Lissi Bos, an up-and-coming singer-songwriter from Brisbane, Australia, is poised to rule the world with the release of her debut single, โJust Be,โ on April 10, 2023.
Her forthcoming single โJust Beโ conveys an important public service message about mental health in addition to being an upbeat anthem. โJust Beโ was written as a reminder that the peace we seek lies within ourselves and was born out of a place of darkness and despondency. Melissa found herself one night feeling empty and teetering on the edge of the abyss with what felt like no way out as she worked through compounded trauma. She discovered that all she needed to do to simply exist was to strip down to her most basic human nature during this period of darkness. Check out the exclusive interview below:
1. Can you tell us a bit about where you come from and how it all got started?
LISSI BOS: I was born a performer! My quiet family didnโt know what hit them, with my live performances in the kitchen, and on the regular in the living room to my imaginary audience and echo mic lost in theย gut wrenching dramatics andย soulful musical expression of Whitney Houstonโs The Bodyguard Soundtrack. I was in love with her vocal techniques and the deep honest emotionally raw expression even as a 5 year old. And to mix it up, my first Choreographed dance was to the one upbeat song on the album, Queen of the Night.
2. Did you have any formal training or are you self-taught?
LISSI BOS: I first taught myself by learningย all of Whitney Houstonโs different soulful sounds, Celine Deonโs powerful and unique articulation and Mariah Careyโs gorgeous and challenging vocal runs โ which I much later on found out is a technique some use as formal training. So I had a good start being drawn to some of the best vocalists ever at such a young age. I then went on to have classical voice training from the age of 15, followed by musical theatre and now I have developed my own warm up with a combination of techniques I was formally taught and new sounds I hear or would like to experiment with to stretch and grow my vocal repertoire. Itโs also super fun to connect with other artists and share how we each work on and develop our vocal techniques to create our unique sounds.ย
3. Who were your first and strongest musical influences and why the name โLISSI BOSโ?
LISSI BOS: ย Whitney, Mariah, Celine, Christina, we are all on a first name basisโฆ from my end anyway, their voices are like old friends, life long companionsย singing Whitney Houston always feels like home to me. Whitney was the very first voice I heard from my parents CD collection that captured my heart and soul. The passion, the fire, the deep sentiment, the textures, layers and nuances of her music, I guess explains the kind of 5 year old I wasโฆ fiery, passionate, deeply philosophical yet ready to live loud, love hard and dance up a storm with or without an audience. I didnโt think anyone was interested in sharing that experience with me so I became quite secretly introverted โ but the one person who I truly felt seen by in primary school was the teacher who gave me the nickname Lissi (from Melissa Bos). I love it but it didnโt catch up, now I get to choose my name and as my mentor told me I light up when I say Lissi because I know how good it feels to be seen, heard, understood and valued for who you are, and thatโs what I want for each of my listeners, to know that feeling when they come to my shows, listen to my music, interact with me! I see each of you!!
4. What do you feel are the key elements in your music that should resonate with listeners, and how would you personally describe your sound?
LISSI BOS: The first thing I said to my producer was that I want that slow โtwo step sway and clickโ vibe! Hahaย Its my hope that the key elements I love so much of a real chill, grounded, heavy bass, intricate interesting beats, slow clicks and a variety of vocal sounds from all genres, covering the full range of potential fun one can have with their voice, will resonate with listeners leaving them feeling gooooood!
5. On the contrary, what would you consider a successful, proud or significant point in your life or music career so far?
LISSI BOS:
ย Oh gosh! Definitely owning my identity and backing myself enough to produce my music professionally. Allowing myself to focus on me and what I wanted felt selfish at first but instead I found it is actually more truthful and honest to be able to share your true wants needs desires despite what people think, rather than to be so easy going you loose your sense of self. No one else was going to โdiscover meโ or make it happen, I had to discover me, and then trust myself enough to put it out there whether people like it or not. After learning to trust my own intuition for the first time in my life, my goal was to be fully in tune with my intuition, and realizing I always was I just let people pleasing get in the way. So I am proud to be the loud, goofy, creative, intelligent, theatrical Lissi Bos.
6. Do you feel that your music is giving you back just as much fulfillment as the amount of work you are putting into it or are you expecting something more, or different in the future?
LISSI BOS:
Yes absolutely! I have really taken my time to take it all in, enjoy the whole creative process, collaboration with other creatives is one of my favorite things in the world, and each new phase of creating a song is filled with new and different joys, and I leave room for the unexpected to surprise me and remind myself I am doing this because I love it, and hopefully I will find others who love what I produce and we can celebrate together all the goodness this world and community has to offer! Iโm am literally flowing with the breeze, open to new experiences and music career success โ which I hadnโt even considered till I took this leap and thin gas just snowballed โ or I am equally happy and fulfilled creating more from my home studio purely for the fun of it! The best part is the feeling of knowing I backed myself and I am showing up in the world as me. I am happier than ever and being my true creative, out of the box self has brought me many new friends who truly see me and I see them, that is all the fulfillment I need. But I wouldnโt say no to huge sold out shows and sharing that love as wide as it can be
7. For most artists, originality is first preceded by a phase of learning and, often, emulating others. What was this like for you? How would you describe your own development as an artist and music maker, and the transition towards your own style, which is known as POP?
