Keren, lead singer and front woman of alt rock/ post-hardcore band, Liquid State chats to me about how she uses her experiences to write songs and why we should ditch the term 'female-fronted'.
Static slaps, what was the inspiration behind your newest track?
Thank you! Static is focused on deception and the phrase ‘blinded by love’.
It focuses on the inability to see the truth; even when it’s right there in front of your eyes, because your mind has been so heavily manipulated and fucked with, that you can’t help but view things with rose tinted glasses. Sometimes the inability to see how it really is is unintentional, sometimes it’s just to protect yourself through naivety in order to refrain from being hurt.
Although my personal take on this song was written about a romantic relationship, the lyrics aren’t subjective to just that. They are open to whichever scenario and whoever the listener associates the topic with most; there are many situations beyond just sexual relationships where people can fall victim to deception and manipulation.
I use Liquid State as a personal diary, most of our songs are about my own personal experiences so instead of writing my thoughts down in a locked up journal I write them into our songs and then shout the fuck out of them on stage, like a sensible person…
You keep your writing, recording and production process in-house. Why is it important for you as a band to do so?
We’ve worked with a handful of outhouse producers in the past, and they’ve all been sick to work with, but this time we decided to do as much as possible in house, almost like setting ourselves a challenge.
Kray produces as a career anyway so it just seemed like the right thing to do, it kept costs down as well giving us the opportunity to rip the whole process apart and focus on every slight bit of detail. Kray has spent hours upon hours working on the recording and production of this release, sometimes not coming to bed until 6am because he’s up all night drilling down every little part until it’s perfect.
In terms of writing; we have a weekly Thursday meet up where the boys will spend the day working on new material ready for lyrics so we constantly have a back catalogue of music.
What inspires you when songwriting?
I use Liquid State as a personal diary, most of our songs are about my own personal experiences so instead of writing my thoughts down in a locked up journal I write them into our songs and then shout the fuck out of them on stage, like a sensible person…
Do you have a set formula for your songwriting?
It usually goes something like this; Kray will get an idea together and track some basic melody structures, midi’ing in drums, recording bass and guitar layers until we have a very basic demo. Then we get the boys around and pick it apart further, changing parts if needed and adding our own input and ideas.
With the basic structure finished, we then go back and flesh out the song, adding in transitional parts and textures to finish up on the overall song ‘soundscape’. Harry and Ben will then track their parts at home and send them over to Kray to put into the project.
Vocal lines and melodies are then workshopped together and we end up with our first demo. We usually end up repeating this process at least 5-6 times until we settle on a final draft to then start the final recording.
What is next for you?
We have a lot in the pipeline for the next year, but it’s all hush hush at the moment. We’re itching to share it though, so keep up to date by following us on Instagram for exclusives.
What female artists + bands (with women in them) are on your radar at the moment? Spiritbox 100%, damn that girl blows my mind.
If you were to describe your style in a sentence, what would it be?
This is always the toughest question for me to answer, but something along the lines of Liquid State are a Alt Rock/Post Hardcore band, dipping our toes into metal whilst fusing the best elements of pop to create a unique, but memorable style.
‘Female fronted’ - man, the term is just grinding. It’s like a get out of jail card for adding some personality to a band.
How did Liquid State form?
Kray and I started Liquid State back in 2015 as an acoustic duo for a college project! Ben and Harry joined the group in 2017 and we just became heavier and heavier over the years. We’re definitely not an acoustic band now, that’s for sure.
What is your best accomplishment as a band?
We’ve accomplished a lot behind the scenes this last year and we’ve worked our arses off for what’s to come in the future. We’re keeping a lot of it on the down low at the moment but this next year has a lot happening and we’re mad excited for it, so stay tuned!
"Do not allow yourself to feel patronised or belittled because you’re female, you have just as much right to the stage as the next person."
How can the alt music scene be more welcoming for women?
It doesn’t take a mastermind to realise that the music scene is heavily male dominated, especially in the rock and metal scene. Most gigs we turn up to, I’m the only female musician.
I’ve had it before where I haven’t really been acknowledged by other bands on the bill, probably because they just assume I’m a girlfriend helping unload the car. It’s only when we finish our set and I leave the stage that I get other musicians coming to chat to me because they now see me differently and respect me and a fellow musician. It really makes you wonder if the industry is just unintentionally sexist right from the get go of small local shows.
How do you want to see the music industry change for women and gender minorities?
A shit band is a shit band and a great band is a great band, the gender identity of the musicians within that band really doesn’t pay any relevance, we don’t need to be labelled otherwise.
‘Female fronted’ - man, the term is just grinding. It’s like a get out of jail card for adding some personality to a band. Honestly, we’re probably guilty of using the term ourselves in the past, but logically it’s just silly. We don’t cut around describing Architects or Northlane as ‘male fronted’ - they’re just a band. We’re just a band too, it just happens that I have a vagina and they don’t.
What advice would you give to a woman entering the music industry?
Do not allow yourself to feel patronised or belittled because you’re female, you have just as much right to the stage as the next person. Yeah, it can feel intimidating being surrounded by nothing but men, but ultimately we’re just a bunch of people with a passion for music.
Stream the song here:
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