Lyra

LYRA are a great alternative/rock four-piece hailing from Liverpool. Only starting out in the Summer of 2012 their sound already reminds me of an early Keane mixed with a young One Night Only, definitely on The Music Manual's one-to-watch radar for this year, especially with an EP Launch and  release of a brand new music video to their track 'The Pain In My Life'.

Listening to their tracks made me feel certain of how far I know they'll come in the future. One of my favourite has to be Never Leave Home, it's full of different musical influences and multi-various indications towards their undeniable talent, moulding these very influences and tones into one very alternative track, complete with catchy rifts and clever lyrics.

The Pain in My Life was the next track my ears got a hold of. So much talent has turned into such a powerful piece of music, the instrumental philosophy of Lyra just pours into this stunning piece of art, everything they possess is shown off within under four minutes of the track. Although, I do think that if you hear this track first you may not fully understand or appreciate them, you need to be shown the journey... this journey being the other tracks available for you to listen. Music takes time but if you have that devotion, you'll listen and take them all on board evaluating what really shows passion for this ingenuity.

When I listen to their music I hear potential, they've only really just started out. All groups start somewhere and having come quite a way already, I can imagine how fantastic their music will sound in say a couple of months from now. The experience they will gain will surely strengthen their talents and push them into Liverpool's music limelight. I decided to catch up with Lyra to get an insight into themselves and their music.

How did Lyra come about?

Kieron (Lead singer) and Lauren (Drummer) left their previous bands due to musical differences; they found that songwriting as a pair came easy to them; they began writing on a regular basis and performing acoustically whenever possible (as Lauren is also a pianist and singer). Sean also left his previous band and was seeking something fresh, Alan joined us soon after a 6 month struggle to find the correct members, we feel we are in the right place now and can happily continue writing and distributing our music.

Do you all share the same music influences?

No, our influences are of great difference, they range from John Mayer and Keane to Jimi Hendrix and Placebo.

What are you hoping to achieve this year?

We want to give our audience a wide variety of performances, keep up the interest and continue writing.

How do you get your inspiration for your music?

We are all writers’; we therefore use all our previous experiences and new ideas to write our music.

What was it like receiving air play on BBC Radio Merseyside?

We were very pleased to be played on BBC radio Merseyside, especially so quickly; we had only released our Facebook page the previous week so were shocked at how much attention we were automatically given in the public eye.

Being from Liverpool yourselves, how do you find the current music situation within the city?

Due to music being so accessible these days, we find many decent Liverpool bands seem to be overshadowed by unprofessional assortments. Liverpool itself has a great music scene, there are many places within the city that stage bands both of a day and evening, we are very lucky to have such facilities.

What are your plans for this year?

We are currently filming our first music video to one our tracks “The Pain in my Life”, this will be released in March ’13. We also plan on playing an acoustic session on the radio at some point in April. We will be having an EP launch later on in the year which we are very excited for.

Do you think you could compare yourselves to anyone out in the music industry right now?

Due to our varied musical background, the album has a large selection of music types and can be related to many different bands.

Is there a dream for you guys?

Our main desire is for as many as possible to hear our songs and be able to relate to them in their own personal situations. We would also like to inspire young and old musicians to voice their talents.

Are we going to hear a lot from you this year?

We will be keeping everyone posted on our whereabouts and plans for the year, we are very grateful to everyone who has shown us support so far, so thank-you.

I'd like to thank Lyra for this great interview, check them out here! http://www.facebook.com/LyraLiverpool/

REMEMBER check out The Music Manual on facebook; www.facebook.com/themusicmanual