Italian-born, London-based singer-songwriter Lisabel has released her debut album, A Work Of Art via Brother Sun Sister Moon Productions Studio.
Lisabel’s musical influences range from a variety of artists including the likes of Amy Winehouse, Jordan Rakei and Alicia Keys but with this comes a unique sound that could be associated with Solange, Aretha Franklin and Erykah Badu while maintaining its own individualistic integrity. She has showcased her powerful vocals at venues such as The Half Moon, Pizza Express Jazz Club, O2 Academy Islington.
We find out finer details in the interview below.
Tell us about you, how long have you been producing music? What did inspire you to start?
Hello! I’m a singer-songwriter based in London, I write music influenced by jazz, soul, neo-soul, pop, blues.. it’s a mixture of everything as I love all music!
I am not a producer, I mainly write and arrange my music as much as possible. The arranging part is important so that when I approach my producer Nikola Kovačević (Brother Sun Sister Moon Productions) it’s easier to brainstorm ideas together about the sound we want to go for. He takes care of all of the technical aspects like recording, mixing, mastering, I really love his use of synthesizers which is why I trust him with creating textures that help the feelings behind the music come alive.
I started studying music when I was 15, I was mainly inspired by the big voices that I grew up listening to; amongst them are Alicia Keys, Beyoncé, Whitney Houston, Christina Aguilera, and some other R&B artists. I admired what they could do with their voices but as I grew and matured within music, the voice started taking a different meaning and I grew more and more interested in songwriting and expressing myself.
The music industry is super competitive these days, was there a moment in your life that you wanted to give up on music? How did you manage to stay focused and achieve what you want?
Yes, the music industry is very competitive, as musicians today we have more space than back in the day as everything is digital which is a blessing and a curse. There are a lot of people on this planet though and I think that if we make art that truly represents who we are, we’ll all have a chance to be found by people who are interested in us and our story. I never wanted to give up, I just focused my energies into making music that I would like to hear personally and even through the frustrating moments which happen to everyone, I reminded myself that I could do it, I even wrote a song about it called ‘If Not Me, Who?’.
How would you describe your creative processes? Who writes the lyrics to the songs? Are the music and lyrics written in conjunction, or separately? Where the inspiration comes from?
I usually write the lyrics first as I spend more time thinking than playing an instrument Ahah, that’s normal I guess! I write about special things happening in my life, a thought I never had before, a gesture, a feeling.. Sometimes if I’m sitting at the piano I’ll write chords first but it’s less common. I’ve written a few songs starting from the melody with a rough draft of the lyrics though. My creative process is very spontaneous and organic, I never push myself to write, songs usually come to me and I have to record ideas so they don’t escape!
What’s your favourite track from the upcoming album and what other bands/artists are you listening to right now?
I can’t pick a favourite track, I’d betray the rest!! But one that’s moving me at the moment is ‘Blue’.
Lately, I’ve been listening to Becca Stevens’ new album, Jordan Rakei and some of my friend’s music, Milena, Lovisa Laine, Hollie, Anin Rose, Kimberly Walker, they are all amazing!
What’s next for you?
As soon as this surreal situation will allow us to go back to our normal lives I’ll start gigging with the album’s music. In the meantime, I’m going to start recording new music though! I never stop songwriting, ever!
