Conversations with Lyia Meta

Today we’d like to introduce you to Lyia Meta.

Hi Lyia , we’d love for you to start by introducing yourself.
I’m Lyia Meta, and I’m a singer, songwriter, performer, visual artist, vocal coach, author, columnist and producer. If I had to describe myself in the simplest way, I’d say I’m a performer first. Everything else has grown from that.

Music was always around me growing up. My father was a visual artist, musical performer, so being around music and musicians felt very natural to me. I started performing and, over the years, it simply grew into a life in music. I’ve always had quite a broad musical taste, from blues and rock to jazz, soul, Motown, country, Americana and contemporary music, so I’ve never felt the need to stay in one particular box!

As I became more involved in performing, songwriting and producing naturally became part of the journey. So did the other creative things I do, including visual art, writing and vocal coaching. They weren’t really separate paths for me. One thing just led to another….and I evolved!

I’ve collaborated with many songwriters, producers and composers over the years, including internationally, and those collaborations have become one of the parts of my career that I value most. I sincerely believe these connections have made my music richer and more vibrant. One collaboration that had a particularly strong impact on my journey was with Los Angeles songwriter Denise Dimin. I had already worked internationally before meeting Denise, but our collaboration became a real pivot point for me, opening a new chapter in my international work and allowing me to explore new creative directions while building on the musical experiences that had shaped me along the way.

Since then, I’ve continued working with songwriters, producers and composers from different parts of the world. I really value that exchange because every collaboration brings different experiences, ideas and perspectives into the work.

Of course along the way, I’ve released my own music, produced projects, written books, created and exhibited my visual art, and I still take on commissions. One of the experiences I’m particularly grateful for was being a featured artist on Antonio Vergara’s contemporary blues album The Fury, which was GRAMMY-nominated, on the song “Delta Shine.”

But through all of it, I’m still a performer at heart. That’s where it started, and it’s still the part of what I do that feels the most natural to me. I think all the different things I’ve done over the years have simply given me more ways to express myself and tell the stories I want to tell.

Would you say it’s been a smooth road, and if not what are some of the biggest challenges you’ve faced along the way?
No, it definitely hasn’t been a smooth road! Seriously, it had been harder than I could put into words but at the same I don’t think most creative careers are!

There have been periods when things were moving forward and others when it felt like I was starting all over again. There were times when opportunities didn’t come easily, when finances were difficult and you hit rock bottom, and when I had to keep creating without knowing where the next opportunity would come from. Working as an independent artist also means that you are often doing many jobs at once, from creating the work to producing it, promoting it and figuring out how to keep going.

There have also been personal experiences that have found their way into my music and changed me along the way. Some were painful, and some simply made me look at life and my own creativity differently.

I’ve had moments when I questioned whether I should keep going, but I’ve never really been able to walk away from being an artist. Even when things have been difficult, I’ve continued writing, performing, creating and collaborating….!

I think the biggest struggle has been learning to keep moving without needing everything to happen at the time or in the way I expected. The road has definitely not been straight, but perhaps that’s also what has made the work more honest.

That is the heart of who I am. I am a creator, a dreamer and a strong believer in following what feels true to me, even when I can’t see exactly where it will lead.

I’m still here, still creating, and still curious about what comes next!!!

Thanks for sharing that. So, maybe next you can tell us a bit more about your work?
I think what matters most to me in my work is the story. I listen to lyrics first. The melody is important, of course, but for me it gives the words wings to fly.

That is probably why I can become very attached to songs that I didn’t write myself. From my album ALWAYS YOU, I love all the songs Denise Dimin wrote, but “To Know What It’s Like” is one I particularly relate to. There is something in the story that feels very personal to me. “Always You” also has a quality that makes me want to keep coming back to it. It feels familiar in a way that is difficult to explain, even though I didn’t write the song.

I’ve had that experience again in some of my recent work with E.G. Holmes. There is one song we are working on at the moment that I keep replaying because the lyrics resonate with me so much. I can’t say too much about that one yet as we are working on a something new together but it says something that I needed to hear.

And then there is “I Breathe Your Name,” which I wrote the lyrics for, to music by composer Guy Renardeau. That was another story I wanted to tell, and one that stayed with me.

There are too many to name but I think that is what I look for when I collaborate. Whether the words are mine or someone else’s, I want to believe in what I am singing. These are stories I want to keep singing and keep carrying with me. For me, that connection comes before everything else. The melody can move you, but it is the words that often make me stay.

Are there any important lessons you’ve learned that you can share with us?
The most important lesson I’ve learned is that there are no shortcuts. You can try to find them, but sooner or later you realise that you have to walk the road and experience what comes with it.

I’ve also learned that family is important, but family will not necessarily be your tribe. Your tribe can be people you meet along the way, people who understand you, believe in you, challenge you, and sometimes see things in you that you can’t see in yourself.

And perhaps the biggest lesson is that we can make plans for our lives, but life will always have plans of its own. We can decide where we want to go, what we want to achieve and how we think our story should unfold, and then something happens that changes everything.

What do you do when that happens? You adapt! You grieve what you thought your life was going to be, you accept what you cannot change, and then you find a way forward. It may not be the road you would have chosen, but it is still a road.

I’ve learned that moving forward doesn’t always mean having all the answers. Sometimes it simply means getting up the next day and taking the next step. And sometimes, that is enough!
I am everything I set out to be. That is my motto in life, and that is Lyia Meta.

Contact Info:

• Website: https://www.lyiameta.com/
• Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/lyiameta/
• Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/zacklyia/
• LinkedIn: http://www.linkedin.com/in/lyia-meta
• Twitter: https://twitter.com/LyiaNMeta
• Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/user/lyiameta
• Soundcloud: https://soundcloud.com/l-nunismeta
• Other: https://www.tiktok.com/@lyiameta

Image Credits
Featured image: Kenny Loh

Stage performance image: Rony Matthews

Visual Art titled: ‘Parallel Worlds” – Mixed Media on canvas by artist : Lyia Meta

All other images by Lyia Meta