BEE SUITS
ABOUT
Indie pop artist LIJO releases Bee Suits, her first new song in almost a year.
With Bee Suits, LIJO explores the themes of identity and validation in a song that shifts from sounding eerie and held back to lighthearted and open. Capturing these reoccurring topics in a track more poppy than she has released so far, LIJO shows once more how her music is genre fluid; although she never loses sight of her signature innovative melodies and her literate, colourful approach to lyrics.
And that’s exactly how she wants it to be. Zooming in on her previous releases, almost all of them touch the same subject of image one way or the other; musically, however, LIJO has wandered from gnarling beats and synths (I Want Out) to close to a cappella vocal harmonies (Spell) and everything in between.
Being defined, by herself or by others, confuses her, she says - and that is the reason for the gap in new releases. “To think about yourself like that - constantly defining and redefining, catching in words a momentary state and then trying to live up to that description, because that is the summary I worked so hard to find so that is what I gotta stick to now - that is what numbed me. And I had to take some time to let go of all of it to be able to pick up again.”
LIJO’s previous releases have been spinned (inter)nationally by the likes of Kink Radio, 3voor12, Pinguin Radio and WNRI, and shared by blogs like American Pancake (USA), When The Horn Blows (UK), Lluid (NL), Homecooking Share (FR), Tinnitus (CAN) and We Love That Sound (DE).
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ABOUT LIJO
Artpop artist LIJO doesn’t make superficial music, but creates songs that get people thinking as well as dancing and singing along.
Being from a small village, LIJO grew up to be a self-taught pianist and songwriter with little knowledge of popmusic, which laid the foundation for her quirky sense of melody and lyrics and her genre-bending writing style. Having been the driving force behind cinematic folkpop band ILEN MER, launching her solo project under the moniker LIJO marked the start of her exploration of electronic elements in her music. Opening her ears to artists like St Vincent and Roísin Murphy as well as Depeche Mode and Kate Bush, her music, still hard to put in a box, was soon labeled AVANT POP or ARTPOP.
After her Debut EP 'PARTS' she traveled to England, Germany, Poland and Sweden to play shows. Her untameable curiosity and urge to keep renewing herself are reflected in a live performance that’s always in motion. LIJO plays with synths, beats and loops in her electronic set and is intrigued by working with guest musicians, which resulted in a collaboration with electronic cellist Mirthe de Jonge, though her songs are just as convincing stripped down to the naked core with only a piano and her characteristic vocals.