Who is Livka? “One of the illusions you want to believe in,” he sings in “Kalce“, a song from her debut album titled “made of paper“. The young artist also has several musical collaborations. The most recent are “Don’t cry, girl” with Wiktoria Zwolińska and “Zoë Kravitz” (Kubi Producer, Huff, Chivas, Lucassi).
Bartłomiej Warowny, Interia Muzyka: You were living your life, and suddenly there was a message from Igor Herbut. Has it blown you off the board?
Livka: I posted a cover of “Jutra” by LemON on TikTok, so I think that’s why Igor contacted me. He asked if I planned to take up music seriously, and I confirmed. We exchanged pleasantries and that was it. I was wondering why he was interested in me and I remembered that he had management. After posting the cover of “Birds”, he put me on his story and tagged me, which was super nice. I thought this was the moment, so I reached out and said I was interested in joining Las Management. Of course, this news was cringe, but that doesn’t matter. It worked!
Something like, “Let’s meet and talk about your dreams.” I was stunned. It’s beautiful to say that to someone. Igor is incredibly helpful, warm and sensitive. He’s a very good person, that’s the first thing. I trusted him immediately and this trust binds us to this day.
You finally agreed to cooperate. Would you do it again?
Sure! I would do it every time. Thanks to this, it was created “from paper”. The album was created for a very long time, and the concept created itself. Suddenly I realized that I had songs like “origami”, “put me together”, “Paper hearts”, which made me think. I noticed that the paper motif was present throughout the entire process of creating the album, which is why “Kalka” was created at the end. I was soaked in paper and couldn’t get away from it. It inspired me and made me know what my record’s home looked like. Or rather, what it is made of. Paper is very plastic, universal and at the same time unique. It can be a building ingredient, but also destructive when it happens to cut our skin. Paper has many faces, just like an album.
The concept is there and the promotional machine has started…
Yes, we quickly arranged a meeting at the Sony studio. Bartek Jasik, whom I love by the way, was involved in this project and constantly watched over it. However, he suggested the name of the album, which I didn’t like at all, so I quickly burst out and shouted: “made of paper!” I won’t tell you what the name Bartek suggested was, because I think I’ve erased it from my memory forever. I denied it. It was something related to fears, but I didn’t want to base the concept on anxiety and fear. There’s a lot of it on the album, but these are episodes.
You wrapped the scares in beautiful paper, so they’re not so scary!
That’s very nice what you said! I agree with that. I’m glad we moved forward with the paper concept.
Is this paper more of a gift, chic or toilet paper? The promotion suggests the latter option…
No matter what I do, at the end of the process I always say: “Oh shit.” It’s always been like this. I’m very rarely satisfied with myself, but I’m learning to be happy with myself. For example, during a concert I feel great, I feel the energy of the people and it’s wonderful. When I leave the stage and look through Instagram stories, I think to myself: “what rubble”… I know I’m not the only one in this, because singers are often hard on themselves. This is motivating because I always have something to strive for, but on the other hand it is terribly disastrous and poor. I’m somewhere in between.
Which of your songs do you love the most? Is it a variable process?
At first, I insisted that I didn’t have any favorite because it was like choosing from among my children. You definitely hear this in every interview you do. But that’s the truth! I’m sentimental about one number. At the moment, I especially love “seven”. This song holds a place in my heart and that probably won’t change. The song is the result of cooperation with Wiktoria Zwolińska. Wika also sings choruses in “Put Me Together”, but it is in “Seven” that we have a full-fledged dialogue, which I am very happy about. The song elevates the gloom of the entire album and I’m extremely proud of it. I love performing this song live.
And we have the title of the interview: “This is the gloomiest album.” Great, thanks! But it’s really a bit gloomy, and when I turn on “origami”, I’m in a different world…
Do you sometimes feel like “origami”?
And who didn’t feel it? Let’s go with a classic: “Who hasn’t had it?”…
There are people who are concise in expressing their feelings. They are grounded, settled, they don’t show whether they feel anything at all. That’s interesting. It seems to me that we live in specific times – every day we are bombarded with information and news, so expressing emotions may seem pointless. I mean, why would we cry every day?
It’s nice that we can meet people who have different experiences. Then we can feel that we are not alone and that our problems also live in other people’s heads. It’s a comforting vision, and yet a sad one. Do you sometimes feel like you have so many versions of yourself that you don’t really know which one you are?
In “origami” you sing: “Make me what you want. There is no me in me anyway”, which I agree with. A very important line.
Sorry! Then don’t listen to this number if it depresses you.
And I like to get down sometimes. Do you feel bad and additionally you hear gloomy sounds?
Sad songs perversely give me a feeling of relief. I’ve heard this is a common occurrence and is even supported by psychological research. If something helps, it doesn’t matter what color it is. Every emotion must be experienced and must have its outlet. Listening to sad music is not always “beating yourself up”, but often allowing yourself to experience worse states, freeing yourself from thoughts and uninteresting situations.
The physical version of the album is coming soon. When will you sign for me on paper?
Yes, the release of the physical version of the album is scheduled for December 6, 2024. It’s a terribly strange but exciting feeling. I’m very excited to get my hands on my own CD. Get your marker ready! Can’t wait! Risk and physics…