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WHEN creating
music is a matter of survival, then the product is nothing
less than awe inspiring. As the phoenix who rises from the
ashes to live once more, LIVAN’s eclectic music is the
epiphany, which has allowed him to soar.
London based
singer/songwriter LIVAN’s (pronounced Lie’van) story may
sound almost clichéd, but if it was not for the hardships,
then this master lyricist and musical inventor would not
be able to draw on his struggles and be inspired to create
his unique punk-pop sound.
LIVAN’s early
family life – the tale of dramatic novels - led to his
self-induced descent into drugs and decadence and finally,
redemption. A moment that still impacts daily on LIVAN and
his music.
Born in Greece,
the son and grandson of prominent politicians who were
exiled from their homeland during a period of great
national turmoil, LIVAN’s story has given him the material
to the soundtrack of his life. His father’s fate was more
tragic than exile alone, having suffered physically at the
hands of the dictators while under arrest. After
relocating to England, LIVAN struggled under the perceived
“burden” of living with a hero, which he now freely
admits. In his youth, he chose to run from the challenge
rather than embrace it.
“When you grow
up with those people in your house, you wonder how the
hell you’re going to top that. I was crap at everything,
so I thought that if I couldn’t be good at being good, I
would try being good at being bad.”
His descent into
drugs, alcohol, gambling, and other undesirable activities
brought LIVAN face to face with his own mortality. He
found himself in prison and later, addicted to heroin,
dying slowly in the ghettos of Athens and London. LIVAN’s
turnaround came one rain soaked, drug-addled, Good Friday,
when he simply looked upward from the park bench and said
to himself, “This can’t be the end…life has to be better
than this.”
And, from that
moment was the beginning of a journey, filled with
heartache and hard work, but now LIVAN is living his dream
of creating music. LIVAN changed a life of
self-destruction to a life of self-production, writing and
singing with a feverish desire to evolve.
As the first
decade of the 21st century comes to a close, LIVAN finds
his inspiration to create has evolved as well; from a
drive for his own physical survival to thoughts beyond
himself. “Immortality in a way; I want to leave something
behind. There is a lot of talk and some things you can’t
discuss, due to the social norms or political correctness,
but you can express what you feel through the podium of
music”.
Over the last
few years LIVAN has immersed himself in his music, a style
with influences ranging from the beloved Lord Byron to The
Sisters of Mercy, and from David Bowie and The Clash to
Placebo and Nine Inch Nails.
Like everything
in LIVAN’s life, his passion for music can be felt in
every note and lyric.
“As an artist,
exposing yourself up on stage, you need to have a loose
screw. With all the critics, hassles, and jaded fans, you
need to find something deeper.”
Happy Returns,
his most recent collection, is self-produced and due for
digital release through Pumpkin Music on September 15,
2009. It’s simple and to the point. It is a collection of
songs of the life he has lived, without the glitz and the
glam. LIVAN’s music and lyrics don’t seek to passively
entertain the listener, but to engage them.
The title track,
“Happy Returns”, LIVAN says, represents him in many ways.
“It is a simple song really, one chord only, but the
energy of the bass-line drives the lyrics forward. It’s
about losing it, just losing control.”
Reaching into
his own darkened memories LIVAN revealed he often feels he
is ready to “lose it”. “Like most of us I’m sure, waiting
for a moment to just lose control, but we don’t of course.
You learn to pick up and move on.”
A more
infectious pop ditty, “King of the World”, shows off
LIVAN’s playful side and is easily set up to be a popular
single with his fan base. Fuelled by his political
anxieties and his desperate need for sarcasm, “King of the
World” flowed out in less than an hour while jamming ideas
with his good friend and musical partner John Robertson.
The angst is
still present in LIVAN’s writing and manifests itself in
the likes of “Where I Bleed”. A very popular song amongst
the European fan base especially in Greece and Spain.
In the dramatic
track, “Kiss and Tell”, LIVAN tells the story, of a London
street-walker desperately fighting against her own
self-destructive course.
But it’s not
only his own music, which fuels LIVAN’s passion. On his
latest album, he covers one of his favorite songs “Shout”
giving the track a definite musical twist. “Tears for
Fears really gave us something to hold on to there and I
am just happy I could give it my own take.”
On his previous
records, LIVAN has worked with some of the UK’s elite
Producers such as Bacon and Quarmby (Bowie, Marley, John
Meyer, The Pretenders, Kate Walsh) and David Creffied, an
industry veteran who not only brought Embrace into the
public domain (X6 Platinum) but also The Kaiser Chiefs.
Now LIVAN is
producing on his own but still has a gift for
collaboration; working with fellow UK based producer and
lyricist John Robertson on some of the arrangements for
Happy Returns, and up and coming musician/engineer, Nat
Chan (Paul McCartney, Aimee Mann, Granddaddy, Bob Dylan)
who was responsible for mixing the album’s eleven tracks.
LIVAN has now
joined forces with Will Crewdson (Lead Guitar) from the
well respected and groundbreaking UK outfit, Rachel Stamp.
Rachel Stamp have earned a reputation for being one of the
most decadent, brilliantly off-kilter Rock n’ Roll bands
to ever come out of the UK, and have inadvertently paved
the way for hundreds of eye-liner smudged,
heart-on-your-sleeve bands that currently fill stadiums
and magazines the world over. The musical jigsaw completes
itself with Nat Chan (rhythm guitar) James Bailes (bass)
Damon Wilson (Drums) who’s past live and studio playing
includes James Brown, Patti LaBelle, Bon Jovi, Joss Stone
and Ray Davies to name a few.
The LIVAN show
is certainly an adrenaline rush not to be missed!!!
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