when I started sixth form, it became crystal clear to me that I’m just not passionate about computer science and that music is what I really want to do, so why shouldn’t I just go for it?!!
What instrument(s) do you play and what do you especially love about it/them?
I play piano, bass, guitar, ukulele, tin whistle, I sing, and I produce. I love all the instruments for different reasons!
Piano was my first instrument. I especially love piano because it’s such a free instrument. On guitar you are limited to 6 strings, on piano you are limited to 88 keys. Well, it’s more complicated than that but you get the gist.
Bass guitar is my main instrument when playing live. I like bass because bassists secretly have all the control, if the guitarist is playing a D major, I can play a B and then it’s a B7!
Sometimes the reason I like an instrument is less to do with what it’s like to play, sometimes it’s more about its environmental impact. For example, the main reason I play the tin whistle is because the sound of it pisses my parents off!!
Where do you see yourself as an artist 5 years from now?
In 5 years, I will have put out a lot more music, that’s for sure!
I want to grow as an artist. Although I love making indie pop, and I’m certainly not done with it, I think I will experiment a lot with my sound in the coming years. So who knows what I will sound like in 5 years?
And I will be done with university by then too.
What are your plans for 2023?
It is most likely that I will be releasing my debut album in 2023 (along with some more singles before 2023)!! I am headed to university this year, so hopefully I’ll get to play gigs and join the live music scene in York by the time 2023 comes around! My current musical project is mostly indie pop/alternative but other projects I have in the works explore influences from heavier genres, so perhaps 2023 will be the year for that, but who knows!
Many thanks to Liv for answering our questions! Definitely go check out her single Eleven Days here: https://distrokid.com/hyperfollow/ladyliv/eleven-days
Follow her on Instagram to keep up with all the latest news: https://www.instagram.com/ladylivmusic/