How did you come up with the bands name?
It didn’t took us long to figure out which name we felt would complete our creations. Because we’re sisters we decided to combine our individual names, which are Lia and Lena to one whole. That became LIANA. We literally write and produce everything with the two of us, so no other name would resonate more with us and our music
What is your genre of music?
This depends on how you would perceive our music we think. So, it’s to each listeners taste. We would describe it as an Oriental painting dripping into a Surrealism night sky.
Give us a little bio about you.
We are two sisters Lia en Lena Göçer en together we are LIANA. We write and produce our own music. Besides writing and producing music, we also direct our own (music) videos.
What made you go in to music?
We grew up with parents who always loved to play music and watch music videos, so we grew up in an environment in which music always was a part of our daily routine. The best part of it is that our parents played a lot of different kinds of music. From Pop music to Turkish/Armenian music, which definitely is an influence for us when creating new pieces. They also always encouraged us to play several instruments. That’s why we both had music lessons from a young age. We also both have studied ‘Pop music’ and now are studying ‘Bachelor of Music in Music Education’ at the Conservatory.
You released your new mini-album ‘Cocaine Heart’, tell us more about the mini-album.
Cocaine Heart’ is the pouring of our heart, memories, emoties and longings from the past two years. Now finally here seeing the daylight. It felt like a long time coming, but we’re so glad how everything turned out. It’s a project full of intense, passionate and melancholic songs which are about the darker side of love, desire and rebirth. It’s written from the perspective of a person falling so hard in love that it destroys you, but the euphoria, the high that comes with it is just too addictive. Every track is written, produced and performed by us.
What is the meaning behind ‘Cocaine Heart’.
Love can have a very addictive and dark side to it, but this also comes with the high and the glory. When we were contemplating about what we would call our mini-album we immediate felt the connection between the love described on the record with drugs. The ‘Cocaine’ refers to the intense love, passion and desire. The ‘Heart’ refers to the heart that is going through all of these emotions
Describe each track in two words.
SILENCE THE SIRENS – infinite, addicted
HURRICANE – rebirth, enlightenment
TAKE IT ALL – breathtaking, passionate
B.O.B. – sensual, desire
RIDE OR DIE – high, low
PSYCHO – intense, collision
What was the writing process like?
This depends on each song actually, because every song comes to life differently. Though we could say that most of the times I (Lena) will write a guitar part or produce a piece of music which then I will let Lia listen to. That will give me (Lia) inspiration to put melodies to my poets or write brand new lyrics. Sometimes it’s the other way around. Then I (Lia) will have a melody that Lena gives the inspiration to write something to. That is the start of something new and then we’ll just go back and forth on how we could develop the piece and which directions it possibly could go. Together we’ll finish the songs. Without each other we wouldn’t be able to make the music that we’re making.
What was the recording process like?
We always love to go in the studio and record our songs, because that’s when all instrumental parts are coming to life and the same goes for the vocals. We feel like little kids on the playground really. What we also love about being in the studio is that sometimes we just improvise, which gives a total new life to a song.
What else can we expect in 2020?
We are always writing and creating, so expect more new music. Besides music we also have a passion for clothing and jewellery. That is how our own clothing line LIMBS OF LIANA was born, our first pieces are handbags, all unique and handmade. We will definitely come with new pieces for LIMBS OF LIANA as well.
Do you play any instruments?
Yes, we both do. Lena plays various instruments and is really good at them individually. She plays the guitar of course, but also bass and the drums. Lia plays piano, guitar and a little bit of drums.
Who are your influences?
When it comes to music, we have so many different influences. Really, we listen to various artists and genres. Artists that we both enjoy listening to are for example The Weeknd, Travis Scott, Kendrick Lamar, Massive Attack and Linkin Park.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Every song is a piece of our life. We write from our own experiences and emotions and that’s exactly where we get our inspirations from. When it’s not our own emotions inspiring us, it’s a piece of art, a movie or a long drive in the car at night.
How do you get inspiration to write songs?
Every song is a piece of our life. We write from our own experiences and emotions and that’s exactly where we get our inspirations from. When it’s not our own emotions inspiring us, it’s a piece of art, a movie or a long drive in the car at night.
When you’re not doing music, what do you do?
There goes so much into LIANA behind the scenes, it’s not just only the writing or producing our music. Just think about the photo’s, video’s, new concepts etc. We are always creating and connected to our craft.
What’s the best advice you have ever been given?
Love yourself first.
What advice would you give to aspiring musicians not about the industry and just as an artist?
Not just for singers/songwriters, but for everyone that wants to walk a path which isn’t easy to walk on; Never let anyone or anything stop you from what your true purpose is.
What quote or saying do you always stick by?
Just do it.
Do you have social media accounts so your fans can follow you?
Of course, these are:
www.theyareliana.com
www.youtube.com/LIANA
www.instagram.com/theyareliana
www.instagram.com/limbsofliana
www.facebook.com/theyareliana
