AMANI LIA INTERVIEW: Amani Lia, hailing from Hertfordshire is a south Asian, up-and-coming r&b artist. With support and recognition from BBC 1xtra, BBC Asian network, Kiss, The Blues Project and many more, Amani is definitely one to watch. 

What five words define your sound?

Unique, Soulful, Distinctive, Nostalgic and Strong.

Tell me something unique about your creative process.

Ideas can come to me at the most random times, for example, in the kitchen when I’m cooking, cleaning, driving or even just walking down the street. Whenever this happens, I whack out my phone and record it on a voice note, then I can come back to the idea when I’m wanting to create. I always believe that if a melody comes to me randomly one day, it’s a spiritual sign that I was meant to put down the melody for whatever reason. On the other hand, sometimes if I hear a sick beat and just connect with it, a melody will come to me that way too; I usually just go off feeling.

Which song of yours would you like people to hear first?

‘Don’t Bother’, which is out now. I think the song is a real nostalgic ’00’s vibe and such a bop. I feel like you can’t not feel good when you hear it and it’s super relatable.

What inspired you to make that song?

I went out with my girl one night, we both love music and dancing and we never take ourselves too seriously when we’re out. For some reason, bare meady men kept coming up to us that night and whilst it was really sweet, we just wanted to dance and have a good time. A couple days later, the producer Keanu played me the beat. I hopped on it straight away and the song was birthed upon reflection of that night.

What’s the most vulnerable you’ve allowed yourself to be when writing/making music?

I think on my upcoming EP, I’ve been extremely vulnerable coming out of a messy break up. A lot of the songs are about the different facets of love. Whether it’s forbidden love, love that isn’t good for you or just self love. I really tried to be as honest and as transparent as possible when it came to the writing and I hope people can connect with the songs.

What’s the best/worst experience you’ve had on stage?

The best experience was when I had my track wheeled up twice during my first gig and some man was aggressively stomping his foot on the stage because he was so gassed. That feeling was mad, I’ll never forget the love I felt that night. The worst experience was before I could even get onto the stage at one venue, I was told I couldn’t go on because I didn’t have a VIP band on my wrist, they refused to let me on. I ended up borrowing someone else’s, running away from security, hopped on stage and did my thing. When I came off stage, they actually said it was calm… they must’ve liked the song.

What is your favourite song to perform?

An older single of mine called ’Tit 4 Tat’ or ‘You’ an interlude from the EP I’m dropping. Both songs push me vocally and I enjoy the challenge of executing those vocals live.

Which artist/song/album made you want to make music?

Ashanti and Nelly Furtado were probably the first artists I listened to. Both artists definitely inspired the way I sing, my tone and the vocal characteristics of my voice. I feel like the Nelly and Timbaland collabs were always incredibly special, especially with the album ‘Loose’. Also, Justin Timberlake’s first album ‘Justified’, made me love music on another level. I think him having Pharrell and Timbaland behind him on that album is absolutely legendary. There are no songs worth skipping on that album… at all.

What’s the meaning behind your name?

My first name is ‘Amani’ and ‘Lia’ is my middle name, so I thought to just use that as my stage name.

If you weren’t making music, what would you be doing instead?

Acting, which was what I was doing before music. I also used to teach, so maybe I’d get back into that.

What’s success to you?

Success obviously differs for each person. I often believe it’s a state of mind. For me, believing in myself is a success; when I used to teach, if I could help a student, that was a success. On a larger scale, if we’re talking about my career as an artist, of course there’s a certain level I want to reach that I would deem to be ‘successful’ but again I think it’s a matter of perspective. If I can do a job that doesn’t feel like a job and I can connect with people and make them feel a type of way through my music, that’s success.

What moment in your life/career forced you to change direction?

Last year I went through a messy break up, my parents split and my brother got into a car accident on my birthday; he’s fine, thank god. But all those events shook me up and ignited a hunger in me that I didn’t know I had. I reinvented myself, found myself and most importantly believed in myself, more than ever. My mentality now is “I will make it,” it’s just a matter of when. When I make it, the feeling of being able to give back to my family and my people, will be one of the best things to come out of my journey.

Where can people keep in touch with you?

On my Instagram: amani.liaa or if you want to stream my music it’s just my name ‘Amani Lia’.