Lia Pappas-Kemps on her debut EP “Gleam”
The process of writing her first project and the opportunity to amalgamate your whole life. Themes of friendships and yearning romantic love. The importance of being able to put thoughts about what you’re hearing sonically into words and being able to relay those ideas to others. Working with GRAMMY-nominated Nathan Ferraro (Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen). Raspberry vodka and more.
Fuzzer: Thank you so much for taking the time to chat! So first of all, I'd love to know how you got started in singing and making your own music?
Lia: Oh man, it's been a long time. I have written music forever. I guess it's mostly been a private thing for me, and it's hard to really pinpoint the moment where I wanted to share it publicly, because that sort of feels like a counterintuitive thing a little bit. To like have writing be so insular and so private, and then being like “I want to perform”. It's like a totally opposite thing. But yeah, I think performing has also been a little bit intrinsically part of my life and part of family's life. It was always sort of like playing in front of people. So I guess it made sense for me to want to share my writing.
Fuzzer: Yeah, absolutely. And are your family and your parents musicians as well?
Lia: They’re not, they are in the arts - trained actors.
Fuzzer: Creative family! Nice. And yeah, I totally understand what you're saying about it being quite a personal experience, and then being able to be like “here's kind of like my diary entry” in a way.
Lia: Absolutely.
Fuzzer: It must be a weird feeling for sure. And who were your main musical and creative influences growing up?
Lia: I always cite Joni Mitchell, just because I feel like she's threaded through all of my writing a little bit. But beyond that, I always say The Beatles which is like a classic (laughs). They were always playing around my house. And Paul Simon and Simon & Garfunkel, those are what I always think of when I think of my childhood. And my mom also really loved Alanis Morissette, which I feel was really like a big moment for me as a kid. I feel like you can really hear her in my writing. And now, as of late, really obsessed with Gillian Welch. She is a folk Americana artist. And who else? I love Big Thief, Alabama Shakes too. I think Brittany Howard is unreal. That’s just a few.
Fuzzer: That's great! Sounds like you’ve got some great taste, and some good classics in there as well! And congrats on your debut EP “Gleam”. I've had a chance to listen to it all the way through and it sounds absolutely amazing. Can you tell us a little bit about what was important for you to write about lyrically in this project?
Lia: Thank you. I think it's interesting because I've always really wanted to have a long form project. I think albums are really important to me - I have always loved listening to albums, so this is really exciting to get to do this and have the opportunity to really get into a studio and make it intentionally. But I didn't really write it with the intention of being a project. It sort of just like happened that way. And I think that's very classic to a first project, because you sort of like get to amalgamate your whole life a little bit (laughs) which is awesome. So I didn't necessarily think about thematics while I was writing, but I happened to write a lot about yearning, and I guess like really, really wanting something. Whether that be, I don’t know, romantic love but also I wrote a lot about friendships and that sort of tumultuous journey after big shifts, you know?
Fuzzer: Yeah 100%. I think those are all themes that so many people can relate to and connect with. And as you said, you didn't necessarily have in mind that you were going to create the project itself. What was the moment that you realized like “oh, hang on, I think this collection of songs are gonna go well together”?
Lia: Yeah, I don't know if there was ever that moment, like, in strict terms. I think playing live with the band was a light bulb moment where I was like, this can have a through line sonically. Because I write all of it alone, as much as I can ideate about arrangements, it shifts and it takes on different forms all the time. So having a group of people together and have their tastes sort of be reflected in the music was really exciting. So maybe that.
Fuzzer: Yeah, amazing. And we love your song “Just The Thought” - it’s so good! Can you tell us about the inspiration that behind that song?
Lia: Yeah, absolutely. It's interesting. I like wrote that song, and I kind of didn't like it. I think even at the time I was like “this feels really juvenile” or like, I think I had a notion about my writing that I didn't want it to be simple I guess? (laughs). I'd written that song very quicky and the ideas in it were really straightforward and there was not a lot of interpretation to it, I guess. Except for that last bit which I really adored and I think that made me want to keep the song or have it be on the project. But now, I really love playing it and that is like a telltale sign of like playing it live, and liking playing it live feels like an indicator that the song has a life.
