Stereolizza

Stereolizza are a dance-pop duo based in Los Angeles with a handful of tracks to their name. They’re also a pair of demented geniuses, as evidenced by the brain-bending video clip for their new single Cool Cat, a track they describe as sounding like “Ellie Goulding, The Chainsmokers and Swedish House Mafia” all at once.
Forget about that time dance legend Sebastien Tellier was in the Eurovision finals – this the strangest thing you’ll see all day. The clip centres on the trials and tribulations our heroine Stereolizza experiences dating men with the heads of cats (awkwardly Photoshopped on). They don’t like the beach, they hide up trees, they eat raw fish and drink carafes of milk instead of wine. It’s a hard life, but she makes it work (just don’t tell PETA about the part where she makes out with a grey tabby in an empty bar). - InTheMix (Australia)

Enjoy your #caturday with a track from Stereolizza! (on Twitter) - DJ Mag Canada

We don't know what to think but we can't stop watching. This is either the best or worst EDM song and video of 2015 or maybe the last five years, and the club ready, mainstream electro sound is truly stuck in our heads along with the line "You're such a cool cat." - Magnetic Magazine

About Stereolizza’s “Cool Cat” music video screening during San Francisco #catvideofest:
"It’s hard to describe it, really. This was the strangest turn of the festival!" - The Guardian (U.S. edition)

Stereolizza is a truly global band on a mission; Lizza and AlecZero have roots in Ukraine, Russia, and Poland, and they are well-recognized across Europe for their brand of sexy Europop; it’s the club scene at it’s best. They’ve kept up with the times, and in “Go Back to your Mama”, delivered everything I wanted from a dance track; there’s a little story, there’s attitude, some beautiful imagery from the Mojave desert in the video, and above all a beat that makes me want to be back in Madrid and re-living that long Saturday night in May 2012, at Kapital.
This song is so Euro, it takes me back to my life 10+ years ago, as dance music evolved over the 80’s and 90’s and into the world of joyful percussive and clever electronica that it’s become in 2013. It’s great in that it retains everything that I like about the genre; simple, dependable, and the more you listen to it, the more it will stick in your head. Club music like this needs to be strong, simple, continuous, but with a little something extra to make it stand out and get the band signed. And that’s exactly what Stereolizza has done here.

You can listen to the song here while you read the review: [link to SoundCloud]

The track starts with a nice bit of ambient keyboard sound with Lizza’s vocal showcased beautifully to set the rest of the composition up;

“go back to your mama, go back to your mama
too good to be mine, I cannot handle your drama”

And we begin; I love Lizza’s voice-with-attitude as the beat kicks in. As I listen to this song to review it, it’s a beautiful spring morning, and this is the perfect accompaniment. It makes me want to purse my lips, get some attitude, put my shades on, and say “peace” to the world and drive down some long, open road and do something really badass.

“You gotta let go,
You gotta get low, low”

She tells a story; and I always love the stories that are present in all of our music as we write. It’s a vision of empowerment, being with someone, finding them – quite honestly – completely and utterly inadequate, chewing them up, and spitting them out, forcefully, with every word that’s uttered:

“Go back to your mama”

The beat is relentless, varied with the electronic backing to give us the right amount of change to keep it interesting, yet predictable enough to make it a solid dance track; in short, the sections repeat enough for you to know what’s coming, and really get into it – as with good club music, the song allows you to absorb yourself into the mood of the music and to live it. The sound builds like a wave, and the waves just keep on crashing in.

A really quirky and fitting theme is that there is always a new vehement lyric to enjoy as you immerse yourself in the attitude of the song.

“Don’t look at me like that,
cuz you know nothing about my swagger”

The music dies, but the attitude is still there; “vengeance is mine”, saith Lizza. I have a wry smile on my face, I’m feeling bold. See, I’m from a previous period, a time of raves, Carter USM, the Orb, Fatboy Slim, and perhaps the best of the era (for me), Keith Flint and the Prodigy. And listening to this, I’m in the perfect mood to collect some next generation beats from our Fish Pond family, mix them up with some old school dance music, and go out clubbing. Maybe to Madrid where Kapital kicks out at 7:30 a.m. - Global Musicians Fishpond

At the beginning of conversation, let me ask you about your new song called "Go Back To Your Mama". Tell me, how would you describe this track? Whether and in what way is it different from your previous recordings?

