Having released one of this year’s most creatively interesting albums, we caught up with singer and songwriter Liz Davinci, to explore the depths and direction of the mighty Materia Prima.
We talk about the mysterious poetry of the songs, the musical side of the arrangements, live performance, and plenty more. Here’s the conversation in full.
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Hi Liz – it’s great to catch up with you, and my congrats for the powerful new album! To introduce things, what was your first spark of inspiration that got you into writing songs?
Thanks so much first of all for your time and taking the time to review the album, Rebecca! To answer your question, I really have no idea because the inspiration was always there. When I was 8 years old I was making up songs and putting together fake album covers and recording myself singing – I suppose the adults thought it was a passing phase but it wasn’t.
Let’s talk about Materia Prima – where did this title come from, and what connects the songs within?
In alchemy, the materia prima is the base ingredient – at first an unpure ingredient – to create the Philosopher’s Stone and it has to be purified and transformed to be used for this purpose. The Philosopher’s Stone can then give you immortality.
So, in relation to the album – after my prior album in 2023 I had a crisis, which I thought was a music crisis but it was much bigger – it was in life. I wanted more out of life – to work harder, to get more and to be more in control of my every day situation.
“To achieve those things I had to realize that the body is often here for a good time, the mind is weak to temptation and laziness and the soul is in a way observing this – the soul lives forever is my belief.”
So in the process of bettering my life, I have been trying to purify the materia prima – the weaknesses of the body and the mind – strengthening them consciously to be able to live more and more on the plane of the soul – the immortal.
The songs are an exact reflection of this hard work and transformation.
Your songs all pour through like mysterious poems in a way – do you write the lyrics first and build around that, or do you sit at the piano and simply create with melodies from the start?
I do both but more often I start with the music. I don’t always adhere to traditional forms in music and that therefore may sound like I wrote the poem first. I do really care about the lyrics, though I did improvise a few on this album during recording, which is new for me.
The music was coming as a byproduct in this album because I was trying to devote all my energy to my life changes and stop creating music, which I think left it even more honest than it usually is. This was 0% about who would hear the music – it was just undeniable writing as a sort of catharsis to the changes I was implementing in my life.
What’s your musical background in terms of singing and playing piano, are you self-taught or classically trained, and if the latter, where did you study, and what did this bring out in your creativity?
I started classical piano lessons at 8 years old and went on to study piano performance at University of California and later studied composition at the Royal Conservatory in The Hague, The Netherlands. I taught myself singing.
I am very grateful for the formal training because it gave me the tools – the math behind music – though I did feel it made it more difficult for me to create music intuitively for many years.
What’s the underlying intention for Materia Prima, and what was the process like for making it, in terms of your feelings, your goals, and completing the track list to conclude the story?
Materia Prima is just a reflection or a diary of my path to try to purify the weaknesses of the mind and body. I had a lot more unfinished songs for the album but I like an album length of around 40 minutes and I think these songs worked well together and amply told the story of my transformations up till this point.
What’s the meaning behind The Circle and the Dot, and do you want to give specific backstories to these songs, or leave them to interpretation?
Sure, I am happy to give a backstory – Underhatchet wrote the music and played guitar for The Circle and the Dot and I wrote the lyrics to it spontaneously – again reflecting the hard work I was doing to shift my mindset and my life. There was (and still is) no end to the hard work, whether it’s grey, snowy or sunny – there is no forgiveness or break given.
“We climb the mountain in the snow through cold…” is talking about that and… why do I suffer through that when I could just be sitting on the couch and chilling? I want the prize, which is not immortality, but ascension of the bodily lustings and weak mental patterns, because it feels so much better to live like that – on the edge of what is truly good for me and not in a rut of weak excuses and frustration.
The circle and the dot and the line that goes from a to b are just abstract references to life – some people might see life as a circle or a dot, others as a straight line from birth to death.
What can you tell me about the writing of Bees on my Left?
Interesting that you ask about that one. I wrote that song very quickly and I don’t even necessarily know how to quantify what it means but I had read a Terry Pratchett book called “A Hat Full of Sky” and there was one scene where a whole swarm of bees formed into the shape of a woman and danced with a child and that was the inspiration for the song.
“It also has shades of cyncism for social media, the news, influencers and the like in the chorus, as people try to convince you left and right that they are doing good for the world but behind the veil they have other priorities that aren’t so good for the world. It’s hard to know what to trust.”
Which song from this album would you play to a completely new listener first, and why?
I would play either Big Window City View or Adamas first, because they really represent my style and if the new listener dislikes it, they can run away fast and if they do like it, there are a lot more songs in store for them to discover.
Is live performance a part of your plans in the coming months, and if so, what will that entail?
Live performance is always on the agenda and on my mind but hasn’t been possible this past year due to very time-consuming changes. If Underhatchet gets more time, I’d like to rehearse with him and even get a bass player but if that doesn’t happen I will play solo – hopefully in small venues or clubs or in front of the camera to post online until I have more time.
Who do you listen to when you’re not writing or recording your own music? And does other media, perhaps film, theatre or poetry / writing, influence your direction?
I listen to classical music – Bach, Schumann and Beethoven mainly – as well as The Black Keys and Beck a lot at the moment.
All the hundreds of films I saw in the past still influence me but I can’t watch films right now. I can only watch live classical ballet, which inspires me immensely. I also read poetry – mostly Bukowski at the moment.
Is this album directed at a specific other, or the self, or is it a series of different experiences and memories?
The album is mostly self-reflection, sometimes there is a made up story that corresponds to a real feeling I have had or am having. There is definitely not a planned organization of unfolding – the red line is just the mirroring of my life and an album order that makes sense musically.
Is there anything else we should know about Materia Prima?
“I want to create a space in music where time moves differently. I want to give comfort even in uncomfortable themes or emotions, so that the music is a place where other people who relate to these feelings and ideas can go and feel that comfort too.”
Throughout all my music, although there are beautiful moments, there are confronting, real moments that reveal something ugly – like shining light onto the dark – and I think this is a necessary part of life that I try to explore in music and videos.
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Find Liz Davinci on Instagram, X, YouTube, Bandcamp & her Website.
