#casiolips

[elasticitymudflap]

Visit Original Link

Don't Go Changing | LIPS

When the world is over and all's renewed 

It won't change what's lost between me and you

Between me and you

[serenadethesoul-blog]

NEW MUSIC: Interview with LIPS.

Olivia catches up with mellow songstress Steph Brown AKA LIPS, following the recent success of 'Everything to me' on soundcloud... Who makes up 'LIPS'? Lips is just me, Steph Brown, but when we play live I play with Daniel Ward on drums and Justyn Pilbrow on bass. All three of us are from New Zealand (Dan and we went to high school together!) but we live in Brooklyn now.   When did you start making music? I grew up around music - my grandfather played piano. He wasn’t too concerned with the technical aspects, like rhythm or timing ;), but he would accompany himself singing, it was his greatest joy. We have had family singalongs around the piano since i was a baby. When I was 7 ,Mum sent me to an elderly piano teacher, Mrs A, who lived across the street. Mum would send me and my brothers over every week with a piece of baking ,either as a nice gesture or to apologize for our lack of practice I’m not sure! But when she died Mrs A left Mum her piano, the greatest gift. I wrote my first song when I was 11 and it was like a drug, I’ve been writing ever since. Studied jazz at Uni in Auckland. Studied songwriting from some great songwriters that I was lucky to play keyboards for in Auckland: Anika Moa, Che Fu, Opensouls.  How do you go about writing your songs? They usually come on like a sneeze... i can feel the idea forming and then I rush to a keyboard, or a recording device, or pen and paper to get it down. Once the nugget of the idea is there then it’s like a ball of clay, you just keep working on it until it’s formed into something you’re happy with. Who are your favourite artists/influences? I’m more influenced by individual songs, the kind that make your skin tingle they’re so good. I take those songs and try and get inside of them to see what it is that makes them work so well. It might be in the lyrics or melody, but many times the gold is in the arrangement too; someone might have come in and put a bassline underneath that hits just in the gaps of the melody for example, and that combination is what’s giving you the head nod. That said there are some artists I always come back to: Prince, Stevie Wonder, The Beatles, Bob Marley, Miles Davis. Are there any stories behind the tracks? Hehe, behind every track!! I use songwriting as a way of story telling, so each song is a story, whether narrative driven or just building up an image. 'Everything To Me' appears to be getting a lot of hits, what is the story behind the lyrics to this song? Everything to me started out as two keyboard “hook” lines that I fit lyrics to. I wanted to contrast the verse lyrics, which are an everyday account of needing to take a break from your day to day, with the chorus which is a deeper sentiment of supporting your loved ones in the hurdles that life throws at them. How have your gigs been going down with fans? What sort of venues are you playing at? We have only been playing since October so we are still new to the game but each show gets a little bigger. It’s great to hear the sound develop over time as it gets tighter and more assured. We have people that come along to every gig which is awesome, and then each gig we get a few new people too so that’s great. Lips shows are lots of fun. What are your plans for the coming year, music wise? I’m working on a new EP at the moment, which is headed more in the direction of “Everything to Me”. The next song I’ll release is a track called “Ghosts and Demons”, it’s a little darker, a little richer. You can listen to LIPS here