Seattle-by-way-of-St. Louis artist Lizzie Weber releases a new single called “How Does It Feel,” the title track to her forthcoming EP due out January 22nd.
She has collaborated with folks like Markéta Irglová (Once/The Swell Season) and Grammy-award winning producer Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Ryan Adams, Rickie Lee Jones), and credits her midwestern upbringing and strong St. Louis roots with giving her the ability to make very personal and emotional music.
Lizzie says this song is about gratitude. She, like many of us, has taken this time of isolation to reflect on what’s important and what brings us together no matter what our differences are – empathy and love. I know I, and lots of other folks, need a reminder like this, especially right now!
“I wrote ‘How Does It Feel’ in about an hour. I’m not sure I’ve ever written anything so quickly,” she explains. “More than anything, it felt like a stream of subconscious emotion coming to the surface. I started with just an acoustic and vocal track, then began arranging with the rhythm and string section in my home studio prior to the musicians tracking their parts. I assumed remote work would be quite difficult because I’d relied so much on in-person work and the collaborative energy that helps bring a piece to life. I’m quite proud of this song and hope it resonates with listeners. In a time where so many are suffering, emotionally or physically, or both, I wanted to express my own vulnerability and make art that highlights how that openness calls for empathy from our closest loved ones and strangers alike.”
ABOUT LIZZIE
Born and raised in St. Louis and now based in the Pacific Northwest, Lizzie Weber began her journey as a songwriter living in Studio City, California, where she moved at twenty years old to pursue a career in acting. Two years after her move to Los Angeles, she found herself back in St. Louis writing, recording, and producing her self-titled debut album as she pursued a degree in Journalism from Washington University.
Lizzie’s roots in St. Louis provided her a grounded foundation where she developed strong values and a sense of self – a self-awareness that enables her to write emotionally-charged music from a very vulnerable, personal place.
Following the success of her 2014 full-length debut, Lizzie appeared on the cover of the Riverfront Times as one of “six artists to watch in 2015.” From there, she composed the music for the title track (“Vida Cafeinada”) of the documentary feature film Caffeinated. The song is sung in English and Spanish and features lyrics written by her father, John Schranck. On their first father-daughter collaboration, they set out to write a song that would stand as a reflection of the agricultural and social underpinnings of that wonderful daily tradition.
In the fall of 2015, Lizzie produced and self-released her rendition of Nirvana’s “Heart-Shaped Box.” It was around that time that she met Grammy-award winning producer Sheldon Gomberg (Ben Harper, Ryan Adams, Rickie Lee Jones) and began work her song “Love Again” which was the product of another familial collaboration, this time with her elder brother, John Schranck Jr., who is responsible for the song’s lush, orchestral arrangements. The two began sending Sheldon iPhone demos in November of 2015 with the intention of recording the song at his Carriage House Studios (LA) in January of 2016, a pit stop on her way to her new home in the Pacific Northwest.After spending the last two years both in Seattle and on the island of Fidalgo, Lizzie traveled to Iceland in March of 2018 to collaborate with Academy Award-winning artist Marketa Irglova (The Swell Season/Once). Together, they produced and recorded two songs – “River” and “Free Floating” – released in November and described by Glide Magazine as “a quiet folk song with angelic harmonies and lush instrumentation that swells into a dramatic, beautiful soundscape.”