Lizette Lizette | „Don’t underestimate your ability to make things happen yourself.”

On 2 June a captivating artist joins us on the Ship from Sweden. Lizette Lizette is a force beyond the mainstream. Their provocative yet fragile music is one for the deep souls and curious minds. We asked them about inspirations and community and many more.

Can you tell us about your journey into music? Who were your musical influences growing up, and how have they shaped your music today?

My first idols were Celine Dion and Mariah Carey. But when I became I teenager I discovered No Doubt and Hole, and that started my journey to search for more underground music. But I was a very shy and quiet kid growing up, but I had a secret dream of becoming a singer. I think it was Gwen Stefani that made me realize that, I wanted to be just like her. Then when I turned 15 I discovered the 80s and became obsessed with New Romantics and New Wave. And that’s when I flourished, started my first New Wave band and got into a music school and stared studying songwriting. I also made a lot of new goth friends and really felt like I found my thing. And this is a very important fundament in my identity.

Your music blends synthpop, EBM, and new beat. Can you describe your creative process when merging these genres?

I always say to my companions and friends that I don’t know which genre I belong to. I like to blend 90s underground dance music with a darker New Beat touch. I think that’s how I view my music. But I’ve also blended in elements from New Age-music, cause I really really love dance acts like Opus 3 and Orbital that do so too. I love the combination of a dark bass with an airy voice pad. It’s my favorite!

Your previous works, such as „Queerbody” and „NON,” also address themes of gender identity and non-conformity. How does „Miss Gendered” build upon these themes, and what progression do you see in your exploration of identity through your music?

It’s a continuation of the NON-album. Cause even though I sang out loud that “I AM NON” people kept on miss gender me. And I thought I comment that in a fun way and make a beauty pageant of instead. 
But I’m still exploring my visual expectation as a queer non-binary person and artist. But I often feel very uncomfortable in too feminine expectations. And if I have it it’s more inspired by drag than anything else.

Your lyrics often delve into self-acceptance. Can you share a specific song or lyric that holds a special meaning to you on that matter and explain why?

I think that would be my song “Cuts”. Those lyrics portray my very darkest thoughts that I‘ve had in my 20s. I used to feel like an insufficient looser very often, especially when I got disappointed on something career wise. I used to take setbacks extremely hard. But I’ve worked a lot on this these last couple of years, both through therapy and actually with a lot of help and realizations from my partner Nicklas who is a very experienced musician.

How has your experience within the queer community influenced your music and artistic vision?

It’s everything to me. It is the fundament to me finding my own identity as an artist. And I have always, from the very beginning in 2010 involved my friends and people from the queer community in everything I do.

How do you hope your music impacts listeners, especially those within the LGBTQ+ community?

I hope I can be the soundtrack of them feeling strength, standing up for themselves and their rights to be themselves. That’s an honor.

Can you share a memorable interaction with a fan that has had a significant impact on you?

I actually met one of my best friends “Butcher Queen” aka. Rufus at a gig. He was in the crowd digging to my songs and afterwards we started to talk and really fell in love to each other. He was new in town so he joined my friend group and this year we celebrate 15 years as bffs.

What advice would you give to aspiring musicians, especially those who feel they don’t fit into mainstream genres?

Don’t underestimate your ability to make things happen yourself. Don’t be scared to take charge and control over your music and releases. I understand the feeling of being lost and new to how it all works, but I promise you it’s not that hard if you just take some time to understand how it works and get to know all the possible ways to do it. I think this is especially important if you’re into smaller genres.

Can you share any details about upcoming projects or releases that your fans can look forward to?

Yes! I’m currently working on my 4th album, I think it’s gonna be ready to release next spring. While I’ll be spending 3 months in New York. I also already have 2 music videos that I filmed last time I was there.

Are there any new directions or experiments in sound that you are excited to explore in your future work?

People that I work with say that many of the songs on the 4th album sound more mature. Both my voice and the music. I haven’t thought about it myself but it makes sense, since I’ve matured a lot these last couple of years.