Yara Liz performs a song for troubled times: ‘Feel Alright’
Cinematic pop singer, songwriter and artist Yara Liz shares her new single ‘Feel Alright’, out everywhere now.
Naming artists like AURORA, Björk and Hans Zimmer as her main inspirations, Yara draws from her combined influences, as well as her classical background, contemporary pop and experimental electronic music to craft her captivatingly distinctive soundscapes.
‘Feel Alright’ is a cry for freedom, taking the listener on a journey from subdued textures to a cinematic climax. Written about the clash between technology and nature, Yara Liz explores escapism, numbness and the need to feel better, feelings we all shared over recent global events.
Speaking of the track, she says, “I created this track along with my good friend Matt Swanton during lockdown. He had the original demo in his folder of sketches and ideas for years, and I was so inspired by the sound that I decided to topline it. It took me a year to really understand what I wanted to bring with this song, what message I wanted to share. When Russia invaded Ukraine, I looked at the song again and finished it with a pain in my chest, because I used my thoughts and emotions about the war and the pandemic in this song.
I was so heartbroken by humanity and all the hardships we go through, that all I could think of was to go to a different reality, away from the pain and the violence. This song is a cry for freedom, for a better reality than the one we live in. I hope the listeners can resonate with it because I know how hard it is to live sometimes, especially when facing global events, war, climate change, that can leave us hopeless. I hope anyone who listens to the song can take this song and understand that no one is alone, someone out there is also going through hardships and desiring for a better world.”
Trained as an actress and brought up in church, her artistry crosses disciplines and pushes boundaries. Born and raised in Lisbon, as a child she started singing and performing in plays in the church, then she would go home and listen to Disney music and classical pieces. In 2016 she saw AURORA’s music video ‘Runaway’ which sparked a desire for her to tell her own story. “I didn’t know you could make music like that, and because of it I discovered other brilliant artists like Björk and Novo Amor, but also found the sound that resonated with me the most, I wanted to be part of that.”
In 2018 she performed at an international conference in Germany in front of thousands, and the following year moved to London to study and pursue her career in music. “Since then I have been learning how to be an artist, making my own sound and sharing my thoughts, emotions and stories, inspired by the people around me and the universe.”
Between her dreamy production and her open-hearted songwriting, Yara Liz invites the listener to wander into the landscapes she paints with sound.
