Liza-Marie: A change of heart

“Sorry I’m late,” gushes Liza Marie as she arrives for the interview. She’s been travelling all day and rushing to keep time, but she couldn’t seem to be in better spirits.

“I’m really glad to be home,” the soul star enthuses. “I’ll always be a Glasgow girl at heart,” she insists. Originally from Lanarkshire - “I can’t tell you where exactly” - she’s lived in the heart of Glasgow, and three years ago moved to the capital to help her career. “I grew up in Lanarkshire - people there only like rock or house music. It was really difficult to be different when you’re that age.” She goes on to discuss what awakened her passion for soul music: the Sister Act movies. “When you’re that age it’s really difficult to have any choices outside of what your peers are listening to. When I saw that film, it showed me that there’s other things out there.

“Growing up somewhere like Lanarkshire has really grounded me. It’s made me want more for myself.”

More is definitely what Liza Marie is aiming for. She started out as a mixtape artist, releasing a series called Liza Heat - a collection of tracks by other artists, featuring her rich soulful croon delivering alternative lyrics written by the lady herself.

“The mixtapes were a great foot in the door. But now I want to be taken seriously as a musician and as an artist. The mixtapes served a purpose, but now I just want to…” A great sweeping motion across the table with her hands makes her meaning perfectly clear.

“My sound has changed from the last stuff I released. As I’ve got older, my tastes have expanded. Before, it was other people’s instrumentals and I was writing stuff over it, but now I’m writing my own music to go with the songs.”

This is the reason why Liza Marie is returning to her name, after many years as L-Marie. “Liza Marie suits me now. L-Marie is associated with that whole era. I want to try to move away from that. I’m not 19 - I’m 27 this year. I can’t call myself L-Marie when I’m 30.”

She’s far more enthusiastic talking about her album, which is nearly finished and due for release in the near future. “I can’t categorise it as hip-hop or rnb. The music is a mix of indie, soul, funk and rock.

“I had to distance myself from that time as L-Marie - I didn’t want to be known as a mixtape singer. I came away, wrote as much as I could, and now I’m gigging again. The response is great. It’s the best I’ve ever done - now it's coming from my heart, as opposed to Kanye West’s heart.”

For the past year, Liza Marie has been hidden away, writing songs. How does it feel to return to the music scene?

“I had this fear that I wouldn’t be able to do gigs. But once I got up there it felt like I was home again. It re-affirmed that it's what I’m meant to be doing. Gigging is the reason I do it. I couldn’t write for that year I took away - I wanted to do just one show. The live stuff really motivates me. There’s no feeling like it.”

Motivation is the key to Liza Marie’s strength. “I don’t know what’s going to happen but I feel really positive about it. I feel now’s the time. There will always be something else I want - women can never be happy!

“If anything is going to happen, now’s the time.” It’s the perfect statement to sum up exactly where Liza Marie is just now: a girl with a typical laid-back Scottish attitude, with the talent and potential to establish herself as Scotland’s brightest soul star.