Nashville-based artist LIEZA is back this week with her brilliant new single ‘Eyeliner’, so we caught up with the woman behind the name – Meghan Roner – to find out a little bit more about what drives her to create great music, her ambitions for the future and more…
LIEZA's new single 'Eyeliner' is out now
For those who may be new to your music, how best would you describe your sound?
It’s a moody, eclectic mix of atmospheric synths and powerful lyrics that will hopefully pull at your heartstrings and envelope you into my emotional universe.
What challenges have you faced in the music industry so far?
I went to MTSU and got my bachelor’s degree in audio production, and noticed very quickly how male dominated the industry was, at least on the production side, and also disgustingly misogynistic. I struggled for a long time trying to find a job on the audio side where they would accept a woman. Luckily, I had interned for the incredible goddess Femke Weidema, who I work with now writing and producing my tracks, who is the most badass woman I have ever met and has helped me so much in pursuing my passion. It’s discouraging though when you graduate and you know just as much as your male counterparts and still can’t get hired. It’s definitely a strange little side of the industry that I think a lot of people don’t talk about and I hope changes very soon because there are some amazing women audio engineers out there.
How difficult would you say this career path is in terms of making a name for yourself?
I think that it can be extremely difficult. There are so many talented people out there doing truly amazing things. But I think if you surround yourself with people who have your best interests in mind and really believe in the project then anything is possible. I also have this idealistic belief that good music will always find a way to the ears that need to hear it. Just keep at it and you’ll find your niche, your tribe of people who like the sound.
How important is it for you to have creative control over the work you produce?
Extremely important! I feel like I need to hold the reigns on the creative control as much as I need air to breathe. I’ve always prided myself in being authentic and genuine with my emotions and my writing and I couldn’t imagine taking a backseat and letting other people create a false image of what they think I should look, act, or sing like. I’m so lucky to have the deal that I do with my team. We are all working towards the same goal and are all very open about pretty much everything. They let me be a free spirit in a sense and let my imagination run wild on a lot of the tracks and I am so very grateful for that.
Where do you draw influence and inspiration from for your work?
Most of my songs are very personal, I tend to draw from experiences I’ve had with people or experiences of those who are very close to me. I’m one of those people that write because I have to, like if I don’t I might explode or drown in my own thoughts. As cliché as it sounds, music genuinely saved my life. I’m not sure if I’d be here on this planet today if I hadn’t heard the music that I had at the time. So I try to be as honest and genuine as possible, to remind people that they’re not alone in whatever it is that they’re going through.
If you could collaborate with anybody going forward, who would you choose and why?
Probably Lorde. I’ve been playing her last album, Melodrama, so much that I think everyone around me is sick of it by now. I think that she’s an incredible lyricist and finds this way of being so unapologetically herself that is so beautiful. I’d love to watch her writing process and how she comes up with these brilliant lines that seem to punch me right in the gut. She’s incredible.
Tell us a random, funny fact about you that not many people know.
I’m not sure if it’s inverted or just missing, but one of my ribs on my right side is pretty much non-existent. You’d never know unless I’m in a bathing suit or something but it’s pretty weird and random.
Do you have definitive aims or goals for your career?
For now, I’d really like to be able to do music full time and be able to drop my less than ideal part time job, haha. But as far as big picture, lofty goals, it would be nice to go on tour one day with a more established artist so that I can get my music out there to as many people as possible while getting to travel the world and see some amazing new places.
Where do you hope to be this time next year?
I hope to have an EP done and maybe working on another one or maybe an album if I get so lucky.
What should we expect from you in the coming weeks and months?
Well, I’m doing my first live show with the new project on October 5th, at The Country in Nashville, TN. And the next 2 singles are almost done. Got a lot of big plans in the works for the next couple months. So here’s to hoping that people like the new sound and want to hear more!