"Go Back To Your Mama" is the first single from our upcoming album. It's a very funky upbeat track that truly represents our new style and the vibe of the forthcoming album. I kept the attitude and aggressive rapping that you might remember from the times of "X.Y.Z." and "Corporate Logic", but now I do it to a heavy club beat and electro-house synths produced by my band mate and co-writer AlecZero. "Go Back To Your Mama" may sound rude, but in fact the message that I'm delivering with this song is that you have to "show me what you've got to give me real nirvana"! I want to see a self-confident and strong man by my side.

This song is promoted by your new music video, which can be seen on your official YouTube account. Who is responsible for its production? How long have you been working on this video?

To tell the truth, this music video is very different from the other ones we had before, because "Go Back To Your Mama" is the first music video that AlecZero and I did ourselves from scratch. Since we didn't have any experience, it took us about two months to make! AlecZero had to learn how to hold the camera, and I was learning Final Cut and how to work with video effects on the go! It was very stressful, but a lot of fun as well! Scouting for shooting locations for the music video, we came across a lonely church in Mojave desert and met with its Minister, Oscar Castaneda. He told the story of the Calvary Baptist Church - it was that Hi Vista church where Quentin Tarantino shot the wedding scene for "Kill Bill". We were looking for a trailer for one of the scenes of the music video, and Oscar showed us an old bus parked his back yard for many years - that's where the opening scene for the music video was shot. It turned out that Oscar had another exact same bus, but Tarantino bought it from him back in times and blew it up during his famous "Kill Bill" shoot.

Due to the promotion of this song you came to our country and you're in Warsaw right now. It's not a very original question, but how do you like the city? You are very popular in our country. When we will be able to see you at the concert in Poland?

I came to Poland numerous times and I've been to a lot of cities! I love coming to Poland! You know, I was born in Russia, lived over 15 years in Ukraine, now I moved to Los Angeles, but Poland has stayed a big part of my life! That's amazing! This time I visited Sopot and Warsaw. I think Sopot is a great touristic place with very calm and relaxing atmosphere; all the people are very nice and happy there! What I love about Warsaw is that it has a lot of beautiful Catholic architecture, great restaurants, and interesting cultural life! I hope we'll play a few shows across various Polish cities when we finish working on the new album.

Well, we all remember one of your biggest hits - the track called "X.Y.Z." which comes from the album "X-amine Your Zippa", released in 2006. How would you rate this CD from the perspective of the past years? I get the impression that this was a turning point in your musical career so far, am I right?

I totally agree! I think X.Y.Z. song basically shaped our music style for many years, as well as gained us some recognition and exposure. On the wave of hip-hop's rising popularity, "X-amine Your Zippa" album impressed a lot of people in different countries, since back in 2005 there was no other white girl rapping! I still love this album a lot, and all of the songs that were on it. Although, we now realize that the production part could have been much better and my Slavic accent was quite strong yet back then. Other than that, I think it's an awesome piece of music and we will keep that great vibe for our new tracks.

I recall the words of the legendary actress Marilyn Monroe, who asked about the concept of fame, said: "Fame doesn't fulfill you. It warms you a bit, but that warmth is temporary." I wonder how do you deal with fame? You are a well-known and respected artists by many listeners around the world. Is it difficult to remain yourself while the eyes of the others are turned into your direction?

Fame is temporary if you don't work very hard at a constant speed. And it is a very difficult task. Moving to the United States took us some time and effort, and we lost a little bit of momentum, but we are now back in full force and will keep records coming. I think I always remained myself no matter what. Fame has nothing to do with it, at least in my case; but it may be different for other people.

How do you remember the beginnings of your artistic career? Supposedly it's always difficult to start. And how was it in your case?

