What I enjoy the most about talking to emerging artists is their enthusiasm and willingness to open up about their journey. And it’s always an interesting story, with many ups and downs, twists and turns, and – above anything else – lessons learned.
There’s one thing that stands out in all those accounts, though. It’s the incredible tenacity in chasing the dream. Or, as LIVSKA put it in our chat, “I’m not done in the music biz yet”.
In 2018, I was amongst the main organisers of a charity event. A big part of it was performances by artists related to the community. That’s how I met Liv Puchalski.
Back then, she was still a member of Seattle Fix, an indie-rock shoegaze band that she’d already established back in high school days. At the fundraiser, though, she delivered an intimate solo performance. It was so well-received that she made another appearance at the event a year later as well. And I have been following her music adventures since.
I reached out to Liv just over a year ago with an offer to interview her for my blog. That’s when I found she was working on a completely new project but wasn’t quite ready to share the details yet. Then, The Rona happened, and things went quiet on the music front for many of us.
Everything changed on 30 January 2021 when LIVSKA was officially presented to the world.
For Liv, music is “a therapeutic experience”. And even though some tracks for LIVSKA had already been written before the pandemic, they gained a new meaning in the context of the 2020 hardships and other (not all negative) experiences. Working on the new sound was a good outlet for the artist to cope with the long Melbourne lockdown, for instance.
According to the muso herself, “LIVSKA combines catchy melodies, dreamy guitars and electronic pop-driven beats to keep you moving during the best and worst times”. It’s a new direction for Liv. But you can still make out that signature guitar sound in the background, very reminiscent of Seattle Fix. That’s exactly the reason I wanted to catch up: I was curious how that transition came about.
It turns out the LIVSKA project had been carefully considered. Liv had quite some time in 2020 to think it through and start executing it as well. The result is three songs, all ready to be released making it “so hard for me to sit on it”, says the singer.
So “Patience” is premiering on 9 April already. This first single is a groovy track with overlapping vocal layers. As its title suggests, it’s about waiting for the right moment to come. You can hear that in the lyrics:
“I know we can fix this pain /
Come on, hold my hand /
The time is off but I can wait /
So we can try again”
Apparently, more music is in the works, and the first official LIVSKA gig is done and dusted. The muso is also looking at other possibilities of connecting with her fans, with stripped-down online performances, for instance.
During our Zoom call, we touched on other topics as well, like music education in Australia, launching a music career as a woman, or trusting her vocals to be at the forefront.
Check out the chat in four chapters, released between today (Wednesday) and Saturday. It is a great “how-to” guide for musicians just starting out in the music industry Down Under.
And whilst you’re at it, please follow LIVSKA to stay up-to-date with her new releases.
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Check out my other interviews with emerging artists:
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Silly McWiggles. A blog about Aussie music. 