Lia Hide release their progressive Pop/ R&B single ‘Row Row Row’ on Friday 1st of April 2022. The bouncy track was produced by Lia Hide mixed by Ian Shaw at Warmfuzz Productions and mastered by Denis Blackham (Wire, Ed Sheeran, Sting, Japan, Ultravox) and comes as the lead single of ‘The Missing Fourth Guest’ album out now on Conch Town Records.
Having enjoyed a prolific past in the Greek Electronica, Lia Hide released their debut album via EMI, and have a total of three studio albums, a remix album and music commissioned for Theatre and Dance. They have supported the likes of Tricky, Kovacs, Kadebostany and many more.
This new direction in Lia Hide’s sound takes them in a darker, experimental direction. ‘Row Row Row’ takes inspiration from children’s nursery rhymes and follows unique songwriting that cleverly opposes the naive and childish chorus with heavy lyrics tackling social anxiety and impossible dilemmas. The release comes complete with an equally outrageous video that's sure to catch everyone's attention. A captivatingly fun track that makes your imagination run wild, Lia Hide describe their work as “a social wake-up call in a bouncy R&B song”.
With a rich and diverse background in progressive music forms for theatre and dance, Lia Hide she also leads the avant-garde trio taking inspiration from classic philosophers such as Plato’s infamous dialogues. In their imaginary world, the listener can experience the turbulent times we live in, full of injustice, hate, war, crime, racism, and draw parallels to the tragedies that hit Atlantis and Ancient Athens.
The band’s sound is greatly influenced by all time classic movies and music greats, such as Ennio Morricone and Manos Hadjidakis, with their unique songwriting style bringing to mind the likes of Massive Attack and Bjork. Having already extensively toured Europe, the band made the most of COVID restrictions to focus on producing their upcoming record from the comfort of their home studio. Lia Hide have already paved the way for 'Row Row Row' with the release of the two singles 'Proposal' and 'Dinner' and are planning to release videos for every single song of the 8-track album. With more music on the horizon and a show at the be sure to follow their socials for more information about this and future releases.
Hi Lia, how have you been? Hello everyone! It's been a crazy time to be around, you must admit! After the quarantines and lockdowns, it's finally so refreshing to be able to feel somewhat free and normal, again, so I'd say I am feeling optimistic, and ready for it all!
‘Row Row Row’ has a very distinctive, dark experimental sound. Can you tell us a bit about your influence on this? It was an almost through-composed song, I was alone in my home studio and was editing some of the other songs of the album, when I realized I was stuck and needed to clean up my head. So I just plugged in some of my synthesizers, hit some bass notes and boom! ‘Row Row Row’ was instantly born, from beginning to end. I've only had this experience once before in my life, with my song 'Daughter of Storm and Bad Wine”, and I have to admit, it's a little scary when it happens! Musically, I was actually aiming for the 'pop' single of the album; to me it's just a rough r'n'b song, with a 90s feel to it, I actually feel like it is the easiest of the songs in the album! The lyrics talk about exhausting Earth's natural reserves and treasures, low birth rate and war, and to be honest, I never imagined it would be so prophetic when I wrote it, never thought we'd live to see war in Europe in my lifetime.
The track is the lead single from your album ‘The Missing Fourth Guest’. Could you speak a bit about the themes of the album? As the album was conceived (most of it) and completed during the Covid19 darkness, it is naturally, influenced by all the dark thoughts we all bore at the time, but in a way, it was also our way out of all this depression and isolation. I got to read a lot during the lockdowns, and went back to some of my old College Philosophy books, and I re-read Plato's Timaeus. So I actually weaved the themes of that dialogue into the album, and stole the opening line of the dialogue for our album's title, as Socrates asks his friends on the whereabouts of the fourth guest that is gone missing. The album then, in a way also discusses the individual's place in the cosmos and society, war, education, the universe, balance and God-(if there is or are any)-sent punishment (a very popular theme in Greek mythology and storytelling).
What’s the reason for the nursery rhyme reference in the track? It was actually our sound-engineer's (Ian Shaw) idea. He thought we needed something to welcome people into the song, and I thought the old little 'Row your boat' would do just fine!
Having previously released material through EMI, do you now can be more creative with your music and input in the projects? EMI-Universal as well as all the other labels we've worked with (Global Underground, The Sound of Everything, Planetworks, Amour Records and so many others) were a big lesson for me. I had the old-school dream that a label would take care of you and do things for you so you can be at ease and create, which of course, in not the case. I am very happy and fortunate to be good friends with all these people, and share my ideas and insights with them, when I need to, but yes, I do feel free now, being in a small yet dedicated label, that has no strings attached, and I feel safe, within a family. I do feel more creative though, since this is the very first album in which I am totally in charge of arrangements and production, and feel stronger and mightier, and more innovative than ever, and I'm glad that this is in fact the reception the album is receiving: people acknowledge the fresh and free spirit and sound of it!
Row Row Row comes with a bizarre music video, can you tell us a bit more about the meaning behind the imagery in the video? Have you watched 'Master Chef'? The boys (Aki'Base and George Rados, my rhythm section and soulmates) do, they are big fans. Whenever we would finish a rehearsal or recording session, I'd cook something for us to eat and share some wine and talk about our progress on the album. But having watched too much of that show, they were always very critical of my cooking and I always wanted to do a video where I can chop things, nastily, and show them just how angry they make me when they submit me to MasterChef judgement criteria (hahah, just kiddin', a bit). I think cooking is as creative as making music, and I enjoy it just as much, and I wanted to match the heavy beat of the song with some knife pounding and kitchen steel cold surfaces.
Can you tell us about your past experience with theatre and dance and the influence that has had on your sound? I believe I was chosen to do these works (theater and dance dramas) because of my sound, in the first place, and I've never up until this question of yours came up, thought, that it had actually shaped me greatly, and that studying for those works, and preparing and laying the ground for them, has made me a more precise songwriter and composer, more committed and more to the point with the subject matters of my songs and how I treat them. Although, I really ought to give credit to my Bath Spa MMus in Songwriting for that, as well, and my mentor, Davey Ray Moor, for teaching me how to be detailed and patient, virtues I never quite mastered, until that moment.
Are there any plans for a tour or live performances in the UK this year? We are planning a short US tour in the fall, so we should be with you, in the UK, sometime after October. We are in the midst of signing a very exciting and important collaboration with a monumental UK based performer, but I really can reveal no more of it, so yes, you'll be seeing lots of us, and soon, and we simply can't wait for it!
