LIVSKA is the fresh new solo project from Liv Puchalski. Recently releasing her debut hit single Patience, it's packed full of emotion with a beautiful blend of ambient, nostalgic-pop synths and ethereal guitars. Hazy Days Music would like to thank Liv for taking the time out and having a chat.

What have you been up to since your last band finished up? When did you start working on this solo project?

Up until 2018/19, I was in the indie-rock band Seattle Fix. Over the years, we had a couple of different members join and leave the band. In the end, it was just me and the drummer. We decided to have a bit of a break and go and do our own thing. We just had different interests, different aspirations, and our lives were at different points. I decided to call Seattle Fix quits at the start of 2019. Part of me felt like I still had something left to give musically, and I still had something I wanted to try. From the end of 2019 into 2020, I spent as much time as I possibly could writing. 

To be honest, it probably took me about a year to figure out a name for this project, haha but I kept writing in the meantime. I spent COVID/Melbournes Lockdown writing and exploring where this new music could take me. When I called it a day with Seattle Fix, I was approached by producer and good friend Adam Beath, asking if I would be interested in working with him in the studio. I was keen to move this project forward and took him up on that offer, as it was only me working on this. 

There probably aren't a lot of positives you can take from 2020 but saying yes to him was definitely one of them. We adapted to the lockdown and did both studio and remote video sessions to keep working on songs together. Adam opened up a whole new musical world for me, a world of what my music could do and where it could take me. I’m finally at the point where I have just released my first single and I'm super excited and proud to have come this far. 

I’m really enjoying this ambient, synthy dream-pop, alternative direction that my songs are going and I have recorded two more tracks with Adam, which are radio-ready and will be released later this year.

Your debut single, Patience, has just been released. It’s an infectious, dreamy, indie-pop instant classic. What is the story behind writing and recording this song?

I originally had the idea for this song at the end of 2019, before COVID was a thing. Essentially the concept behind Patience is longing for someone that you can't be with and that temptation of battling between whether to give in to those feelings or not. With COVID happening, the song's meaning just intensified and it made the song so much more relatable, especially with everyone going through similar situations in lockdown.

The general concept is longing for someone you can't be with and fighting this battle of wanting to be with them or staying strong and doing something for yourself, which deep down you know is the right thing. In the end, you can't make rash decisions about what is best for you, you need to give it time, and you need to be patient.

When me and Adam started working on this song together, we started by sending ideas back and forth, discussing what we could do with the song and where we could take it further. Adam introduced me to a bunch of electronic synthesisers and other instruments I hadn't really considered before. The Seattle Fix sound was very indie rock, and I had previously dabbled with synths in the past, but nothing beyond the basic sounds you could get in Logic or Garageband. Adam encouraged me to be adventurous and really pushed me to try new sounds, like we even added in a harp in the song and used a crazy Moog synthesiser. He really changed the way I look at electronic instruments.

What made you push for this new sound?

I wanted to push myself and make my vocals more of a focus point in this project. In the past, I've always hidden behind a lot of reverb on my vocals, and sometimes people would even say that they can't really hear what I am singing because there is so much going on. 

I've always liked the dreamy ambient effect where you can't really hear everything that clearly but I thought it was time to move on from that.

Changing my approach was daunting, and having my vocals so clear with no reverb on them kind of scared me. But I think there is an element of beauty with vulnerability and not being afraid to say what you are thinking, feeling, or what's happening in your life and letting that message be heard clearly.

Because it is just me at the end of the day, I have this creative freedom and creative control, where I can essentially do whatever I want with my music. I find this all really refreshing. I don't have to be tied back to; does this sound like Seattle Fix? I mean there are parts that do because you have those dreamy guitars that I will never get rid of, but I have a lot of new elements in my music that are really rejuvenating. I'm loving experimenting with all these new instruments and sounds and not being so settled on the old comfortable sound.

It has been a pretty big learning curve for me and I am really enjoying the ride so far.

The music video for Patience coming out very soon. How was the experience of making that?

