ABOUT ME 🦋
I've been writing songs, consciously or otherwise, for all of my life..through the ups, the downs and the mundanes. I grew up with the sounds of the 60s, motown, Ella and Kristofferson playing in the home around me. As a teenager I was in awe of the raw naked beat of the Stones, the jazz choices of Steely Dan and in my 30s the melodic rhythms of Hucknall's voice sent me to sleep at night whilst I plugged in to my Walkman. In recent years I've been visiting Nashville, I've walked Music Row and the Honky-tonks along Broadway and discovered new country, story telling with a twist or a gut wrenching reality expressed in a carefully crafted phrase. Hence my music today is influenced by a lifetime of eclectic listening, blues, jazz, rock, country, Americana, folk, protest, motown...and this is reflected in my catalogue of very varied songs.
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A SONGWRITER’S
PHILOSOPHY
So why do we listen to music? It's another noise in the cacophony of noise in the world around us so why would we choose to put the radio on or to plug into a track or favourite artist and to add to the melee of sound? I believe the function of music in our lives is to move us in some way, to shift or enhance our emotion..it might be to cheer us up, to challenge a thought or perspective, to make us laugh, to let us wallow down into a tear drenched hanky moment or to lift us skyward with an amazing riff or dance beat..whatever it is, the music is there to enhance our emotional state. This is my songwriter philosophy, heavy stuff I hear you say! The music has to speak, to have something authentic and relatable to say to the listener, otherwise they won't be moved, hence why would they listen? It doesn't always need to be a deep impactful message but it must always be a clear, authentic and relatable message and tune. As a songwriter I see it as an immense gift and privilege that someone would give 3.5 minutes of their time to listen to my words and music, to give themselves over to it and to allow them self to be immersed in my story. There is no point then in writing a story in riddles or convoluted hard to follow routes through the lyrics or notes, songwriting really is less is more. It's a conversation between you and me and the language needs to represent that, quickly. One of my favourite first lines is " So what if you're hurting, I'm in pieces too" ( Song: Falling Through) this sets the scene in 9 words, we all understand it, the tone of the speaker is clear and let's face it, we've all been there and can relate. The listener won't need a dictionary or compass to navigate the song, it's a simple relaying of things not going well. So I hope you will find my songs' message clear to understand, confidently crafted and relatable. They are not all deep and emotionally insightful, some may be, but I hope they move you in some way, if only to tap your foot along with a beat. Above all I hope you find listening an enjoyable and pleasing way to pass 3.5 minutes of your time, and for that I thank you hugely for listening.
Lisa 🦋
