LIZ METTA is MARIA THORNTON’s sophomore solo project. Despite the coronavirus pandemic, the Austrian-American singer-songwriter managed to establish herself within the Austrian scene and released her first EP on her own URSUS Records at the end of March. In conversation with Katharina Reiffenstuhl, LIZ METTA talks about her unconventional musical development and the setbacks caused by the pandemic.
You studied Landscape Architecture and are a singer – two approaches to art that seem wildly different. What does this specific background mean to you personally?
Liz Metta: Music has become more and more important and I eventually started making it my top priority. I didn’t go down the classical path and started writing music after learning piano for years, studying as a vocalist or whatnot. I originally moved to Vienna to study at the University of Applied Arts but when that didn’t work out, I eventually ended up studying French at the University of Vienna – but I still wanted to work creatively. I have a great interest in plants, so one day I spontaneously checked out what kind of courses they were offering at the BOKU (University of Natural Resources and Life Sciences) and I just enrolled in Landscape Architecture. I experienced the program to be very technical and scientifically oriented. I guess that’s why the songwriting sort of happened, my urge to work creatively had to find an outlet.
When did you actively start writing music?
Liz Metta: Compared to other artists I started relatively late in my life, I first started picking up a guitar and singing at the beginning of my bachelor program. It was just a lot of fun and it just started to slowly become an important part of my life. At some point songwriting and my live-gigs were taking up just as much time as my studies, while I was also working a job on the side. It becomes really hard, you know? Knowing how to set the right priorities and what the gscheit (transl.: smart) thing to do is.
Are you planning on working in Landscape Architecture in the future, since you did finish the degree, or are you trying to fully focus on your music?
Liz Metta: I am trying to create an environment in which this project can grow and I can pursue it professionally. It is definitely my top priority.
Despite that, it is always rewarding when the two fields intersect in specific circumstances. At the end of my studies, for example, I intensively dealt with questions regarding the interim and temporary uses of buildings in urban spaces. Questions regarding spaces like these are something people within the fields of music and art event organizations always grapple with. I would enjoy connecting these areas professionally, but at the moment I simply don’t have any answers to such questions.
“I get a lot of inspiration from nature and spend a lot of time outside”
Your music videos make it apparent that you have a connection to nature. Do you put a lot of thought into how you treat your music visually?
I do get a lot of inspiration from nature and spend a lot of time outside. For my last Video “Fragile & Strong” I filmed all of the footage myself. The backgrounds, which were projected for the video, were recorded on Danube Island and in the Vienna Forest. For me, nature and culture interplay, just like I have a personal and professional approach to them both.
When did the wish to start your own label and solo project come up?
Liz Metta: When I started out with music, I was playing in a band which split up two years later because a couple of people moved away. Then I played in another band which also disbanded. That’s how I first started working alone on singer-songwriter stuff, but eventually, I wanted to try something new. I wanted to broaden my genre approach and that’s how LIZ METTA came into existence in late 2019. Shortly afterwards, the pandemic hit Austria, which was quite an inconvenience (laughs). I deliberated back and forth about which label could release this new project but I didn’t want to wait any longer, so I said to myself: “I’ll just self-publish this and we’ll see how it goes.”
“[…] without the live shows, something is just missing”
Starting a brand-new project at the beginning of the lockdowns – how did that affect your work?
Liz Metta: Of course, I would have preferred for it to happen under different circumstances (laughs). At that point, I had already made a lot of plans and had put a lot of thought into them. Playing live is a really important aspect of releasing new music for me. You just get instant feedback from your audience and it used to be my principal activity as a musician. Now everything happens online, which is completely new for me. It’s not that it’s not fascinating, but without the live shows, something is just missing. Experiencing music together in such atmospheres is just important and frankly, I really miss it. But still, I am very happy with how everything turned out and thankful for the opportunities I have.
But you did end up playing a few gigs, no? In the short periods when it was possible.
Liz Metta: Yes, at the Kultursommer at the old Danube. Last year it was two shows in total, everything else was rescheduled, to this March for example. I try to stay optimistic and adapt to the circumstances. You have to work with what you got – not that there is any other way. (laughs)
You already played in the USA and Canada. How did that compare to Vienna?
Liz Metta: The biggest difference is that suddenly, all the friendly faces you get used to at home are missing. You just have to establish yourself in front of a new audience that’s never heard from you before every time and ask yourself, “am I reaching them?” That’s somehow fascinating. I was playing at this comfy café in Montreal I liked. The people were open-minded and everybody was interested in art and culture but at the end of the day, it wasn’t so different to Vienna.
Is there a specific genre that you would ascribe to your music? Your work is so full of different influences.
Liz Metta: That’s a good question. I listen to quite a lot of different music and everything you listen to ultimately influences your work – which leads to a certain diversity. I would say there are three genres which form the main basis for my work. There is a lot of influence from my Singer-Songwriter background and then there’s also this Soul influence paired with Neo-Psychedelic-Rock. You could make the point that that doesn’t work well together, but for me, it has always made sense. It’s not like these are always conscious decisions, it ends up being what it is.
“I am generally open for everything and would never say that I only do rock or pop music”
Do you also listen to a lot of different genres on your own time?
Liz Metta: Absolutely! I also listen to classical and electronic music for example.
Could you imagine yourself in more electronic contexts?
Liz Metta: I would have to learn a lot more for that to happen (laughs). But yeah, of course. You can always develop your work and go into collaborations with other people and end up with an electronic track with vocals. That’s something I could imagine happening. I wouldn’t work within any genre, but I am generally open for everything and would never say that I only do rock or pop music. Genre boundaries become blurred in popular music anyway.
What can we expect from the EP you’re working on?
The single is called “Shine My Little Light”. There are going to be six tracks and it will be released at the end of March. The tracks showcase all the different shades of LIZ METTA, there is quite a lot of variation. It’s the first release of this project so naturally, I am even more excited about how it will be perceived.
Is it difficult for you to process private and personal issues in your songs when you start to think about publishing them?
Liz Metta: I think the opposite is the case, it would be difficult for me to write about something impersonal. That wouldn’t feel real to me and I couldn’t deliver it authentically. It wouldn’t even be possible for me to express some of these things outside of my music. After the music is out there, it’s up to the audience to interpret the work as it makes sense to them anyway.
We’re eager to listen to it. Thank you for the interview!
Katharina Reiffenstuhl
Translated from the German original by Samuel Obernosterer.