Q&A: Authenticity, Interpersonal Relationships & More With Eliza Niemi
HAVE YOU EVER HEARD A LYRIC THAT HIT YOU SO VIOLENTLY — that it feels like you may as well have just tattooed it to your forehead? That’s how I felt when I heard “Glass” by Eliza Niemi for the first time.
“Daniel died and I don’t care as much as I think you might” slammed into me like a sack of bricks to the chest. In fact, most of Niemi’s lyrics seem to stick to the brain with the permanence of a wax seal press.
When I got to sit down with Niemi to ask her some questions about her process, I was surprised to learn that most of her songs start with the idea of one lyrical line (accompanied by a melody) recorded to an endless chamber of voice memos on her phone. Niemi explains that she gains most of her inspiration from long walks at night and has even drawn inspiration from the “The Hamsterdance Song” in the earlier days of her career (2001, YKTV). She told me about the world she’s been creating for her “music to live in,” and the continuity and authenticity she’s aimed for and achieved through the help of filmmaker Ali Vanderkruyk, who has directed several of Niemi’s music videos, including the video for “Glass,” which still tops my list of greatest music videos I’ve ever seen.
Read below for the full scoop on how Eliza Niemi stays “true to herself” through her music and, make sure to keep an eye out for Niemi’s upcoming release for her cover of Jackson Browne’s “Late For the Sky” and more.
LUNA: What was the first album you ever loved? And why?
NIEMI: Having grown up in a real mixtape/compilation culture, I wanna say something like YTV’s Big Fun Party Mix 2 (2001). Lowkey, “The Hamsterdance Song” changed my life. But the first actual album I was ever exposed to (and subsequently loved) was Are You Experienced by Jimi Hendrix (the original North American edition). When I was 6 years old, it was my only tape, and I would pitch this little tent in the living room and sit inside playing it over and over again on one of those Fisher Price tape players with the handle and little microphone on the side. My dad gave me the tape and told me Jimi was the GOAT, and I was obsessed.
LUNA: What does your songwriting process look like?
NIEMI: Each time I write a song is a little different, but more often than not I will start with lyrics or a single line (often with an accompanying melody) and go from there. I get the majority of my ideas while walking around alone at night. My phone is filled with these little voice memos that are pretty funny by themselves … acapella lines rushed out and mumbled in fear of someone hearing me while I’m walking. I thought about putting a couple of these on my new album as transition tracks, but decided to save them for something else. I’ll take those lines and expand on them when I have time to sit down with an instrument — usually cello or guitar, but sometimes piano. I also keep a journal that I write in every day in a stream-of-consciousness sort of way, so I’ll sometimes flip through that when I’m looking for inspiration.
LUNA: How would you like the world to remember you? How do you portray that through your music?
NIEMI: Woah, that’s a biggie. I think I’d like the world to remember me as … me. As the version of myself that is most true. So I try to be as honest as possible in my music, both with myself and with the listener.
LUNA: Do you have any upcoming releases that you're excited about?
NIEMI: I recently recorded a cover of Jackson Browne’s “Late For the Sky” that I’m pretty excited about. It’s going to come out in the next few months as part of a compilation of covers organized by a collective called Band Together Toronto. The proceeds for this edition will go to Toronto Indigenous Harm Reduction, and it has some of my favorite bands on there. Definitely keep your eyes peeled for it. I’m also sitting on my first full-length album right now to be released in 2022. That’s all I can say about that, but I am very proud of it and excited to get it out there!
LUNA: Who is your dream collab?
NIEMI: I’ve always wanted to make a record with Cate Le Bon. I’m also a massive fan of John K. Samson. Those are my dream collaborators in the rock realm, but lately I’ve been hanging around and playing with more pop-leaning artists. Blaketheman1000 has really been inspiring me lately, and working with him has made me want to do more of that kind of thing. Erika de Casier would be amazing.
LUNA: How do you decide what the accompanying visuals will be for your songs?
NIEMI: I gravitate towards filmmakers, artists, and photographers that are making things I find beautiful and inspiring, and then give them a vague concept (or just a song) and let them take it from there. For my first EP, Vinegar, I knew I wanted a puppet version of myself for both the cover and a music video, and Jess Shane (puppet artist) and Ali Vanderkruyk (filmmaker) took that concept and ran with it. Working with Ali for all of my releases so far has meant that we’ve been able to build a visual world together. She came up with the idea of placing little figurines from my childhood in scenes of the “If My Songs Made You Cry” video, and then placing the same figurines inside the fishtank for the “Glass” video a year later. I love that continuity; the idea of building a little world for my music to live in that traverses many years and releases. Ali and Ryan Al-Hage (director of “Exercise” and “Big Fun Party” vids) have both dreamt up entire brilliant concepts and narratives just from listening to the songs. I feel really lucky to be connected with these people and trust them fully. They’ve both already made videos for my upcoming album.
LUNA: How can songwriters/musicians continue to improve and refine themselves?
NIEMI: I think just doing it all the time leads to inevitable improvement and refinement. There's bravery in following where your creativity leads you and taking risks in the process. It’s easy to feel confined to a certain genre and aesthetic after releasing something within a specific world or in a particular way, but it’s cool when artists just follow what interests them and cross over genres and approaches.
LUNA: If you weren't a musician, what would you be doing right now? Where would you be?
NIEMI: I’ve worked in kitchens and in service jobs my whole adult (and teen) life and have dreamt of someday opening my own cafe or restaurant. I would probably still be working in that world if I weren’t pursuing music. I love food and cooking so much. I also love the social aspect of making and serving things to people that they can consume — the sense of community that it fosters. I guess it’s kinda similar to music in that way.
LUNA: What is your favorite topic to write about?
NIEMI: My favorite thing to write about is people. My interpersonal relationships are what most of my songs are about: friends, family, romances, experiences of people in the world (both big and small). I like to dissect seemingly meaningless or banal interactions with people and make them significant by placing them in a song. There’s something beautiful to me about romanticizing the traditionally unromantic. I don’t necessarily mean romantic like pertaining to romantic love, but just romantic as in, like … poetic, significant, beautiful.
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