Dear Future Me,
If you're reading this then congratulations to you for remembering the name of this blog and your password.
Also, if you've become enslaved to a site known as Twitter, then remember the following:
1) Twitter is basically updating your Facebook status over and over again, though less satisfying because you only have 140 characters in which to air your thoughts, and then you have to cut down on grammar and spelling and basic punctuation, and we all know that makes you sad. (Aww, do you remember Facebook? The social networking site that used to be good before advertisers got hold of it and the designers of the site felt the need to keep changing every little thing, like making sure that if you were invited to an event you would get a notification every single time someone replied?)
2) You don't have to air EVERY single thought that pops into your head. In fact, please don't.
3) Delete your account, get off your backside, and do some work. (Also, if Future Me has acquired a Tumblr account- something Present Me does not yet have- DELETE IT AND STOP PROCRASTINATING!)
I know that you, Future Me, won't take into account any of the aforementioned points, but try and remember how useful Twitter can be in making valid points. Remember how it can be used to inform and discuss important and interesting topics, so stop tweeting about your sandwich.
Regards,
Present Me
With that in mind, earlier this week I suspended my subconscious mission (ok, I realise you can't directly tell your subconscious what to do, but you get the idea...) to tell the world about my eating habits, and I put my social networking accounts to use by interviewing a wonderfully talented singer/songwriter and a friend of mine, Lozi B, following her new release of her first album Lumino. In addition to conducting that interview, I've decided to put my Twitter and Facebook accounts to further good use by telling you, the reader, all about her. Here's all you need to know:
Hi Lozi! So, it's a bit of a cliche, but would you attach any particular genre to your music?
I wish I knew what box I fitted into! It would be so helpful in communicating to others what I sound like! That said, I also secretly enjoy the annoying hard-to-pin-down-ness. My faith usually comes into most of my songs because it's part of my identity. I'd say I fitted into mellow, chilled, quirky, worship, faith, love, acoustic, and simple. Whether my perceptions of my own music are correct or not, I'll leave for you to decide.
The name of your album Lumino is unusual. How did you come up with the name?
The name Lumino came from a love of languages. I like names and words that have meaning and I wanted a title that had depth and expressed something of my heart and faith. "Lumino" is latin for "light."
When you recorded your album, did you have a clear direction or theme that you wanted to incorporate into your music?
To be honest, there was no clarity and barely any organisation in writing the album beforehand! I wrote songs as I felt inspired over the past year or so, and only recently cobbled a selection together. That said, I did attempt to have some kind of theme, though your guess is as good as mine as to what that is!
I know that you enjoy spontaneously making music as well as writing songs that are more structured. Do you enjoy doing one more than the other?
I do! Winning by a mile is the "spontaneous" songwriting. I love the freedom I feel when I just play and see what comes out. It's not necessarily always clean and fault-free, but coming from a classical music background where structure and flawless performances are the norm, I relish the liberation and authenticity of the "made up songs."
Do you have any personal favourites among the variety of songs you have produced?
I initially didn't like it, but Buried Treasure has grown on me. Largely it was the ending pirate impression that I found cheesy and embarrassing! But I do like it now, and definitely enjoyed having fun! I also like Dove and Basically because they are love-faith songs to and about Jesus, and I love singing to Him,
Are you working on anything at the moment?
I've had a bit of a musical break, not intentionally, but I have recently come back from an inspirational weekend in Norfolk where I've been getting back into worship and musical expression of my heart. I'm feeling inspired again!
Without sounding like every cliched article ever written about a music artist, Lozi B's voice is hauntingly beautiful and loaded with emotion. Tracks like Buried Treasure intricately weaves fun and intrigue, and if you're anything like me, her album Lumino will give you goosebumps. It's always hard to write about music because somehow words can't always do it justice, but without sounding cheesy or corny or biased, Lozi's music somehow transcends words. She has a beautiful gift and it was a privilege to interview her. I hope I've done her justice and I hope you enjoy her music as much as I do. If you want to listen to her songs in full or download them, you can find them at http://lozib.bandcamp.com
She is playing this Saturday 22nd September at South Street Art Centre, Reading, at an event by Reading Family Church called Laughing with Tom. (link here) She also has a gig coming up in Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, on Friday 1st March at Octavia Cafe. For more information, check out her Facebook page!
