Ever since she can remember, US artist Alisha Liston, has been drawn to music. We caught up with the artist following her latest EP release “Beautiful Illusion”. A song she explains forced her to think about her artistry in a much deeper level than she had previously visualized before. Seeking to produce a track that connected with people going through a tough situation, offering hope and encouragement through her lyrics.
Alisha explains how the songs from Beautiful Illusion were inspired by all the feelings, thoughts and emotions she dealt with having lost her grandmother and great grandmother within a very short space of time. Whilst, admittingly, it was a lot to deal with, she openly admits that it got to a point where it became overwhelming. Highlighting that through this experience, it made her realize what she wanted her artistry to be. With a core focus on dealing with these complex emotions, exploring Beautiful Illusion allowed the artist to experiment with different crafts of her music. Ranging from style, sound, instumentation through to vocal qualities.
She describes her music as a combination of Rachel Platten, Avril Lavigne and Ashley Tisdale. The artist opens up about the enjoyment she gets from creating music that varies in tempo, style and instrumentation. “I think what really defines me as an artist and my sound is my ability to create music that connects at a deep emotional level. I think my lyrics really stand out as well as my vocals and ability to bring that emotion to the song with my voice”.
Music as her Go To
For Alisha, her music has always been her go-to. Going on to explain how it has always been her way of being able to sort through what was going on in her head. She references how early in her songwriting career, the artist learned there are two types of songs that you can write. They are songs that you write for yourself, and songs that you write for others. “A lot of times, when I first start writing after a traumatic experience, it’s a dump of emotion. It isn’t until I start thinking about what do I want someone else to get from this, that I can start healing from whatever it is I may be going through”. The artist also points to having a team that believes in you and what you are doing.
She points to some of her greatest challenges to date stemming from having to go through the process of learning how to become an accomplished artist. From learning how to sing, play piano and guitar, write music, produce music; to navigating the industry, in general. “That in and of itself can be pretty challenging. But, I think the biggest challenge has been dealing with my own physical growth and development”. Alisha points to her first few songs she released when she was only 9 and 10 years old retrospectively. At that time, she explains how her voice was higher pitched and not as full. How at first, she wasn’t really sure what was going on. Admitting that her voice was changing so rapidly that she found herself feeling out of control.
Alisha’s advice for those looking to get into the industry is to really think about what you want your artistry to be about. How do you want to use your platform and what is your goal? In addition to thinking very hard about what you are willing or not willing to do to achieve it. “Once you have a clear picture in mind, you can start aligning all aspects of your business towards that. It really helps to have a clear direction in mind, because without it, it is really easy to be steered in all sorts of different directions that really don’t fit with who you are”. #watchthispace
