[FEATURE] VIPER PRESENTS: LIÉT

East London’s R&B newcomer Liét follows up her ‘Been Here Before’ EP with this VIPER interview, get familiar…

What five words define your sound?

Warm, Honest, Smooth, Conversational, Alluring.

Tell me something unique about your creative process.

My creative process varies from ideas coming to me in the shower, to writing songs on the train or sometimes writing whilst I’m out randomly walking somewhere. Genius ideas and melodies seem to come to me at the most unexpected times, so I have to always have my voice memos app close by so I can record them down before I forget them, then develop some of those ideas properly in the studio.

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

‘Taboo’, I think it’s a great introduction to me as an artist as it’s a stripped back record which allows you to really hear me lyrically and vocally. It’s truly a beautiful song.

What inspired you to make that song?

It’s a personal song about someone I was into but couldn’t explore being with because it would have created a lot of chaos for us, so I wrote about it as a way for me to let it go. I know there’s a lot of other people who can relate to it too, so I hope they feel seen when they hear it.

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

I think writing from personal experiences is such a vulnerable process within itself, especially when co-writing with someone else in the room because you have to reveal truths about yourself that you would have naturally not told a soul for the sake of creating the song. There’s a lot of confidentiality that goes into that process and it’s equally scary and freeing at the same time.

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

The best experience on stage is getting to hear people sing back your lyrics to you, that feeling is unmatched because it makes all the hard work that’s gone into making and releasing these songs worth it. To know that someone connected to your music enough to know all the lyrics is such a humbling and heartwarming feeling.

What is your favourite song to perform?

I’d probably say my song ‘Taboo’ because it’s a slower record so I get a chance to really take my time with it and sing my little heart out.

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

Brandy made me want to make music from the first time I heard her. Her intentionality, tone and cadence truly made me fall in love with her music and still inspires me to this day. Her ‘Never Say Never’ and ‘Full Moon’ albums are iconic and still being studied. She is a blueprint for a lot of us and her influence is in a lot of music, certainly mine. You can always tell when someone has studied at the school of Brandy! 

What’s the meaning behind your name?

Liét is actually a short version of my first name Juliet. I was looking for an artist name that still felt like me without changing so much and though there are many variations of my first name that my friends and family personally call me, Liét felt right and unique enough.

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

I would probably still be in a creative role in TV like acting or presenting or building a fashion or beauty brand.

What’s success to you?

Success to me is living your life to the fullest, having financial freedom and being spiritually content and at peace with everything in your life.

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

I think the fear of not getting the life I know I’m destined to have made me stop procrastinating and act now to get it, especially during the global pandemic. It was truly a time of self reflection for me and shedding of old habits and thought processes that were holding me back from reaching my full potential. I knew then that I needed to get out of my comfort zone quickly and pursue everything I love before it’s a little too late.

Where can people keep in touch with you?

You can find me on all social media platforms, my handle is @callmeliet on everything.

Photo by Johnny Fonseca