Have you met singer-songwriter Lia Ices, née Lia Kessel, from Westport, Connecticut? You might have heard her tunes on Girls or caught her duet with Bon Iver’s Justin Vernon. She’s got the kind of voice that sends chills — in the very best way. There’s a reason critics liken her to Cat Power, Tori Amos, Regina Spektor and Kate Bush. Her latest album, though, flips expectations — Ices, her third, is more experimental, with references ranging from Eastern sounds to hip hop. We recently got some one-on-one time with the chanteuse, who’s performing Thursday night at the London launch party for Tory Burch In Color. Here wearing Tory’s Amirah sweater and Danielle skirt — and photographed at Brooklyn’s Wythe Hotel, which has its own ties to her new LP — she talked about the record, her musical influences and, because ’tis the season, gamely answered our holiday Q’s, too.
Spiritualized. Link Wray. All the old-school stuff, of course, but also J Dilla and what Clams Casino and the Tri-Angle Record guys are doing.
Backstory behind my name Ices…
Ices — after my favorite Bob Dylan song, Isis.
And I named this new album that…
Because it feels, in a way, like the musical project has found what it wants to be and it’s much more than me. It feels like a statement album. After touring the last album in 2011, Grown Unknown, I got to a place where the sounds started to extrovert themselves and that felt more satisfying to me. So I took that lead and decided I wanted to do something totally different. I wanted the writing process to be totally different — I wanted to shed this umbrella of singer-songwriter — and I wanted to challenge myself, really.
This record vs. the others…
As soon as I had an idea, I brought it immediately to my [twin] brother Eliot, who collaborates with me. We learned a whole new set of systems — we embraced technology and got into software, synthesis and beat-making — whereas before I was more melody- and lyric-driven. This time I wanted to start from a beat or a sound. I was thinking a lot more like a producer. I also let in a lot more influences, like hip-hop, Eastern sounds and old and new schools of sound design and samples…
I think I wanted to make music more like the music I listen to. The Seventies plug-in-and-play style stopped feeling satisfying to me. I think there’s so much more to be as an artist and I just needed to dig deeper.
Ices is about…
When I was writing this album, I was sure it was going to be a concept album about flying. Because my boyfriend lived in California while I lived in New York; I was always on a plane. Everything before was so wooden and earthy… I wanted, like, metally and spacey. There definitely is a theme of levity and leaving one’s self and leaving earth as a metaphor for a lot of the things we go through.
And its ties to the Wythe Hotel…
Clams Casino did additional production with us. We had five sessions with him — we rented the penthouse. The hotel’s been a big part of the story, actually.
Album that changed my own life…
Spiritualized’s Lazer Guided Melodies, and the song Shine a Light. I love this concept of minimalism as maximalism, and the song is just the most simple blues, Americana systems and arranges but done in a way that’s so futuristic and modern. It’s everything I want to listen to — clean yet dirty, pure but psychedelic. I love it.
Favorite holiday song…
Auld Lang Syne. I recently taught myself how to play it and I love it — it’s so beautiful.
I’m big into eggnog stuff — I super love those kind of things. And, of course, you can’t go wrong with champagne.
And holiday getaway…
Being new to California, it’s so fun to explore all those places, but I really love going up to Lake Tahoe in the winter. It’s the most wintery. When I’m there, I ski and snowshoe. I’m a huge sucker for winter sports.
And holiday flower…
The holly at Lake Tahoe is off the chain. And all the firs around there are so beautiful.
Favorite holiday tradition/memory…
I grew up in Connecticut — Westport — so it was really freezing. I loved going to the beach with my dad and our dog. Winter beach is the best. Now that I live in California, it’s not an option.
Best gift given or received…
I gave my boyfriend this vintage ID bracelet and found this engraver in San Francisco who copied my exact handwriting. I wrote him [my boyfriend] something on the back.
Favorite color…
Right now because my hair is peach, I can’t deny blue all the time. Any shade — baby blue, denim…
Color to describe my personality…
Coral. I’m really attached to that color right now. It’s the accent color in my album, it’s my hair color…. It’s warm but muted. I just really like it.