It was a lot of fun. I reached out to a group of creatives, and I worked with this great videographer. I never realised how important of a role lighting plays in making a music video. Being asked if I wanted this type of lighting or these particular lights, I mean that's something I have never given much thought to before. But I know now that lighting is so important when it comes to setting the mood, and with Patience, it's a pretty upbeat, energetic song, but it is also quite moody and dark, and the lyrics are very dark. So getting that mood right was very important. I had a lot of fun making it, and I already have ideas for the next song so I'm super excited for this to come out.

Has any new music been influencing you on this project?

Part of me was, and I think parts of me wasn't. I have always loved The XX, Daughter, and Warpaint but some newer bands that have been influencing me are PVRIS, MUNA. I guess I am listening to a bit more poppier, faster and upbeat music. Music that I hadn't really tired or dabbled with before. 

I write all the drum beats as well. I love playing around with all the different drum sounds you can get and at different tempos. I don't just have to settle for the classic acoustic sound anymore, I can just go nuts. I think of bands like Phantogram and The XX who push the boundary of what you can do with drum beats and samples in songs, whether by creative beats or just cool distorted sounds. For me, it is a new area to explore, and I'm finding it really exciting. I have a little electric drum kit at home that I love to play on. It brings out the secret drummer in me. 

I remember when I first played a very early idea I had for LIVSKA, I played it to a friend, and she made a comment that this would be nice music to play in the background at a BBQ. And I thought to myself, I don't want my music to be in the background of a BBQ where everyone is just talking over it, I want my music to be at the front, where everyone is just dancing and having a great time to it. 

Overall I think the new and old influences are meshing nicely together, and that's what's coming out in my music.

How have you found writing as a solo artist versus when you were in a band?

The writing process for Seattle Fix mainly started with me coming up with ideas and then the bass and drummer would chip in once the structure of the song was down. As we got smaller and smaller as a band, I started writing more and more of the instrumental parts and the vocal parts. 

In terms of how the writing is different now, I am now in complete control of how it's written and sounds. It is definitely something new to adjust to not having the acoustic drum kit behind me on stage but I now have the freedom to tone it down or strip it right back. I can choose whatever pathway I want for my music, whether soft or loud and I see this as a great challenge for myself to be able to write stripped back versions of my own songs. That's something I never did with Seattle Fix. It is definitely a new way of writing that I hadn't really considered before.

You played your first show at The Workers Club a few weeks ago. How was that experience? What does your setup look like? And how was the feedback?

When I was asked to play the show I actually said No, I’m not ready, I don't have anything released, what am I going to play? But after thinking about it, I realised this would be a good test and a good challenge to see where I am at and push me to be show-ready.

In the past, I had a bit of a habit where if I have a cool drum beat, bassline or guitar riff, I would just add layer on layer on layer until it was a full song. But now, as it's just me playing live, I thought it was going to look a bit funny having me up on stage with this symphony orchestra playing behind me playing through a backing track so that's one thing I had to figure out. Figuring how I was going to replicate my music in a live setting and still have it sounding full without losing any of its true value. 

I played the show at The Workers Club a few weeks ago, sort of as a trial, just to see how it would go, look/work on stage, and sound live. The feedback I got after the show was amazing! I had people coming up to me afterwards saying that it sounded so full for one person, and it sounded like I had a full band behind me. 

For my live setup, I still play the guitar and sing, but I also use an SPD pad to trigger some of the backing tracks, and I have in-ear monitors playing a click track to keep me in time. It's a bit of an adjustment from the past. But I'm still buzzing from that show, and I honestly can't wait to keep playing. It's so fun!

I also had very little reverb on my vocals so it was very clear what I was singing. I actually played a couple of stripped back Seattle Fix songs in that set. Again, I'm trying new things. I've got the freedom, and I've got the control. Why not, hey?

What have you been enjoying most about LIVSKA?

Something I have been focusing on is just enjoying the process. I think a lot of people get caught up in what they should look like on stage, what they should sound like, and programming everything so it's perfect that they end up forgetting that you are supposed to enjoy it too. That's why I am just looking forward to continuing to play more and more. That first show was sort of a test, and I felt like I passed so I’m feeling a lot more confident about how it's going to sound live and how people will react. There probably would've been 80 or 90 people at The Workers Club, so it was a great turnout and heaps of fun. That's what it’s all about, just enjoying every step: recording, making video clips, posting on social media, and everything else. Just enjoy everything you are doing. 

