Liza
/// Complete biography
Born in 1979 in the ancient Roman city of Aix en Provence (France) to an Anglo-Danish mother and a French father, Liza grew up surrounded by languages, in a multicultural family environment where music always had an important role, whatever the language.
Liza first laid her hands on a piano at the age of 4, and has never managed to live far from one since then. Throughout her childhood, with schooling balanced between England, France and then Italy, Liza always ended up playing the piano and singing.
A piano even followed her all the way to Marrakech, where her nomad tendencies inspired Liza to work in educational tourism and sustainable development. Based between the sun-swept desert and the snowy peaks of the High Atlas Mountains, Liza ran around Morocco for several years for Discover Ltd.
Liza then travelled through most of Europe as an educational tour guide, sharing her keys to discovering new cultures, different languages and ways of life. Her passion was contagious: during long bus journeys, entire groups of high school American kids had fun singing along loudly with Liza whatever the language.
Liza’s debut album “Coma ma Vida” (2005) is aligned with her first steps as a modern minstrel, with stories sung in English, French and Provençal – her mother tongues and her language of heart. Back in the medieval period, the troubadours or minstrels sang about love and war. They told tales of heartbroken loved ones, of promises made and then forgotten and journeys through distant lands. Trobadours sang in Provençal (one of the dialects of the Lenga d’Oc, or Occitan as it is known for some) and travelled throughout Occitania – which covers the whole of the South of France – all the way to castles and courts in Scandinavia and beyond.
With her tale about the “Solèu Roge (Red Sun)” and the promise of love returning with the new day, Liza brought some of the warmth of the Mediterranean sunshine all the way to Lapland. It moved the alternative Eurovision Song Contest’s audience (a competition without all the showbiz glitziness) to reward her with the Public’s Choice (2006).
All this media coverage led Liza to being spotted by France 3 (regional French TV) where she was then offered the role of host for the weekly TV show in the Lenga d’Oc “VAQUI”. For five years, Liza brought her smile and a spark of youthful enthusiasm into every show. A very enriching experience, where travelling throughout the South of France and meeting wonderful people, enabled her to speak Provençal naturally and fluently, every day. And it sparked the desire to start writing her own lyrics in Provençal too – you simply don’t say the same things in different languages.
In 2008 and in 2010 Liza was invited to a unique music residential retreat at the Voix du Sud, where she was coached by a selection of music professionals and encouraged to share her more heartfelt and intimate melodies. After those sessions, Liza then embarked on a new music project called “Estelas de Papier” (Paper Stars), with her songs arranged for just her piano/voice and a guitar, which she presented every night at the famous Avignon Off Festival in July 2011.
Meanwhile, Liza’s musical path also led her to compose with one of the most talented flamenco guitarists in the South of France, Antonio Negro. Together, they recorded an original Occitan-flamenco fusion of Liza’s voice and soulful melodies with Antonio’s virtuoso guitar playing, in just one night: Duo Liza & Antonio Negro (2009).
In 2019, Liza was also invited to join Claude Sicre (from the Fabulous Troubadours group) and Alan Stivell on the main stage at the Estivada Festival in Rodez.
Since 2008 Liza has also embarked in the wonderful world of children’s musical shows. After writing songs and filming videos for the little Occitan-speaking bear called Patonet, she has created her own puppet called LEOuN Lou GRIPETOuN.
Since then, she has run workshops, produced shows, recorded albums for this little Provençal-speaking elf. The themes range from a quest to bring colors back to a land, a story over different seasons, to an oceanographic aventure to help a little lost sea turtle find her home again.
Each new show has it’s own album, all digitally released, and Liza also shares various specifically designed teaching tools to support each story with the schools and teachers she has the pleasure of working with.
Liza creates these shows WITH and FOR children, and has an amazing time on stage bringing everyone together in these engaging and inspiring shows.
For her album “L” in 2013, Liza turned to the talented jazz fusion group called Cascino Trio to bring her heartfelt songs to life. With Patrick Cascino on piano, Charly Tomas on doublebass and Luca Scalambrino on drums, the album was recorded between France and Finland.
In both the Marseille and Espoo studios, they were joined by other fine musicians: Merilyn on violin, Ralph Adamson on oud, Vincent Magrini on his “guitariole” (a hybrid guitar-meets-cello instrument), and Régis Sévignac on backing vocals. Concerts from this album have taken them across Europe.
Liza’s latest jazz-pop album « Why not? » was released in 2022. In this recording as a quartet, still with the amazing Cascino Trio, Liza also shares a duet with Moussu T (from Massilia Sound System). And whenever possible, they are joined by various choirs for live renditions of these heartfelt songs.
Liza was invited back to another Voix du Sud music residential in Octobre 2022, and she took part in the writing and composing of a new show in just a week. With ten artists singing in Basque, Catalan, Corsian, Alsacian, Occitan, Creole and Provençal, this unique show called « Une Nuit en Astaffort » was awarded the Voix du Sud / Fondation La Poste 2022 singer-songwriters’ prize. It now continues on tour, as various quartets and duets.
Alongside Corsican singer Lionel Giacomini, Liza’s new duo is called LIAME and will be on tour with a new album as from 2024.
/// Albums
« Gripeton e Tartugueta / Gripetoun e Tartugueto » (2024)
« Why not? » (2022)
« Gripeton e lei colors / Gripetoun e li coulour » (2022) + book
« Gripeton e lei sasons / Gripetoun e li sesoun » (2022)
« Patonet » (2018)
« L » (2013)
« Duo Flamenco-Occitan » (2010)
« Coma ma vida » (2005)
/// Prizes, Concerts, Festivals
« Prix de la Fondation La Poste / Voix du Sud 2022 »
VOIX DU SUD « Rencontres Occitanes » (2008), »Rencontres Repertoire » (2010), « Rencontres thématiques Langues de France » (2022)
Festival TROBAREA (2022)
CANTEJADAS DE LEON 2022 with 300 children on stage
ESTIVADA (2007, 2008 et 2011), invited by Claude Sicre and Alan Stivell (2019)
HESTIV’OC (2007, 2013)
« 1562 : Testimoni d’un chaple », musical show around the First World War (2014)
FESTIVAL OFF d’Avignon Musical show « Estelas de Papier » (2011)
INSTITUT FRANÇAIS de FINLANDE « International Francophonie Day » (2014)
SUNS SARDIGNA « Jury’s Special Mention » (2015)
LIET LAVLUT International (alternative Eurovision Minority Languages Song Contest) « Public’s Choice » (2006)
/// TV, Radio
France 3 NoA « Une Nuit en Astaffort » (2022)
France 3 Provence Alpes Côte D’Azur « Petites Escapades entre amis » (2010) and VAQUI (2006, 2010, 2013, 2015, 2018, 2023)
France 3 Sud « Viure al Pais » (2006, 2010)
France 3 Aquitaine « Punt de Vista » (2010)
SVT2 in Sweden « Liet Lavlut International » (2006)
BBC2 & BBC World « Planet Word : Identity » documentary presented by Stephen Fry (2011)
France Inter, France Bleu, Radio Lengadoc, Radio Occitania, Radio Paìs, Radio Zinzine, Swedish Radio P2, Finnish Radio Basso
For more information, please contact :
Theresa PIENING // esmaïprod (@) gmail.com
