Liam Benzvi’s career has been slowly progressing over time. Starting out in the new wave-pop band Strange Names, he has now been developing his solo career and making it more than clear that he has a gift for melodies, catchy choruses and evocative lyrics. This culminates in the best possible way in his second studio album ...And His Splash Band, which was released this September and includes collaborations with artists such as Blood Orange and Ren G. In it we find perfectly constructed pop songs that have nothing to envy of the great superstars of the mainstream.
Hi, Liam! First of all, it's a pleasure to be able to talk to you about your album, it's one of my favourites this year, so congratulations. What was your experience like releasing the project?
I think that there's a common thing that most artists across all mediums experience, where you're living in this kind of state of anticipation for so long. In my case, it was the entire summer, I released a single a month and I experienced the adrenaline and the highs and lows of releasing a song and then another. Now the album is out and I had a really great week, I played a really fun show in New York and my feet are touching the ground again a little bit. It’s a total mixed bag of emotions. I'm feeling happy, sad, good, bad, all of it.
Do you usually think about the next step once you release music or do you prefer to take a break?
I need to keep the electricity, I need to keep the lights on as long as I can, because if I don't, then I'll stay in the dark. I'm just constantly playing guitar. I'm writing new songs. I'm hanging out with my band. I'm trying not to be on my phone as much as I was this summer, kind of just keeping track of who's listening, all of that stuff. I just want it to be more about the visceral experience of playing and releasing the music more so than the consuming of it. That's what's keeping me going right now.
We have a few shows coming up, but I think most of the touring is going to happen next year, which is totally fine with me. Then for the rest of this year, it's going to just be like one-off shows in select cities.
We have a few shows coming up, but I think most of the touring is going to happen next year, which is totally fine with me. Then for the rest of this year, it's going to just be like one-off shows in select cities.
Dust is about a person who is so magnetic that, as the title suggests, they attract dust. How did that song come about and why did you decide it had to be the first single?
I've always wanted to just be this guitar guy and that song was very much born and stayed on the guitar before I added anything else to it. It felt very lyrically charged, so it represented quite well my entrance and the listeners' entrance into this new album that I was presenting. It was very evocative of what I wanted to be put out into the world and my emotional state, basically.
My friend was staying at my apartment with me and she had just been broken up with. The main lyric comes from a perfect backhanded compliment like, you're so magnetic, all the dust comes your way, which is such a weird, but deeply poetic thing to say to somebody. It's kind of hurtful, but also kind of nice. And that just fully encapsulated it.
My friend was staying at my apartment with me and she had just been broken up with. The main lyric comes from a perfect backhanded compliment like, you're so magnetic, all the dust comes your way, which is such a weird, but deeply poetic thing to say to somebody. It's kind of hurtful, but also kind of nice. And that just fully encapsulated it.
I would like to talk about Breakdown, since it’s a stand-out on the album. It’s a little different from the rest, it’s darker, chaotic and visceral, but it feels like the perfect closure. In an interview you comment that it arose after “a night of primal screaming in the woods”. How did this translate to the studio?
(Laughs) That was just me being funny, but I would like to think that that's what it feels like. I honestly think it’s the sexiest song on the record. I was just working with my friend Lecx [Stacy], who produced it with me, and we just wanted to make something that was driving and intense, like a crunchier, darker version of a The Postal Service song. Then I just came up with these lyrics on the spot of just being like a mouse in someone's room and subordinating myself to desire and pain, basically. That's a fun place to generate lyrics from.
Other Guys is a collaboration with Blood Orange that can be understood as an ode to sexual liberation from the first sentence of the song. You had previously worked with Dev Hynes on his latest EP, have you known each other for a while? Why did you decide that this song was the right one for both of you?
We have known each other for a while. I sent him a version of that song before he was on it and it was just me singing on it. I told him: pick a song on the record that you like the most and you'll be on it. He was like: I love this one and I was like: Great, do whatever you want. At the time, he was recording a lot in Electric Lady in New York, this very revered, cool studio. He laid down some vocals, some harmonies, some little key hits on the piano and he sent it back to me. I have luckily been able to do it live with him on two occasions, where our voices just sound really nice together when they're harmonising. We had already experienced that together when I was singing backup for him. We've just done a lot of scratching each other's backs and that's been really nice.
Besides Blood Orange, you know a lot of people in the industry like Porches or Azealia Banks. Do you think it is difficult to maintain friendships in the music industry because of the competitiveness or the pressure of networking?
I don't feel in competition with anyone that has worked on my record or anything like that. I feel nothing, but total gratitude for them. I get that it's hard being friends with people in the industry or maintaining friendships and not being competitive. I think that was something that really hindered me in the past, where I would measure myself up to people, but I'm never angry at other artists. The only time I'm tormented by the industry is when I feel gatekept by music journalism or critics or something like that. It never has anything to do with artists, I wish artists all the best. I want as many artist friends as I can get.
