INTERVIEW
MUSIC
Image by Joe ‘The Devil’ Bennison
LIZZIE ESAU
PAUL BROADHEAD DISCUSSES CAREER GOALS AND MUSICAL FUSION WITH HOTLY-TIPPED EMERGING SONGWRITER LIZZIE ESAU London-born but Newcastle bred, Lizzie Esau’s new single Bitter Weather is getting an apt winter release on 10th November and it’s a stomping mix of hip-hop and indie rock that’s sure to melt the ice. Hot off the heels of previous post-lockdown singles What If I Keep Driving and Caffeine, Bitter Weather has been a live favourite in her set over the last few months and its eclectic sound sees Lizzie drawing from many different inspirations. “Bitter Weather is a real fusion of lots of things I’ve been loving,” Lizzie explains. “The verses are quite lo-fi and inspired by artists such as Clairo, Loyal Carner and Tom Misch. The heavier sound of the chorus takes inspiration from bands such as Wolf Alice and Royal Blood, with the really deep fuzzy guitar tones and brutally honest lyrics.” Those honest lyrics deal with prioritising the important things, as both an artist and a person, a balance Lizzie is trying to find. “The most important things to me are the people close to me,” she reflects. “I feel so lucky that I have such an amazing family, friends and team working around the music that we’re releasing, and I think sometimes other stupid worries in life can take over and get the better of you and it’s not until someone pulls you up about neglecting certain relationships that you really think about what actually matters.”
PERFECTING THE SOUND AND GROWING AS AN ARTIST IS SOMETHING THAT’S SO EXCITING TO ME
That musical team includes her fantastic band and producer Steve Grainger, who Lizzie has worked with on previous singles. But still she finds the old school method of songwriting works for her too. “Right now, I tend to make demos by myself in my room most of the time, as a force of habit from working in lockdown I think!” she laughs. “But I work very closely with producer Steve Grainger, who has written a lot of the instrumentation around the tracks too. Writing as a band is something that we’re definitely going to start doing more, which I can’t wait for as they’re all such great musicians and writers and I just love the experience of creating with others. But in terms of which I prefer, I think it’s good to have a balance of both as all different writing scenarios bring out unique perspectives.” With her ambitions in place, not to mention a cracking new single set for release, Lizzie is looking optimistically to the future and it’s one that looks bright for the young artist. “The plan for the immediate future is to keep writing lots, releasing music, and playing as many gigs as we physically can. I think just really perfecting the sound and growing as an artist is something that’s so exciting to me and I can’t wait to see how things progress. For the longterm future, it would be great to release an EP and to work towards an album with a label that we as a team around the music really love, and to be able to travel the world with the music…that would be the dream!” Lizzie Esau releases Bitter Weather on 10th November. She plays at Bobik’s, Newcastle on Friday 3rd December www.facebook.com/lizzieesau.music
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