LILIE
... is the alias of Houston, TX based singer/songwriter, producer, claymation artist, and game developer Akash Ali who has made his aim, through use of those multiple mediums, to create songs that are an immersive experience beyond just their sonic bodies. His influences include Summer Walker, Mitski, FKA Twigs, Bright Eyes, SZA, Elliott Smith, and Sunny Day Real Estate.
something to romanticize
Ein alternativer R&B Track im Gleichklang von Hi-Fi-ASMR-Sample-Hits und verzerrter Gitarre bzw. Harmonien und Lo-Fi-Percussion. Die Balance grandios, Yin und Yang im Zeichen des Dark Pop Genre, könnt man meinen.
Wir sprechen von LILIE alias Akash Ali, seines Zeichens singer/songwriter, producer, claymation artist, game developer und seiner neuesten Veröffentlichung "something to romanticize". Der Song ist Teil eines virtuellen Installationskunstwerks, ein Horror/Dreamcore basierendes 3D-Ego-Multiplayer-Erkundungsspiel, in welchem Raum für Raum oder Emotion für Emotion nach Lösungen gesucht wird. Irgendwo gibt's auch einen geheimen Raum in dem als Belohnung, ein Ausschnitt von LILIEs nächstem unveröffentlichtem Song wartet.
Bis es soweit ist erkundet man die jeweilige "Umgebung" des Tracks, sei es in der Welt der Isolation oder Melancholie, Türen müssen geöffnet, Wege gefunden werden. "Something To Romanticize" by LILIE ist nicht nur als Teil eines Installationskunstwerks sondern auch eigenständig erwähnen- wie auch hörenswert. Näheres zum Künstler und dem Song gibt's wie immer in einem kurzen Interview. Thanks for your time!
Release dates for "something to romanticize":
Song - 04/15
Music Video - 04/24
Videogame "a dream i've had (STR)" (to be released on Roblox): 04/20
Q&A
LILIE is...?
LILIE is a videogame developer, producer, songwriter, musician/vocalist, and claymation artist. I've been making Alternative R&B for a little while now and plan to continue, but I also have been working on some acoustic/ambient singer/songwriter type stuff (think maybe Pheobe Bridgers and Julien Baker-esque?) that I'm excited to blend into an album against the R&B.
Also I like to move a lot, my favorite color is arctic blue, both of my pinkies are bent, I play the harp/guitar/piano, and yesterday I got catfished by some random guy I met on Grindr and I will never get over it.
Who inspired you to make music in general?
I've always really loved music but I didn't grow up around musicians. My dad's a terrible person, but he used to buy random instruments from the flea market and leave them around the house and I'm grateful for that. He couldn't play anything, so I'd just pick up the guitars or keyboard and play around and teach myself.
I was bitter about never having a teacher for a while, but I realized the best way to learn anything is through play (in my opinion), and it's easy for me to be playful I think partially because of all that. Musicians, though, that inspired me to make music when I first started: Bright Eyes/Conor Oberst for his lyricism & Amy Winehouse for her voice and bold vocal choices.
What's the story behind your latest release "something to romanticize", respectively what or who was your inspiration?
I was in a relationship with this guy for 3 years while I was living in Vermont and the entirety of the relationship was miserable. But mostly just because he was a dickhead, and I will not let any dickhead be a dickhead to me. So the entire 3 years were screaming matches almost daily.
I've reflected so much on the whole experience, and I can say now almost definitively that I wasn't in love with him. I didn't feel very many good feelings at all throughout, but I think I would've if there was more tragedy to be honest.
I think I could've really stretched out that infatuation at the beginning for a long, long time if it was turbulent in ways that felt more out of control-- if there was a downward spiraling drug addiction or, like, something beyond us that kept us apart. But no. He was just a dickhead.
What is your creative process like?
So scattered! I'm tryna fix that in the most delicate way possible. I literally can binge produce 4 songs in one day and get mounds of potential lyrics written, but then not touch anything for weeks, sometimes months at a time. I've gotten a lot better at that now though, making progress every day.
The initial writing is definitely the most emotionally saturating, but I think editing is most important to me. Obviously in production, but I've found that I only end up with lyrics I like after tweaking them in big and small ways for a while.
Who would you most like to collaborate with?
FKA Twigs! I would die a thousand deaths to collaborate with FKA Twigs. Even if it's just a production project.
At this moment what would be your "All time Top 3 Songs"?
If you mean for my entire life then:
First Day of My Life -- Bright Eyes
Love Is A Losing Game -- Amy Winehouse (specifically the live version that she sings to a rhodes against a black backdrop in some studio in October 2006)
The Clocks Were Asleep -- Regina Spektor
if you mean right this second then:
Garden Song -- Phoebe Bridgers
On A Good Day -- Joanna Newsom
Fun Girl -- Summer Walker
Concerning Social Media, is it fun or more a necessary evil?
Both I think. It can be fun, and it's really neat to be able to kinda connect with people from different places so easily but I do hate how right now it (supposedly) the only thing that matters for Artists/Musicians.
What's your most useful talent besides music?
I'm really good at astrology and tarot cards and I can beat you in Super Smash Bros.
What’s next for you?
My first videogame "a dream i've had (STR)" is coming out on Roblox in 3 days! It's a part of this song! Music video out on 4/24! There's also a song I have that's about finished that I'm excited about. A snippet of it will be hidden inside this videogame.
