I once saw a Lior show at a small venue in the hills. The room was filled with hippies, footy players, bikers and hot girls in mini skirts. At some point every one of us had tears streaming down our faces. There is magic in music that can unify and Lior’s music not only often lyrically carries this theme, but in a live show is a glorious example of it. He brings some of that magic to the Mornington Peninsula this February 21 for a show at the Southern Peninsula Arts Centre.
PEARL: March 7 sees the release of your fourth album, Scattered Reflections, a collection of songs written in your recent travels. Where have you been?
Lior: Well, I did a couple of writing trips. One was to India and the other was to parts of Europe. Travel was pretty significant!
PEARL: Your hometown is Melbourne; do you ever get homesick in your travels?
LIOR: Yeah, I miss my people. I have two young kids so I miss them more than the place, but I do LOVE Melbourne.
PEARL: Did having kids have anything to do with your lullaby for TV’s Giggle And Hoot?
LIOR: It did actually! They came to me before the show aired and I thought, having young kids, it would be a kind of cute thing to undertake. I tried getting them to help me write it, but that didn’t work out so well. Still, it’s been a really beautiful surprise to see how well its been received.
PEARL: Do your kids love it?
LIOR: Yeah. It’s given me a lot of cred with the kids, that song.
PEARL: The show at the Southern Peninsula Arts Centre is exciting for us! Will it be part of your Scattered Reflections Tour?
LIOR: It is PART of it but I am doing that one solo. The shows in the bigger cities are more of a large band line up. I’m doing some solo shows this year out of the major cities. I really like to balance out the experiences; stripping things back and doing shows were I feel like I’m in my lounge room, where I can really chat with the audiences.
PEARL: You do seem to be able to create that intimate feeling in a large audience too though, how do you prepare yourself before these shows?
LIOR: It’s still a work in progress, really. People ask me if I still get nervous and I say “YEAH! I sure do.” And a lot of people are really surprised by that, but I think I have to be. It’s a sign of caring! The older I get, the more I realise that sometimes it’s just about being relaxed and calm and NOT doing stuff before a show can lead to a better state of mind. If you feel like you have to drill and work on it before a show you’re gonna end up tense on stage, and the nature of what I do is not about that. It’s about being honest and giving a piece of yourself. Being relaxed lends itself to doing that better.
PEARL: What inspired you growing up?
LIOR: I’ve always been really intrigued by the power a song can house. The fact that you can read a set of words and it’s ok, it’s kind of engaging. But when you put music to it, suddenly it gains this profoundness and poignancy and there’s a universality to it. I just think music is a constant source of fascination.
Lior’s album Scattered Reflections is out March 7 and is crowd sourced through Pledge Music. If people buy the album prior to release, a portion goes to the United Nations Children’s Emergency fund. For more information visit www.pledgemusic.com/projects/lior. You can experience a Lior show for yourself at The Southern Peninsula Arts Centre on Feb 21. For more information visit www.southernpeninsulaartscentre.com
LOUISE MacGREGOR
[iphorm_popup id=”1″ name=”artist inquiry form”]Submit An Artist Booking Enquiry[/iphorm_popup]