But I had written it in my first year of university, and I was living in a dorm room so it was like very close quarters and it was such an intense period. Everything that happened sort of had immediate consequences because everyone was in this exact same space. So everything was very dramatic (laughs). Everyone was around each other, so it felt like everything was happening so intensely and quickly. And so I guess this is about that feeling of having to be or forced to be around someone that had hurt you.
Fuzzer: Yeah, I remember living in the dorms. It was always really dramatic. It’s way too close, people shouldn't be really living that close to each other (laughs).
Lia: Totally (laughs).
Fuzzer: And another favourite of ours is “Switchblade” which is just so incredible as well. How did that song come about?
Lia: Thank you. That's the song that I wrote the longest time ago. I don't really remember my inspiration behind it. I was 17, and I don't think I'd written it about anyone or anything specific. I just had a general sense of wanting to be special to someone and, I don't know, wanting to shift myself to cater to someone. But I guess in a more general sense, at that point I had no idea who I wanted to be to myself, so I guess I was singing about just being confused as to what version of myself I wanted to become. I was also graduating, and I was entering a different phase, and trying to understand who I wanted to be, I guess (laughs).
Fuzzer: Yeah, I think we've all been there. We’re changing for people or trying to be who we think they want us to be. What were your main highlights or core memories working on this project?
Lia: Oh good question. There were a few. I think just being in the studio in general was really exciting because I had never gotten to do that. And just little moments of discovery of a song have been so eye opening, especially because I had these songs for such a long time and recording is such a different process than writing or playing. They just took on new life which was really exciting, especially because I loved them so much separately and then I got to relearn them or think about them in different ways, so that was really awesome.
Fuzzer: Yeah, that must be such a special feeling! And one thing we're doing for each of our interviews is we're going to customize a cocktail recipe in regards to the project that we're talking about. So if “Gleam” the EP was a cocktail, what do you think it would be? What kind of flavours or liquor would it have?
Lia: Okay! I was actually talking about this the other day, because there's a little through line that happens a little bit at the beginning of the first song of the EP, and the last song where I talk about Raspberry beer. There's a specific one I have in mind, it's like Radler. So definitely has to have some raspberry elements to it. I love a sweet cocktail. I love it to be, I don't want to say syrupy because that's kind of gross, but I want something yummy in there so maybe like a raspberry vodka something. I don’t know a lot about what goes well together but I love vodka. I love a vodka drink. Maybe even ginger.
Fuzzer: Oooh okay I can see the vision! I'm sure there's something that we can put together and once the interview’s out then we can share the recipe! And what are some of the biggest lessons that you've learned in your career so far?
Lia: I think being able to speak about or to verbalize what I'm feeling. Put into words thoughts about what I'm hearing sonically in my head, and being able to relay my ideas to other people because it's kind of the first time that I've had to do that a little bit to people who might not like exactly, intrinsically, know what I'm talking about which has been fun, surprisingly, and like being convicted in my thoughts and feelings about what I want sonically.
Fuzzer. Awesome! And I guess you've been working with Nathan Ferraro (Beyoncé, Charli XCX, Carly Rae Jepsen) on this project. How has it been working with him and collaborating in that way?
Lia: Amazing. This is also another thing that I've been learning, is just like how important it is to just get along with people on a base level as people, because it’s a really personal thing to share your work. These are such special, precious things to me, which again, I've had to let go of some of that in terms of opening up my world to just not be completely isolated. But him and I just really get along as people so it was just really fun.
Fuzzer: Love that answer! And what music are you listening to at the moment? Are there any new artists that you recommend that we listen to? I know you mentioned a couple before.
Lia: I've been listening to a lot of Feist this past year. I think she's amazing - Toronto girly (laughs). I’ve also been really into the new Fontaine's DC album. I'm seeing them next week, I'm really excited.
Fuzzer: Awesome! And what have you got planned for the rest of 2024 and 2025?
Lia: Well after the EP comes out, hopefully play some shows in whatever capacity that means. I do have a show in Toronto as an EP release show on the 22nd that I'm really excited about. I just played a show for the first time in a while the other week, and I forgot how much I loved it and how exciting it is. I've heard these songs quite a bit since making it (laughs), so it's really exciting to have them live in a room with people. So that, and writing and making another project.
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