Name: Lisa Moorish
Occupation: Singer, songwriter, DJ
Nationality: British
Current release: Lisa Moorish's “Sylvia” is out via Out Yer Box . It is the first single to be taken off her upcoming new solo album Divine Chaos.
Recommendations: My 1st single ‘Sylvia’ is about the poet and writer Sylvia Plath. And I highly recommend her book The Bell Jar and her poetry.
A song I discovered last year by Jimmy Scott, ‘Exodus.’ It's just incredible, and his voice is one of the best I've ever heard.

If you enjoyed this Lisa Moorish interview and would like to find out more about her music, visit her on Instagram, twitter, and Facebook. She also does voice over work for the London Voice Boutique.



Where does the impulse to create something come from for you? What role do often-quoted sources of inspiration like dreams, other forms of art, personal relationships, politics etc play?

It really is an impulse. And for me these impulses are triggered by many things. From relationships, politics, the energy and feeling in the world generally. Events happening in my life, or the lives of others …

Sometimes it's as simple as the unexplainable, mysterious, magical urge to let creativity surging through your body.

For you to get started, do there need to be concrete ideas – or what some have called a 'visualisation' of the finished work? What does the balance between planning and chance look like for you?

It varies. Sometimes you don't know what you want to get. How to access a concrete idea.

I think it's important to go with what you are feeling instinctively. But at the same time, being aware that you are creating something  that has to be coherent and cohesive in some way. But to not abide by too many rules.

I aim to write big songs, that will immediately infect people when they hear them. I always hated the “this one’s just an album track” approach. I don't want any of mine to be skipped. I aim to invoke a powerful reaction. You don't always achieve that of course.

Is there a preparation phase for your process? Do you require your tools to be laid out in a particular way, for example, do you need to do 'research' or create 'early versions'?

Not really. But if I write a song about an individual,or something political, psychological, I may do some research to be true to the subject.

I do like to write songs outside, on journeys, in different climates. As the outer world and your environment has an effect on you.

Do you have certain rituals to get you into the right mindset for creating? What role do certain foods or stimulants like coffee, lighting, scents, exercise or reading poetry play?

I try to get a good night's sleep; if I'm due a writing session! To shut out any distractions.

I have AdHD, so am very easily distracted. So it's important I do what I can to keep a calm, healthy and focused mind and body.

What do you start with? And, to quote a question by the great Bruce Duffie: When you come up with a musical idea, have you created the idea or have you discovered the idea?

I usually start with looking for words, sayings, metaphors, titles that I am drawn to.

Sometimes I definitely discover an idea. Often I get these from a great film I’ve seen. A book I've read. So a bit of both!

When do the lyrics enter the picture? Where do they come from? Do lyrics need to grow together with the music or can they emerge from a place of their own?

I always write words/come up with the subjects first. Then fit a melody to it.

If it's good, it comes together quickly for me. If not, it's immediately abandoned.

What makes lyrics good in your opinion? What are your own ambitions and challenges in this regard?

Effort. To consciously find new ways of saying things, and using language.

I hope to achieve completely unique ways of interpreting things.

Many writers have claimed that as soon as they enter into the process, certain aspects of the narrative are out of their hands. Do you like to keep strict control or is there a sense of following things where they lead you?

Absolutely follow things where they lead. Always. Never over think or question your instincts and feelings, emotions in that moment. That's the point of it for me.

Often, while writing, new ideas and alternative roads will open themselves up, pulling and pushing the creator in a different direction. Does this happen to you, too, and how do you deal with it? What do you do with these ideas?

That can happen for sure. And if it improves what you are making, you go with it. It's as simple as that for me.

There are many descriptions of the creative state. How would you describe it for you personally? Is there an element of spirituality to what you do?

I think it's all spiritual. As how can you explain where a melody comes from? The ability to organise and make it into a song?

It's definitely some kind of magic. Why would you even want to explain it?!

When you're in the studio to record a piece, how important is the actual performance and the moment of performing the song still in an age where so much can be “done and fixed in post?“

I think it's very important. Although, I do admit to sometimes struggling to “find it,” as when you sing live, you really are in the moment. If can feel very sterile being in a studio, a room. And plonked in front of a microphone with headphones on. For me anyway.

Bob Marley had the right idea, and many other musicians and artists who recorded live performances in the studio. Marvin Gaye used to lay down and sing.

Once a piece is finished, how important is it for you to let it lie and evaluate it later on? How much improvement and refinement do you personally allow until you're satisfied with a piece? What does this process look like in practise?

Always good to leave it, come away from it. Come back to it later.

The brain is lit up with waves of energy after. And it needs to settle to listen almost outside of yourself. If that makes sense!

Even recording a solo song is usually a collaborative process. Tell me about the importance of trust between the participants, personal relationships between musicians and engineers and the freedom to perform and try things – rather than gear, technique or “chops” - for creating a great song.

Mostly it's about egos being kept out of the room.

Team work. And respecting and understanding others process, and your differences in the way you work. And having fun!!

What's your take on the role and importance of production, including mixing and mastering for you personally? In terms of what they contribute to a song, what is the balance between the composition and the arrangement (performance)?

It's incredibly important. And I respect that process enormously. As it's again skill and talent you can't explain.

And only a select few have the magical touch.

After finishing a piece or album and releasing something into the world, there can be a sense of emptiness. Can you relate to this – and how do you return to the state of creativity after experiencing it?

That's true for me. I tend to need to move onto something new. NEXT. As the emotions, thoughts and feelings you had making it, are now the past.

It's a strange phenomenon really.

Music is a language, but like any language, it can lead to misunderstandings. In which way has your own work – or perhaps the work of artists you like or admire - been misunderstood? How do you deal with this?

I feel hip hop/rap was one of the most misunderstood genres of music. Mainly due to racism, ignorance and western white supremacy.

And I think fuck it if people misunderstand it. That's what music sometimes should do.

Creativity can reach many different corners of our lives. Do you personally feel as though writing a piece of music is inherently different from something like making a great cup of coffee? What do you express through music that you couldn't or wouldn't in more 'mundane' tasks?

I find it heals, soothes and removes things you want to leave you. In a way nothing else can.