Sunday, July 28, 2013

Lucia Lip [Interview # 100]

1)     One day when I was searching Band Camp under the tag “female” and your album came up.  I listened to the first song and immediately bought the cassette.  First off, I want to know how you came up with your sound that is something between that electro-rock and punk and just completely blew me away the first time I heard it?

1.) Thank you very much! The music that i'm doing was and still is part of a big progression. At the beginning, when I started with LUCIA LIP the sound was more garagy with a screaming voice. My singing was quite punk, which derives from my musical inspirations that came from performers such as  Iggy Pop, Richard Hell, Patti Smith.
 I feel quite attached to these misfit representations; these cross grained, scandalizing, rebellious, non conformist people and artists. It reflects a lot in the music. But then on the other side, I have quite of a classical background, feeling attached to Kate Bush for example.  It's the other part of me, that isn't always rebellious, representing the broken, the struggle against certain societies, but that is related to private romantic matters, longing for a sensation of the wholeness in music, the smooth, round, a feeling of security, that does deal with reconciliation of one’s own sensitive spots.
How I would describe the difference between electronic and punk music is that in electronic music when tending to go more pop ( where I see my music, more than being rock actually), music goes with a certain flow, punk instead is rather obstructive, isn't pleasing, isn't trying to fit as a second skin. Punk is looking for the excess, electronic music in comparison has more subterfuge like in dreams. The musical process also is very different - quite oppositional to punk music. Every little sound is chosen and programmed thoughtfully. One might spend a lot of time in the sound; in frequencies and eqs. Quite a nerdy thing - electronic music. I opened my heart to it, when I figured out that I wanted to work independently. Discovering techno music in berlin, I got more interested in sound and opened myself to computer programmed music being still attached to punk for its friction, that you wouldn't really find in electronic music, unless it's real underground, experimental stuff. So, I like to bring these different aspects together. Since a living life is all that, too. How contradictory punk and electronic music is in the substance. I like contradictions, overcoming clichés. Human beings contradict themselves in their behaviour, in their thoughts, that wouldn't fit together at first glance. Life is multilayered and not just two or three-dimensional. When you can find this in music, art, in people, in life, it's challenging and way beyond satisfaction.

2)     Now you have a cassette for “Your Motor” as well as a CD.   Was there any plans to release it on vinyl?   I prefer records and tapes to all other formats of music.

2.) Vinyl, yeah. That definitely was my first thought and desire, whilst working on the record. The reason is quite simple: I just couldn't afford it. The next release will be in vinyl, though! Got to be!


3)     You actually created your own label, Lipping Records, to put out your music.  Do you feel like if in this day and age of the internet I can find you from rural Connecticut U.S.A. then (----do you mean "as"?) anyone can really find you even without a label you’re not running yourself? (i.e. you don’t really need a big label for your music to be heard)

3. )You surely don't need a big label to get heard. Though with a bigger label you have more economic resources, being able to release on vinyl, as in the subject that I mentioned before. If not for that, there also are so many digital labels around too, where one can hear the latest in different types of music. But for bigger audiences a known and established label is required. It also has its advantages when it comes to book tours and promote one’s work on a higher level.

4)     Your album costs the same to download as it does on cassette, which is very limited to 20 copies.  Why would anyone buy the download over the cassette, unless they don’t have a tape player?

4) Well, mp3 or wav- downloads are easier to fast forward ;.).  But you're quite right in wondering. There are cassettes lovers like you are, that do understand the value of a material/ sensual object: something you can hold in the hand, install on a nice place in the room, a nice present you can make. So why so cheap compared to downloads? Well, even though they're extremely limited I simply wanted to keep it fair and support cassette fans and their culture.

5)     What is the music scene like in Germany?  I really don’t know a lot about Germany musically.  (Well, not that I want to know anyway)

5) There's no such thing as "a" music scene in Germany. There are lots of different scenes, as in the US. There are bigger and smaller scenes depending from the city, the people and the music genre.I mean, berlin is known for its techno scene. You have musicians, organizers, fans, friends, artists hanging out, but to be honest, I'm not sure if I would call it a scene, as I know scenes from smaller cities, which appear to be something else from what you have in berlin. Berlin is quite widespread. So are the people, locations and venues. You do see the same people, when you go to genre specific music shows at times, sure. The lifestyles, political attitudes are different depending on the music or the venue, but still it doesn't feel so personal, intimate and binding compared to from what I know of smaller cities, in berlin, it's more widespread, as I said. More people that come to leave again.

6)     You have been known to have a stellar live show.  Will you ever tour the States?

 6) I’d love to tour the states! It's always very challenging and exciting to leave one's own nest, no matter whether it's a capital as berlin, or a village in the countryside. 


7)     Final thoughts, plugs, etc…???

7.) www.lucialip.bandcamp.com
     www.facebook.com/lucialip

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