Introducing #172 - Loris and the Lion
Let us introduce you to Liverpool based alternative folk duo Loris and the Lion, who have just released their new single ‘Waxwing’. The track tells a haunting story of love and loss based on a folktale collected by Brothers Grimm. The band took a moment to talk to us about their music.
Hey Loris and the Lion, how are you dealing with being creative during a troubling time for music?
[Rich] Staying creative hasn’t been too tricky for us throughout lockdown luckily as we live together so we didn’t have to deal with a physical separation. Even though Georgia has been working full time throughout as a primary school teacher, and I’ve been scrambling for work in music, the first lockdown actually gave us the space to finish the recording and mix for Waxwing, and some other bits we have been working on.
We’ve also made sure to spend time doing other creative things outside of the band. Georgia is getting really into embroidery and other crafty bits, and I’ve been working as a producer and mix engineer with other artists remotely from my studio in Liverpool called Wise Tree Studios (www.wisetreestudios.com), which has really helped keep me feeling productive.
You are based in Liverpool, what are your favourite things about the city?
[Rich] Liverpool is a really special place. It kind of feels a bit like a secret because to outsiders who haven’t visited it has this reputation of being pretty rough and miserable, but there is such an amazing community here that is always looking out for each other.
Liverpool also feels really exciting for new music – there are some amazing new artists in the city at the moment such as Sara Wolff, Kate O’Dempsey and Jed Timms (who actually sang some backing vocals on Waxwing, along with another friend Siubhan Macauley). It feels like a really creative place to be at the moment, despite the effects of the pandemic.
[Georgia] My dad is also obsessed with The Beatles, so I’m sure he’d probably say it was sacrilege not to mention them! He still hasn’t been on the Magical Mystery tour bus though...
Your newest track ‘Waxwing’ is out now, can you tell us what the track is about?
[Georgia] Waxwing is based on the folk tale Jorinde and Joringel by the Brothers Grimm. It's about transformation, getting lost, wicked witches, feeling trapped and womanhood. In the story, a wicked witch turns adolescent girls into songbirds if they trespass near her castle with their lovers. My initial idea for the song was to have a voice for each bird, singing snippets of warnings and narrative, and it originally emerged as twelve-part choral piece. Over time it developed and was refined, first into a live arrangement for a previous incarnation of the band, and then Rich arranged it into the production heard on the recording.
You consider yourselves a duo, so how did the partnership start?
[Rich] We originally met at University on a music degree about 7 years ago and became close friends, sharing lots of music with each other over late night cups of tea. Georgia was the one that really got me into Kate Bush, so I think that says it all. Our friendship then grew into an awkward romance, and inevitably(!?) a band… at first it was actually quite tricky navigating the creative side of things from within a romantic relationship, but now it feels as though that connection has given us a really unique artistic partnership.
What are your key musical influences as a band?
[Georgia] My first love was Kate Bush. She has been a huge influence on me - I remember so vividly hearing ‘The Kick Inside’ for the first time in the back of my parents' rickety car and being amazed that someone could write music that sounds like this, whilst at the same time thinking it sounded so familiar.
[Rich] We are also really influenced by folk and classical music (especially choral traditions) as we both have a background in those areas, and I think you can hear that in our approach to harmony and arrangement. Other artists that we have on heavy rotation at home include the female singer-songwriters Anais Mitchell, Joni Mitchell and Joanna Newsom.
[Georgia] Once I was also told that I sound like Mary Poppins… I grew up on Julie Andrews musicals though so that is probably no surprise!
Now this track is out there, what’s next for you?
[Rich] Well, as I alluded to earlier, we’ve been working on some other Loris and the Lion related things during lockdown too. We will have another song coming out in the next couple of months, followed by some other exciting announcements, so make sure you keep an eye on our socials (@lorisandthelion) for news on that, as well as other little updates from our corner of Liverpool. We’ve heard that sharing pictures of cats is what you are meant to do on the internet, and so our furry friends, Tarot and Henwen, are a regular feature there if that interests anyone