Welcome To Karma! Magazine

Your debut EP Letters to Myself came out eleven months ago, and since then you’ve played shows around the world, touring with some incredible musicians. Is this where you imagined you’d be when you released that EP?

Absolutely not. Honestly, I feel really lucky, and it’s kind of crazy. I’ve been recently thinking about the first EP as well, because I hadn’t realised it was almost exactly a year since it came out. To think that I’ve been able to do all these things within that time, and the reception to that first EP was amazing, I just feel so lucky that people resonated with it so much. I don’t think I ever imagined I would be doing this kind of stuff, but I feel very fortunate to be doing it.

So, of course, your new EP is coming out at the start of August, and you’ve got your first headline show in September. You’re on an incredible trajectory. Where would you like to be this time next year?

Oh my gosh, to be honest, I’m really working towards a sound that feels most like me. This time next year, I’d like to be at a point where I have music out that feels that way. I don’t think it will ever feel completely in that sound because, as all artists speak about, you always keep pushing for the sound, but you never quite reach it because you have this ideal in your head of what it’s going to be like. But I’m hoping for more of a band sound and definitely playing more band gigs. I love playing with my band, and I listened to bands growing up, so that’s where I want my music career to go. That’s kind of where I’m hoping next year will take me, for sure… yeah.

Your new EP What’s Dead and Gone is due to be released soon. Can you give us some insight into what inspired the title?

So, I went back and forth on quite a few titles, and I kind of forgot how it happened because I’ve had What’s Dead and Gone in my head for a while. But I originally was going with the title Of Substance, and it was about this constant battle I have in my head about whether the music I write has any substance to it or not, or if I’m just selfishly writing about myself. I have this constant argument in my head about how egotistical it feels. And I think I’m still not over it, but that’s one thing I just struggle with. So it was going to be called Of Substance because a lot of these songs felt like, for the first time, I was kind of talking about something that could resonate with people a bit more and felt a little bit less egocentric to me in my own head. But then I changed it, and even though it sounds like quite a negative title, like What’s Dead and Gone sounds quite harsh, I wanted it to be a title that marks the end of the bad habits and the headspace I was in when I wrote those songs. It talks a lot about ideals and projecting on others and people projecting on you, and having an ideal of yourself in your own head, and also an ideal of others, setting each other up for failure in life or failure to live up to someone’s expectations of you. So I wanted it to be a title for me, like, this is what’s dead and gone, I will not go back to the people I’m singing about in this EP, I will not go back to the way they treated me, and I also had a hand in how badly those situations went, so I will not go back to how I treated them. Also, the first track is called Eulogy, and it kind of felt like it all tied together with themes of death and funerals. So yeah, that’s where the title came from.

It must be quite healing to be able to put it all to bed like that?

Super. Massively. You don’t really realise it until you’re ages down the line with these projects. Of Substance was the first title, and then it took me a while to realise that I’d quite like it to be more about how I don’t engage with those behaviours and people anymore. It’s super healing to be able to look back on this project and know that it stays within that part of my life and will go no further.

Your latest single If Only features some gorgeous string arrangements and is an all-round heartbreakingly beautiful track about the pressure and hopelessness women can feel under society’s expectations. Does the rest of the EP follow this kind of theme, or does it go off in a different direction?

If Only is actually the last track on the EP, and Eulogy is the first one. The EP takes you through a sonic journey as well as a lyrical one. It starts with Eulogy, which features acoustic elements but also a grungy, gritty guitar towards the end. Then you move into Use Me, which has more of a band sound with fun electric guitars, followed by Backseat, which will come out with the EP and has a raw band sound with guitars. After that, you hit Set Me Up, which sits somewhere between Eulogy and the raw band sound. In Set Me Up, you get a few more strings, and it has the intimacy of If Only, which is really nice because I wanted the EP to be both a lyrical and sonic journey. It’s the first time I’ve written a project that feels cohesive; we produced the songs with it being a body of work in mind, which is really exciting. So yeah, I think strings are here to stay. I just love how they sound.

Is there a specific song from the EP that you’re looking forward to playing live the most?

Oh my gosh, that’s so hard. I think Use Me is really fun live. We’ve played it a couple of times now, and I’m so excited to get the full band on stage for it. I’ve played it with just my guitarist and drummer, but having everyone there will be really fun. It’s such a groovy song, and I love seeing the crowd dance along. I don’t have many songs in that world of dancing yet, so seeing my crowd do that will be really fun. As for songs I’ve not yet played, I think If Only with strings will be really nice to perform live. I haven’t played a song like that live before, so that will be great.

You’ve been all around the world in the last year, touring with artists like Alfie Jukes and Honne. Is there a specific show or country that sticks in your mind as a favourite?

Oh my gosh. I seriously ramped up the number of countries I’ve played in within six months, which is wild. I really enjoyed the Austria show—Vienna was such a sweet vibe. The venue was also quite good. For a small gig, it was really fun; people were very willing to show love and excitement while being very respectful. When you’re playing an acoustic show, you need people to know when to be quieter and when to be rowdy. I also really enjoyed playing all over Europe. But the China shows were something I’d never done before; they were the biggest shows I’d ever played. I also got to speak Mandarin on stage, which was fun and surprising for the audience, as they didn’t realise I was half Chinese. The crowds in China were incredibly receptive. I’ve been really lucky and don’t think I can settle on just one favourite.