LISSI BOS:
Totally!! I have had so much fun finally realizing my voice is enough. So many of us feel we arenโt enough. What is it though that we arenโt enough for??? I felt I wasnโt talented enough or have a unique enough sound
8. Whatโs your view on the role and function of music as political, cultural, spiritual, and/or social vehicles โ and do you try and affront any of these themes in your work, or are you purely interested in music as an expression of technical artistry, personal narrative, and entertainment?
LISSI BOS: I view music as a powerful influence politically, culturally, spiritually and socially, whether we embrace that as artists and listeners or not. With my background in teaching and musical theatre the combination of art with purpose is perfect for me. I see my life and music as an open book shared to be an inspiration to others to be true to themselves, search for higher truths, question norms, express emotions and connect with others through our shared humanity. I believe music can be the much needed intersection of sharing valuable insights from a macro view of society and understanding of political, cultural spiritual and social trends and the lived experiences from a deeply authentic place. The two go hand in hand in how I view of the role of creating and performing my music. And sometimes a song is more of a statement, sometimes a song is just to be in the moment. Context is everything.
9. Could you describe your creative processes? How do usually start, and go about shaping ideas into a completed song? Do you usually start with a tune, a beat, or a narrative in your head? And do you collaborate with others in this process?
LISSI BOS: My creative process usually starts with a lyric and melody idea popping into my head and Iโve worked out a way to catch the ideas in the moment, where I can just reach for my phone say, โHey Siri record my voiceโ and I sing it and label it โSong Ideaโ before I loose the idea. Itโs usually a hook or part of a song. For a more intentional approach when I sit down to write a full song, I open both the Notes and Voice Memos Apps and get comfortable as I type lyrics at the same I sing the melody thatโs floating around in my head. I like to visually see the words that rhyme and how many lines Iโve written or patterns Iโve created keeping the structure contained. Thatโs been a super fun discovery and made writing songs easy to then turn into sheet music later as long as I remember to label the note and voice recording with SONG. I can then search through all my ideas at any point too. Once I work out the notes I sung using my keyboard I work out some basic chords, send the sheet music to my producer with all my reference tracks and vision for the song, describing as much detail as I have so far in my head and then see what he comes up with, we go back and forth till we are both happy then I record vocals locally send them the my producer who mixes and masters it all, we add what we like to call ear candy finishing touches and then send the song to my publicist and begin the launch process sharing on social media and at a live launch the meaning behind the song and celebrate that milestone with loved ones!ย
10. What has been the most difficult thing youโve had to endure in your life or music career so far?
LISSI BOS: Wow, well I donโt know how I would have survived the last three years of incredible pain surrounding a very messy divorce, without the character building time I spend as a 15 year old suffering burnout, chronic fatigue, daily panic attacks, and depression. Those two darkest times in my life produce perseverance in me and a knowledge that even if everything is stripped away, I can still have inner peace knowing that I am divinely held and there will always be hope and a brighter day. Now I am living in those bright days, after much heavy inner healing work and I can tell you itโs worth it to find your way through, and learn to live the life you were made for!
11. With social media having a heavy impact on our lives and the music business in general, how do you handle criticism, haters, and/or naysayers in general? Is it something you pay attention to, or simply ignore?
LISSI BOS: Ignore! No one has time for that! I used to be too empathetic and feel sorry for people who need to put others down to perhaps feel better about themselves and I would try to help them. Now I just ย block because we canโt help but be affected by negativity and I avoid negativity in my life with intentional boundaries where possible now. We live and learn. I even try to avoid counting likes etc because our self esteem can be effected so easily.ย I want myย validation to come from my own alignment within myself. My integrity. And then enjoy those who have similar values and appreciate what it is I do bring.
12. Creative work in a studio or home environment, or interaction with a live audience? Which of these two options excites you most, and why?
LISSI BOS: I canโt choose!! Having a sacred space to just be is my ultimate happy place! People donโt believe me when I say Iโm an introvert but I do love my creative brainstorming time where I can be truly free to just beโฆ Then once I have all my ideas stretched out and ready to share, I canโt wait to collaborate and work with other musicians and creatives in a studio โ that would have to be my all time favourite part! And thatโs the joy I want to share with my live audience! My nerves do kick in when I perform because my memory sucks! But now Iโve transitioned from musical theatre to singing my own songs, itโs a very different audience experience and that blew my mind and warmed my soul in a way I didnโt know was possible, to see a crowd of my biggest fans waving their torches to my music was incredible and I just stopped and took it all in, and of course put on an impromptu performance which even surprised meโฆ ย Iโm just beginning this new form of performance so I canโt wait to see how much I enjoy that part!!!!
13. Do you think is it important for fans of your music to understand the real story and message driving each of your songs, or do you think everyone should be free to interpret your songs in their own personal way?
LISSI BOS: oh my gosh this is such a great question! Freedom is hugely important to me and I love the quality that art has of being able to be interpreted in infinite ways, being the meaning behind my whole philosophy of Diamond Shades Entertainment, that we all see the world from different perspectives and can learn so much from each other and our different worldviews right down to interpretations of the music or even cover art itself. I find joy in hearing what others see or hear in my artwork, I also love to practice my own authenticity by sharing the meaning with which I originally wrote the songโฆ and even then it takes on a life of its own and moulded as I went along in the production phase.
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