Liska's "It Girl" Staples and the Release of Her New EP

By: Jada Milazzo

October 17, 2023

Photos courtesy of Charlie Young

J: I want to learn a little bit more about your music and your development of WHO IS LISKA? 

Liska: I feel like I didn’t know for a long time, but I obviously knew I was very interested in making pop music. So, when I was younger I was mostly producing pop beats for myself and singing over those; and working with my dad since he’s a musician too. 

J: Oh really, that’s awesome. 

Liska: I would produce something and then he would like make it sound better. 

J: Like mix it and stuff. 

Liska: Yeah and add a little bit more production to it as well. But I think even then I was still trying to emulate other artists that I liked a lot like Charli XCX and Grimes. Now that I’ve explored rock music a bit more, I think I’ve recognized that it’s definitely a part of me and where my voice sits very strongly. So, I guess I would say I feel confident being a mixture of those two. 

J: Like a blend of them both. 

Liska: Yeah! It’s very dependent on my mood I guess. Like am I down to scream or do I want to sound cute, you know what I mean? 

J: No, that makes a lot of sense. Going back, did you grow up with a musical family or was it just your dad that got you into that? 

Liska: So my entire dad’s side of the family was working in music. My uncle was a producer, my great grandfather had a band that my grandma sang in; and that’s actually how she met my grandpa was because he played guitar in it. And my grandpa was a guitarist and an engineer with his own studio in the city for a while. 

J: So it’s like in your blood! 

Liska: Yeah! But they’re also like crazy people and have become very cynical about music. So I feel that they support it, obviously. 

J: But they have there own limits and regards in what they think about it. 

Liska: Yeah, there is definitely a part of them that’s like “why can’t you just be normal, you literally saw how crazy this shit it” haha like “please just be normal”

J: Like “pick something else” 

Liska: But, here we are!

J: It’s good they’re supportive though. Within that, what was it like developing your style and blending those? Was it a lot of experimentation with the types of instruments and mixture, and tone of the music; or was it more of a personal journey? 

Liska: It’s definitely more of a personal journey, but also experimenting with singing a lot. So, I did try to take voice lessons for a bit, but I did not like my teacher, and felt that it was weird and boring. Not that it’s not important to know how to use your voice, but at the time I wasn’t feeling it. My dad had a friend that was a session singer, and she kinda told me that I should be singing like every song by every artist to get a feel with how it sits with you and that’s how I was able to know what feels right, like literally/physically coming out of my voice. I was able to learn from other singers there techniques and the placement. But she was telling me to sing all the time and cover different genres, and my dad would be like “cover this U2 song that you don’t like, but I want you to cover it”

J: Kinda figuring out where you sit in that area… that genre. 

Liska: It gets stored in your brain of ways to sing shit, and there sooo many different ways to sing shit. And how you sing is what you find yourself gravitating towards, in my opinion. Yeah, so singing a lot of different shit. 

J: So you obviously gravitate towards pop, dreamy, ethereal but dark sorta vibe music. 

Liska: I can get a little artsy and dark sometimes, like I’ll write a lyric and be like this is a little too emo for me. So it can be dark sometimes, but I feel like it always ends up coming out a bit cutesy. But if its rock then it comes out a bit more masculine. 

J: Yeah, I’ve heard your music and some of its pretty rock, and very harsh but in a cute good way. 

Liska: Haha yeah! 

J: Now, I’ve seen you perform and how does the music emulate through your style; like on stage and through photos and promo stuff? 

Liska: Weirdly, Pinterest has a lot to do with it. So whatever I’m vibing with on Pinterest is probably what’s going to show up in my outfit on stage. I also think that I want the emotion of my music to match the emotion of what I’m wearing. 

J: That’s a really good way to put it, I think that’s how a lot of people feel too in their day to day life of dressing how they feel. 

Liska: Yes! You can either be I’m sad and I wanna dress sad today. Or you can be like I’m sad and I want to lift my spirits so maybe I’ll dress up. 

J: Maybe I’ll put on a cute outfit or something like that. 

Liska: Exactly, yeah! Haha, I guess it’s not the best answer but I work off of the emotion I’m feeling. There is a shallow part of me that is like “I wanna look so cool and wear something that nobody else is wearing”

J: As you should though! Liska: But then I end up just wearing fucking basketball shorts and heels on stage. 

J: I think that also ties a lot into your perspective on life and your own personal style of how you want to feel about yourself. Going back to Pinterest, I think is a really good culmination of everybody’s aesthetic and it shows a lot of progress throughout your stye changing. So, not related to music, but how do you think your style has progressed over the years? Because everybody goes through changes of like when you’re younger and in your teens you’re dressing very different that how you would be now. So, what was your journey of fashion? Liska: The second I started thrifting, at the end of highschool and in college I was like “I wanna be a rock girl and where stupid shit” like I was dressing insane. I would wear men’s grandpa pants and massive oversized gray sweaters. It was not a cute look, but in my head I was thinking “this is so ugly, but it’s so different and cute” 

J: It’s so ugly, it’s actually cute. 

Liska: But it wasn’t! At the time I was feeling myself. Then I think, I got over that and the part of me that wanted to appease the rock boys where I was like “I”m like Blondie and I’m going to wear cropped t-shirts and a black mini skirt all the time”. Now I want to feel a little more feminine in my dressing and I’ll wear a crazy look, but I feel I’m more into something toned down and thought out. 

J: A lot people know, with the idea of feminine dress, are playing off the fact of dressing feminine but pushing the boundaries of that, in the way of wearing really revealing lace that’s super feminine but freeing in the aspect of a traditional feminine look. It’s showcasing what you want to showcase and freeing your mind and body in that way. Dressing more feminine is like taking back control of what being feminine even is. I think it’s really cool and people that are out there dressing in that way are changing the way of playing around with fashion, rather than feminine fashion just being a cute bright dress, but you can pair it with so many different things to change it completely. Going back to your EP, “It Girl”, what are your “It Girl” staples? 

Liska: My “It Girl” staples are, I hate to say it, a cigarette here and there, not often, no vapes; the dupe of those Lily Rose Depp repetto heels, like the little tiny mary jane heels, preferably in red but any color will do, maybe some sort of self-help book or spiritual book, and a matcha. 

J: So a “How to Take Back Your Life” sort of book? 

Liska: Yeah, literally that! Also, probably some sort of big jacket, maybe a leather oversized bomber or letterman.

J: Something oversized and vintage. 

Liska: I love those. All of those are things that pop out in my mind. 

J: Are those the things that would describe this EP and new era of Liska. 

Liska: I guess they are! Like some of the songs are definitely that. 

J: That could be what they’re wearing in that song. 

Liska: For sure! I talk about matcha in “It Girl”, I was really committed to drinking matcha at that time. 

J: I feel that I'm a matcha girly til I die. 

Liska: Exactly see! Like sometimes you need to be calm with your matcha. 

J: And the caffeine just hits you in a nice way, where you don’t feel like you can run a marathon right now. 

Liska: And it tastes good. Like with a little honey. 

J: Honey and vanilla, and your set for the day. 

Liska: Yes! And nothing else matters. But yeah, that's definitely what I see with those songs. 

J: To end, for this new “It Girl” era and EP, what do you want people to take away about who you are? 

Liska: Truthfully, I would hope that they can see the intricacies and details that went into the songs. Maybe hear my poppy voice, but see past that and see a body of work that is very diverse. 

J: Seeing the complexity of it all. 

Liska: Yeah, and I hope that they also just think the songs are fun!