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Heart Beats: An Interview with Liphemra

Liphemra’s feature from Issue #3 — copies are still available, get yours here.
Photgraphed by Cheryl Georgette Arent. Interview by Shea Garner


Overcoming the crippling pain and hopelessness associated with heartbreak can be daunting for anyone, let alone an artist isolated amongst the overwhelming urban sprawl of modern Los Angeles. But Liphemra, an electronic producer raised in the city’s growing DIY scene, harnesses that unrelenting sense of despair and turns it into her creative output. While most of her work has appeared on one-off cassettes, demos, and mixtapes, Liphemra is hard at work on an upcoming EP, set for release sometime in April. Having just released her latest single, “magazines,” an ominous, forward-moving synth track sporting warbly, Kría Brekkan-like vocals, the bleeding heart sat down with us to talk about LA, jazz music, and dream collaborators.

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Where do you find inspiration from your surroundings in Los Angeles? Where is your place to sit and write lyrics?

I like to write and make music in a quiet space like my bedroom. Often times though I find myself going up Mulholland Dr. at night and looking over at the city by myself, or going to the beach, just to be alone so I can think and focus in on how I’m feeling and what I need to say, and the things I need to sort out in my brain. In silence I can figure out who I am.

Would you consider yourself an extrovert or introvert? Why?

Both. When I’m working on music I need to be alone or with my bandmates. When I made my mixtape I barely went out for a few months. When I have creative impulses and I’m in a routine where every day new ideas come to me, I need to be by my computer and ready to take advantage of those moments. Going out can be distracting and tiring, especially at times when I need all my energy to write. When the songs are done and I feel good about what I made that day, I like going out.

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Who is your dream collaborator and tour companion?

Flying Lotus, Thom Yorke, Geoff Barrow, Mad Lib, Bjork, James Blake.

Your music has a harmonic dreamy quality to it. Are there any artists that inspire your musical dreamscape?

So many. Mostly my inspiration comes from jazz music.

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Oh that’s interesting. Which jazz musicians in particular?

Elvin Jones is my favorite jazz drummer and the way he plays has always inspired me. He’s emotive, fiery, and aggressive in many ways. I also have grown up listening to a lot of Miles Davis and John Coltrane… Wayne Shorter is another favorite.

What advice would you give to your fellow musicians?

Just make whatever you want… never compromise your art because of what other people think. If they don’t get you now… they will… trust me.

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