Forced breaks from relapse in sickness, prolific writing, and to London and back again, Lisa Caruso has been relentless in her work toward the completion of a new set of songs that reflect the pause in time since her last releases took off.
Now with brooding guitars, a tight and sometimes rip-roaring rhythm section reminiscent of a 90's childhood, and an utterly unique vocal that swims between an honest cry and a chilled shaken falsetto. This singer/songwriter is an accomplished Artist ready for the taking.
Tomatrax caught up with Lisa to talk about her latest work!
It's been two years since you were last featured on Tomatrax, what have you been up to over this time?I picked up an electric guitar, wrote a heap of songs, played a lot of solo shows and worked on a new album- amidst other life stuff!
Was it hard to get back into it after having a musical hiatus?No I don't think so. I knew at least half of what I might be in for this time round. I wasn't releasing music, but I had been doing a lot behind the scenes.
What made you pick 'Shake Baby Shake' as your latest single?I'd been sick on and off with a Crohns relapse since my last releases, and the song is about that. I had advice from others to put out one of the punchier ones first, but I wanted to be genuine to my artistry and have the 'comeback' song be one that represents what life has been like since. My musics always been super honest, so it just felt right. Plus, I do like it a lot. I think it was the first song we worked on, creating this new sound.
What was the inspiration behind the video for 'Shake baby shake'?I'd worked on ideas with Adam (DOP) over the space of almost a year! It was really important, because of the subject matter, that I got this clip right. A hall setting was priority to showcase movement, but once we found this dream location, the bathroom grabbed us the most! We loved the retro style of it and thought it a great opportunity to show the 'invisible illness' theme that runs through the song. The hall scenes then became what we called the "dream state". A vision of optimism and strength.
You'll be putting on a launch show next month, what can fans expect from your show?It'll be very different from the experience of my previous releases. More energy and way more edge. With Ben (co-producer), we were able to develop a really cool sound. There was a lot of 90's indie influences floating around, and he's just a gun at punching out cool ideas. He's been the brain helping me articulate some things I cannot.
You can purchase tickets to the Launch Show in Sydney here!
Are there plans for an EP or LP release?There are! Ben's back in town in December so we'll be making tracks to finish off the album!
For your latest work you've swapped the acoustic guitar for an electric one, what prompted this change?Ah, buying the Tele should have happened years ago. Most of the music I like has an electric sound. I'm much more into the tone of an electric, and love that you have a broader scope of sounds and dynamic to play with.
You have quite a unique vocal style, how did this come about?I'd say vocal style is mostly a subconscious thing. I think you're born with a certain sound, but then drawn to different stylistic features from eras and genres that you love.
When writing what comes first, the words or the music?I've always done the both together. I generally just pick up the guitar, start with a chord, sing a line, and go from there.
Now that your latest single is out what do you plan on doing next?I plan to release another single early next year and will then be looking forward to releasing the album! A lot more shows to come.
