Los Angeles based Lisa Heller came a long way since writing her first songs at the age of 12 in her bedroom. After releasing her debut single “Hope” she quickly caught the attention of online outlets such as Huffington Post, SongFacts and Born Music. We had the chance to interview the singer/songwriter, who made it her mission to write songs to help people through challenging times.
Your new song is called “Pulling Away” – What story does it tell?
I wrote “Pulling Away” about drifting apart from those I feel closest to. Even though the song is from the perspective of a romantic relationship, I have experienced this in friendships as well. I decided to be really vulnerable in this song- it’s written from the perspective of when I was in a dark place, feeling like I couldn’t open up about what I was going through to those I cared about most. Putting these walls up creates a separation, and so I’ve felt both myself and other people pull away. This distance and tension accompanied by a lot of pain are what I wrote the song about.
Do you remember the first song you ever wrote? If so, what was it about?
When I was 12 for my grandma’s birthday I rewrote “Hey Soul Sister” to “Hey Grandmother”. She loved it. But that doesn’t count as my first original. The first real song that I wrote was about running through the rain. I did cross country and track at the time, so the song was a metaphor. It took me 6 months because I’m a perfectionist. Trust me when I say you should be happy that song never came out haha.
Which of your music videos are you the most proud of and why?
I am really proud of the video for my song “pulling away” that isn’t out yet. I had to draw from a really emotional place for this video. It was also fun to feature some of my best friends.
How do you feel about the evolution of pop music in recent years?
The evolution of pop music has been so fun to watch. It’s cool to see over time as other platforms like social media have grown, and more mid-sized artists have come up, the variety within pop music has increased! I have really loved the chill/acoustic pop music recently.
Do you have some insights on conducting an efficient music production?
Conduction efficient music production starts with writing a great song and having a great team to bring it all together. I was really lucky to find great musicians to bring this EP to life.
When Lisa Heller starts a new track – what are the first steps?
To start a new track I usually mess around on the piano until I find a chord progression I love, then start humming over that with melody ideas, and finally start writing some words and build the rest of the song around that concept.
What are your thoughts on new platforms like TikTok?
New platforms are full of new opportunities! It is pretty cool artists can connect directly with their fans over social media nowadays- whatever the platform, it all comes back to creating that connection.
Name 3 major mistakes you made and other musicians could learn from.
I luckily haven’t made what I would call to be any major mistakes, but I would always advise musicians to stay true to themselves. Industry people can try to tell you what to sing, how to look, and essentially who to be- ultimately being true to yourself and sticking to your gut will always get you the furthest, and make you the happiest.
What can we expect from Lisa Heller in 2020?
2020 is gonna be my biggest year yet! I feel like I have been in my own incubator for over a year, just really honing in on writing songs, and I am so excited to finally share them with the world!
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