That's what I am trying to do, and I have been enjoying it. It feels like a full-time job sometimes but if you want to get somewhere, you have to put in the effort, and it'll pay off.

Have you always been this hand-ons behind the scenes with your music?

I definitely was not hands-on at all in Seattle Fix. We had a brilliant band manager Pete. He was doing so much and played a huge role in getting us on all the streaming services, getting played on Triple J, organising the video clips and much more.

I was nowhere near as hands-on as I am now but I really see the importance for emerging artists to learn how the industry works. I wish I knew everything Pete was doing back then because I find myself asking him questions like, how the hell did you get our music on Spotify? How did you do this and that? He has been super supportive and amazing in feeding all that information to me. 

Social media was also something that we neglected and something that we should have invested in more. Back then, I wasn't that keen on social media, but now I see the role it plays. Especially during a time where the world is in Lockdown and everyone's isolated. The world is heavily online, and you'd be silly not to use it properly.

Do you have any advice for someone thinking about starting their own solo project?

I have been learning so much and I don't think I would consider having a manager until I have a better understanding of how the music industry works. I think it's very important for any up and coming artist to not just handball off all the admin, PR, business jobs at the start. It's so important to know what you are signing yourself up for and what is actually involved in starting a band and getting everything up and running. I didn't actually realise how much went into it until I started this project. It's also amazing the amount of information you can pass on from other musicians just by asking about their experiences. 

I think at the moment, having an online presence is really important as well because you can only have a limited physical one. I think I am at the stage where I am open to pretty much making the most out of any opportunity because I have nothing to lose, only to gain.

The big difference for me is that LIVSKA is very self-driven. If I want to get somewhere with this, I have to push myself. It was quite an adjustment to make because, in the past, I had other people in control or could let others take over or share the load. But I am really enjoying the change. I am enjoying the drive, and I can't really sit still and do nothing anymore. Once you fall into the routine and understand the basics, it gets easier as you go on but you have to be consistent.

Do you have any plans to release more music soon?

I finished two more tracks last month and I have another one that I am keen to record very soon. They are similar to Patience in that elements overlap and bring the songs together in that alternative indie-pop vibe. I have just gone nuts with the vocals by adding different layers on top of each other. It's almost like there is a choir singing behind me. I guess I have been really experimenting more without having that reverb there and having clean vocals, but adding lots of layers, sort of in the same direction as Lorde or Billie Eilish.

The next two singles are Stranger and Relic. Stranger will be released next in a couple of months. I’m just keen to see what happens with Patience.

Stranger - I feel like this song could fit into an episode of Stranger Things.

It’s got that alt 80’s The Cure vibe going on, but a bit happier. I wrote it focusing on happier moments and reminiscing about happier times. 

 The way I write, the music always comes first. I find that sets the mood for the song, and the lyrics always come after. I have always struggled with writing lyrics, and I don't claim to be that great at it ever. Stranger is a happy song, with upbeat drums, synths, and catchy vocals, dressed with those dreamy guitars.  I’ve always loved 80’s music and I just thought, screw it, let's give it a try. I'm sure I can make it work.

I keep going back and forth on which is my favourite song and which is my favourite to play live. I think they are all quite different and unique in themselves but have common elements that bring them all together. But looking down at my setlist and knowing I had these three new songs coming up, I was just so excited to play them and I couldn't wait to see how the crowd would react.

What are your plans for 2021?

The plan is to dribble out these three tracks over the next few months and play a big EP launch show towards the end of the year. I originally wasn't planning to play any shows before the EP launch, but now I am definitely keen to play more! Now that Patience is released and I have a bit more of a presence online, that gives me the confidence to play more shows. I currently have nothing planned right now. But for the latest news, follow me on my socials to stay up to date.

Stay up to date with LIVSKA on Facebook, Instagram and Spotify.

Posted on the 28th of April by Jake Taylor.