On the cover we see you as a pop star from the early 2000s, from the pose to the editing of the image. You mentioned that you are attracted to this Enrique Iglesias-style imagery, why did you decide to use it for this album in particular?
I think that it's just a part of me giving in to my inner child. This is how I always wanted to look on an album cover. This brooding, sensual, inviting pop star stance. I wanted this aesthetic that looks like it’s ripped out of a newspaper, something that I would have put on my wall as a kid, very Euro or 80s Japan. The goal was to make it look really nice with all the other records and just really stand out. That was what I was going for.
Enrique Iglesias in particular has many international hits, but I take this opportunity to ask you if you usually listen to a lot of music in Spanish or if there is any artist that catches your attention. You have Julio Iglesias in one of your playlists!
Yes, I love Julio. Do you know this band Pastora? They have a song called Lola. It's one of my very favourite songs. Obviously, I think Rosalía is the greatest vocalist and performer of our generation right now. I like Jeanette too. I mean, when I was younger, I was really, really, really obsessed with Shakira and Enrique Iglesias. I thought they were so cool. I love Spanish music. I love it all.
The album was written by you and almost entirely produced by both you and Nick Weiss, who has worked with artists such as Cecile Believe. Why did you decide to work with him on this album as opposed to the last one?
Nick is one of my good friends. I worked with him on one song right before the pandemic in 2019 and I had such a nice time working with him. I think there was something about us being two gay guys in the room working together that made it kind of special in this way. Usually, I'm so used to being the goofy guy and then the producer is very much this bro. It was cool just being able to call each other bitch while we were recording stuff and be silly and laugh at each other's stupid gay jokes while we were making this record. That made me feel exceedingly comfortable and that's in addition to his talent, which is enormous. In general, he's just one of the best producers out there, so I feel very lucky to have been able to work with him.
How do you usually divide up the work in the studio? Do you usually bring the song from home or do you prefer to come up with ideas on the spot?
I recorded a skeleton of every song in my studio in New York and then I brought 9 out of the 11 songs to L.A. to finish them with Nick. So, we had the basic structure for every single one before I got into the room, but it was very collaborative. There was no homework or anything like that other than lyric writing. Sometimes it would be like: okay, go home and figure out the chorus tonight and then come back tomorrow and we'll work on it again.
Ideally, the next time I record an album, I want to go away for two months and just do it all because every single other time I've recorded, it's been a very long process that lasts two years back and forth.
Ideally, the next time I record an album, I want to go away for two months and just do it all because every single other time I've recorded, it's been a very long process that lasts two years back and forth.
Aside from the production, one of the highlights of the songs is how unapologetically gay the lyrics are. Do you think there is a connection between your sexuality and the way you express your feelings when writing?
I mean, sure. What I will say is that I don't necessarily think it needs to be political. I don't think that your sexuality always needs to be politicised in lyrics, but of course, it's connected, because it's personal, and you are who you are. Beyond just saying he/him pronouns, there are nuances of gay relationships that are unique to us that are worth singing about and it's really fun if you are in the club to recognise, to see a piece of yourself in the song. But I'm not exclusive about the way that I express myself and my songs and I would like to transcend it at the same time. I think the best lyrics transcend all of that anyway.
You've expressed interest in writing for Sabrina Carpenter and I think it's something that could work out very well. In fact, I don't think it's crazy to see her singing songs like Serious Lover Boy or 2N4. Do you often write for other artists? Is that something that interests you?
Yes, I really want to start writing more for other people because I think I'd be better at it. I want to write for the big girls. I think that'd be cool, like Sabrina. The PinkPantheress record was so underrated, it was so good. I love Ethel Cain. My favourite singer R&B singer ever is Summer Walker. God, I don’t know, so many people.
I would also like to ask you about your music videos. They all have a perfectly curated aesthetic, which is difficult without the budget of the big labels. Do you tend to get overwhelmed by the visual side of music or is it something you enjoy? I understand that you enjoy the acting side, since it's something you've studied.
I love telling a story in a video. I think that makes it fun. I had a lot of help with this. Luca Venter, who I've worked with a lot in the past, directed the Dust and the Other Guys videos and helped me conceptualise it all and bring it into reality. I have to thank him a lot for that. And then Cody [Critcheloe], who directed the PTLSD video, completely came up with that concept. One of my main contributions was my general enthusiasm and energy with regards to all of it because if the artists come at your visuals with a bored attitude or you put on this nonchalance, then it weakens it. You have to be fully committed to your vision in order for it to work and translate.
Finally, what are your plans for the rest of 2024 and 2025?
I think just getting better at music and staying on course. I want to keep writing. I want to keep having weekly practices with my band for when we tour next year and staying visible, but not losing my mind. Yeah, just trying to enjoy myself, basically. Those are my plans.