Your music has this super unique indie-pop-folk vibe, and you’re starting to lean more into that band sound and bringing in more instruments. What musicians inspire you the most?

I feel like there’s always recent inspiration and the musicians who laid the groundwork. For the latter, I’ve always listened to bands like The Eagles and Oasis. I’ve always loved that band sound and country rock vibes, which you can hear in a lot of my music. Oasis, in particular, has a way of telling stories that I find fascinating, even if they’re just saying random words. I also grew up listening to Dodie Clark on YouTube. Her original songs inspired my early singer-songwriter days. Currently, I really love Beabadoobee and Clairo. I listen to a lot of female artists in indie rock at the moment. Clairo and Beabadoobee are big influences for me, as is The Japanese House. Holly Humberstone also has incredible writing that I look up to.

And who would be your dream person to tour with in the future?

I would absolutely die if I toured with Clairo and Beabadoobee. Not only because I’d be in awe of them every night, but also because the experience would be incredible. I’d be the biggest fan on the tour. The Japanese House would also be amazing to tour with, but Clairo and Beabadoobee are my top picks. I love them so much.

Since the end of last year, you’ve collaborated with a few other artists—shortly after supporting him at his headline show, you released a version of “(not) a love song” with Will Joseph Cook, and more recently you featured on Riley Pearce’s track “Indefinitely”. What was it like working on those? And do you have any more collaborations in the works?

Oh gosh, the Riley one was really sweet. I’ve never met him in person, but he’s a really sweet guy, and it was lovely to collaborate with him because the song is so beautiful. I felt really lucky to get to sing on it, and it kind of gives me a little connection to Australia, which is really fun. The Will Joseph Cook collaboration was definitely more like, 16-year-old me was over the moon. It was insane. I’ve listened to Will since I was so young, and when we got the email saying he agreed to do the song, I was like, “No way, there’s no way he’s doing that!” So that was a bit of a dream come true. It was really fun. I think I have a video of me from when I was about 16 dancing in my kitchen to Will Joseph Cook—it’s the cringiest thing ever, but that’s the truth. I just love him. I’ve been really lucky to collaborate with those two; it’s been such a great experience. I’m excited for upcoming collaborations as well. Those are really fun.

Back in May, I had the pleasure of seeing you at Áine Deane’s Sisterhood Show in St Pancras Old Church, which was such a beautiful evening dedicated to celebrating some incredible female musicians and songwriters like yourself. What was it like to be a part of that?

Oh, it was actually such a great evening. To be honest, that week I was really struggling with feeling a bit disheartened about a few things in the industry and feeling a bit lost in terms of where I was at and what I wanted to do. That show really reminded me that this industry, at its core, is full of some really great people, and great women specifically. On a personal level, it was really needed. It was such a magical, wholesome evening of appreciation for all these women in the room. I felt it was a very safe environment, which was amazing to be a part of. I hadn’t met most of the girls there, so it was super sweet to walk into a room where everyone was genuinely kind and not trying to compete with each other. In this industry, as Áine mentioned on stage, women are often pitted against each other, and it’s easy to feel like you’re not measuring up. But that event showed that it’s possible for all of us to have individual careers and support each other’s careers as much as we want. I felt very lucky to be part of that, and I’m so glad I went.

And then, of course, you have your debut headline gig at Omeara on 12th September. Super exciting stuff—you sold out the presale, you’ve got your whole band, and Esme Emerson will be supporting you… you must be so excited?

Super excited. Oh my gosh, yes. It’ll be the first time we get the whole band together: bass, drums, guitar, and strings. It’s going to feel really full for the first time ever, which is amazing. Omeara is such a lovely venue, and as the date gets closer, I keep thinking, “Oh my god, this is actually happening,” which is so exciting. We’re almost sold out, which is also exciting. I was honestly so surprised that the presale sold out so quickly—it went within the day. We opted for a bigger venue because my live agents were like, “Let’s go for it; let’s give it a good go.” Bless them, they really believed I could sell it out. And I think we might just do it!

I’m sure it will be a big night, and I can’t even begin to imagine the atmosphere that a room full of Liang Lawrence fans will generate. What can fans expect from the show?

We really want to make it as special as possible, both in terms of the performance and what’s available for people to get there. We’re planning to make some exclusive items specifically for the show, such as paper souvenir tickets, which should be really fun. We’re also working on a few new t-shirt designs (in addition to the iconic “Live Laugh Liang” t-shirt) and maybe some literal tote bags and other bits and bobs. People love tote bags, and I think we should just get “Live Laugh Liang” on a tote bag.

Liang Lawrence’s second EP “What’s Dead and Gone” is available to stream now on all platforms. You can find Liang on Instagram @lianglawrencemusic and TikTok @lianglawrence.

By Lucy Fudge @lfudgephotography