Q&A: Liza Owen "WHY AREN'T WE HAVING SEX"
☆ By Joy Saha ☆
WHETHER SHE’S SHOWCASING HER ECLECTIC SENSE OF STYLE OR HER SASSY POP BALLADS - Liza Owen isn’t shy about embracing her bold Gemini aura and displaying her colorful emanation to the fullest. The London-based singer/songwriter, who recently collaborated with Selena Gomez on her album Rare, continues to establish her vocal prowess with past singles like “Polite,” “Fallin” and “Don’t Call Me Baby.” Her latest single “WHY AREN’T WE HAVING SEX?” is a sultry summer anthem that features an electrifying and thumping drum background that will have everyone grooving and hopefully, tapping into their risqué quarantine (and virtual) desires. Watch her sexy music video below and read on to learn more about her creative inspirations, musical journey and dream collabs.
LUNA: So much is going on but congrats on creating some positivity and releasing new music! How have you been taking care of yourself these days?
OWEN: Thank you! It’s a great feeling to finally put this out into the world. Honestly I feel like I’ve turned into my 10 year old self again in quarantine…I’m doing all the little hobbies [that] I used to love. I’m painting , tie-dyeing , basically anything creative and therapeutic that helps me not focus on the fact we’ve been stuck at home for months. Also, I’ve started putting on real clothes again even though I'm staying home - that’s for my sanity.
LUNA: What are some key sonic elements shaping your sound?
OWEN: I would say adding live instruments across everything is a huge part of the new music. There's live drums and guitars everywhere. To me there’s something so raw and human about it and i'm always thinking about how songs will sound live when I’m making them.
LUNA: “Why Aren’t We Having Sex” has a really fun and of course cheeky tone to it. What direction would you like to explore more with new music?
OWEN: I feel like I've really stepped into a strong and empowered female energy lately and I just want to continue to embrace that. Whether that's being confident, sexy, angry or totally vulnerable. I think it's easy to think we can only be one thing or have to stay inside “ the box.” But I'm not a one dimensional human. I'm a Gemini for God's sake. So yeah, I just want to continue to explore and express every emotion and story no matter how different they are from each other.
LUNA: The video for “Why Aren’t We Having Sex” is really well made and has such a cool vibe to it. Can you share a bit about the creative process for it and the role you play in your visual side?
OWEN: I normally start thinking of ideas for the video when I write the song. Music and visuals go very hand in hand for me so it's almost like a movie running through my mind constantly as I'm creating. Obviously, being in lockdown meant we had to think outside of the box with this one.
My manager and I were talking through ideas and I thought of getting my friends to do their own footage of them doing pretty normal ‘lockdown’ things. And then they find this note saying “why aren’t we having sex” and they look at each other and think ‘actually, why the hell aren’t we having sex?’ And then comes all the raunchy footage of them getting down and dirty.
When we had the basis, I jumped on a call with Kai Cranmore, who directed the video with me, and we bounced around ideas to complete the concept. Apart from my footage, all of it was self-shot by my amazing friends on their iPhones.
I’m so proud of what we all achieved. I ended up having to do a lot of the leg work with this video because of pandemic restrictions! So pretty much everything you [see] in the video I actually had to make or build. I took the bed to the mountain top and decorated it with the flowers that kai and I spent hours planting into the ground . It feels good to have had such a hands on approach, but next time I’d definitely welcome a bigger team!
LUNA: What’s been inspiring you lately?
OWEN: Movies! Obviously we’ve all had extra time on our hands lately. I’ve been re-watching a tonne of cult classics. I get super inspired by visuals. I'm a huge Tarantino & Sofia Coppola fan. I just watched “The Virgin Suicides” again. So good!
LUNA: If you could pick one song to be your theme song lately, what would you pick?
OWEN: Dominic Fike - “Chicken Tenders,” simply because I love him and I love chicken tenders.
LUNA: I know a lot is up in the air, but what intentions would you like to speak out into existence?
OWEN: I’m really passionate about the BLM movement and if I could make one thing come to fruition, it would be that we see the systemic changes needed for the Black community to thrive in this crazy world we live in.
LUNA: You’ve been writing and creating music for a solid chunk of years now - what was the transition like from pursuing music for fun and as a hobby to a full time career?
OWEN: I mean, it's the best feeling to be able to do what you love for a living. There’s definitely a pinch me moment the first time you realise ‘woah, I can actually get paid for this?’ after putting in thousands of hours on your craft and passion to get to that point. It's kind of like imposter syndrome sometimes. It’s hard to believe this is my ‘job’ now … you’re waiting [to] get found out or for someone to wake you up from a dream.
LUNA: Collaboration has played a role in the development of your artistry and you’ve been able to write for artists like Selena Gomez and BTS. Who is a dream collab for you?
OWEN: That’s easy. Tame impala, Dominic Fike... also Kacey Musgraves would be pretty sick. Her lyrics kill me in the best way.
