Listen Lisse

Who ?
Listen Lisse is currently a songwriter /  female fronted 2 piece band.   Lisa was born in New Zealand and now lives in London.

What kind of music is it?

Apocalyptic Art Rock., a fusion of the types of music which I relate to.  I like to take the best things out of the different genres and experiment a bit. I love the attitude in punk music but also the mystery in folk music and the beats of rock music and 80's rock/pop.

What is your approch to music?

I like story telling in music, to be able to tell it how it is but to also create new stories based on real or fictional people. I write a lot of songs and record the best songs when they feel ready. It can take me a few hours to write a song or it can take a few months depending on when the song feels right.

I recorded my latest album Sunset Over Cairo onto tape at the Cowshed Studios. I wanted the album to have a live quality and to keep it sounding fresh.  Recording at the Cowshed Studios was a blast as it is one  of the last remaining analogue studios in the country with a great relaxed atmosphere.  Other artist who recorded there include: Queen Adreena, The Cesarians, Marcella Detriot, Pixie Lott and more.

My first album It's Not You was recorded during a 5 day session where I isolated myself from the outside world and focused completely on the music.  The result was an album that I am proud of and which features the songs Fabricate, Judas and Time of the Day.

The process of recording music is important to me. I like to capture the performance within the 1st 3 takes and don't like to record the same thing over and over because I think that kills it. Sometimes I will radically change a song just before recording it just to keep it sounding fresh.

What about playing live?

I play live solo using loops, guitar and sometimes a stomp box. I have songs which I play slightly differently each time. I loop vocals live creating layers to the music. I have a set-list as a rough guide but play whichever song will work next and like to improvise sometimes.

My music videos

I've done a handful of music videos which are experimental and explore the song visually. I like to make a video for a song using visual layers and narrative.   I use a guerrilla style of film making where I use simple props and costumes and  use whatever is available to make the video on a low budget.