Welling up from the dark bars and clubs of London’s thriving indie music scene, rock n’ roll prodigy Liam Finn has bounded onto the international music scene with the force and presence of an artist twice his age. The twenty-three-year-old New Zealand native writes, produces and engineers his own music, adhering to a strict DIY creative process—even shooting his own publicity photos and album artwork. In addition to meticulously overseeing the recording of his debut album I’ll Be Lightning, Finn plays nearly every instrument on the album, a responsibility he doesn’t relinquish during his now mythic live gigs. During his raucous yet intimate performances Liam utilizes effects pedals to create, sample and loop bass, guitar, drums and vocals to layer with his live vocals and guitar. Pre-programmed flourishes, also keyed live by Finn, gurgle under his sharp, addictive melodies to produce experimental pop music that is simultaneously ghostly and direct in its atmospherics and emotionalism. Being responsible for all the sound flowing from the stage is inevitably risky, but it’s a risk in which the youngster relishes. “I think the fact of doing this looping, one-man-band sort of thing really keeps you on your toes and keeps it fresh. The more you mess up, the more you’re forced to turn it into a good mess and people seem to respond more. I find it really stimulating. I just love the danger of it, really.” As one might assume, a Liam Finn show is by no means the seated, shh-inducing coffee house affair many solo singer-songwriter performances can be. It’s actually the antithesis. Finn drops fuzzed out guitar riffs, bellows bass lines and thunders on his drum kit like a punk rock caveman. When asked the philosophy behind this approach Liam remarks, “Whenever I walk in and see just a guy and a guitar, I think ‘Here we go again.’ I want to give people something different.” Liam has now taken the precarious balancing act that is his live show into the studio, translating it into a precise, nuanced group of songs culminating in his first solo album I’ll Be Lightning, due for release in Ireland on 18th April 2008. Finn penned the songs on Lightning during the past two years which have seen him leave his native New Zealand and move to London with his band betchadupa. Now on indefinite hiatus, the critically acclaimed band didn’t seem like the right place for his new material. “The songs were emotional so I was a little hesitant to show them to my band who are my three best mates. It just felt more natural to play these songs by myself.” Inspired by his stint in the chilly UK, Liam’s new songs are inspired by some ensuing bad fortune including evictions, muggings, thefts and the ending of a long-term relationship. Says Finn, “Bad experience can be great fuel for creativity, I just hope I don’t have to emotionally f—k myself over to the same extent to make my next album.”
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'Better to Be' Live clip
'Second Chance' Live performance from Herald Sun Online
'Second Chance'
Promo video for 'Second Chance'