For me, everything started on its own. I just enjoyed singing! I sang at home to my favorite tapes, I sang in school bands at school parties, in my university music groups, and then in a jazz cover band at various clubs and venues - I was just enjoying it and I didn't know were it was going to bring me. This time was very useful for me as I experimented with various styles and had great vocal training. Then I finally met AlecZero, and that's when Stereolizza's music started to take shape. I think the most difficult part of the process for every beginning music artist is to find his or her own unique style and to write a good song. Then, if you are passionate about what you do and if you have what it takes, you'll eventually find the like-minded musicians and producers, as well as the right people to work with. You just need to keep working!

I'm curious when can we expect your new album? Well, we're waiting for it quite a while.

Yes, I know! There were a lot of changes in our artistic and personal life since the last album and we couldn't fully focus on music, but now we ready to rock again! Hopefully the album will be out in spring 2014, but you'll definitely hear a couple more singles from us before then! Most of the tracks on the album will be upbeat, high-energy urban pop/electro house/club songs, but there will be also a few down/mid tempo ones as well. We've done a few collaborations with local LA artists, including rapper Noni Spitz and dancehall artist from Jamaica Matik. I can't wait for you to hear them!

What are your plans for the coming months? What have you prepared for the fans of your music? I understand that there is no way you'll be able to rest a little bit…

This will be a very busy time for us. Right now we are finalizing our next single "Set My Heart On Fire". You will see a lyrics video pretty soon and a music video in a few months. The track is very energetic with melodic breakdowns and a mind-blowing synth hook! The song is about feeling uncertain at the moment when you start falling in love with someone - you want to give yourself fully to the other person, but you don't know yet if he or she will hurt your feelings or make you happy. In my case, the passion takes over and I give it a try. Hope my fans will like it! At the same time we also work on another track called "La La Land" - AlecZero is co-producing it with a Swedish up and coming DJ and producer Inossi. I think it will be our next big hit!

They say that life is a conglomeration of various events and feelings that make up a single whole. Have you ever wondered how it would be if you hadn't decided to devote your life to music? Is the music that you're creating is an expression of your own personal experiences, your own private thoughts?

It could only have happened if I had a horrible voice and bad ear. I think I would still choose a creative profession - an architect, painter, fashion designer or cartoonist. As for the second question, some of my songs are influenced by certain events of my life, and some are just pure imagination. It all depends. When writing lyrics I try to create a catchy pop song, but at the same time I don't want it to sound cheesy and I always search for interesting themes or cool unconventional phrases, should it be coming from my real personal life or someone else's, or even deriving from stories that I made up.

At the end, please tell me, what is your biggest dream? Do you feel fulfilled as a person, not just a public figure?

I think I'm living my biggest dream. I feel very happy and balanced writing music, creating, loving and enjoying my life.

Thank you very much for your time. It was a real honor for us. I wish you many further successes and happiness in life. Take care.

Thank you for your very interesting questions, Kamil! Hope to meet you in person some day soon!

Journalist: Kamil Mroziński - NetFan

In 2008, Ukrainian pop group Stereolizza crossed the pond to the States, since then becoming a top international act. Headed here for the holidays, we catch up with the frontster, sexy, near eponymous Lizza, for the lowdown.

Read full interview: http://stereolizza.com/wp-content/uploads/2013/01/Whats-On-2013.jpg - What's On

Stereolizza used to be a group well worth a Friday night out, until they moved to Los Angeles in 2008, making it a little tougher to enjoy them live. They have, however, continued to make their mark, not only in the US but around the world, as the opening act for the Black Eyed Peas World Tour, and sharing stages at international festivals with other amazing artists as Chemical Brothers, Melanie C, Andreas Johnson, Sean Paul, Apollo 440, Rasmus, Planet fund and Mattafix. Made up of would-be diplomat/ex-playboy cover girl Katya Shalayeva (Lizza) and multi-instrumentalist/producer/composer Alex Ginchev, the two have teamed up with Sweden's house music label, Clubstream Pink, and released a brand new single. It's not mind-blowing, but it is "sexy and provocative", says the group's lead singer. And really, we wouldn't expect anything else! - What's On

An innovative ensemble which have honed a style which can be described as "The Black Eyed Peas without the band platitudes, Stereolizza are fronted by a girl who many have compared to Gwen Stefani. This really doesn't do Miss Stereolizza justice as her raps are crisp and her dancing downright dirty and if she could be likened to anyone it should be Princess Superstar. - What's On