The past few years have been nothing but exciting and life-changing for singer/songwriter Larissa Eddie. Not only did she perform to audiences of the 2012 Paralympic Games, support Peter Andre AND duet with him. But she has co-written with Matt Cardel and just completed supporting the legend that is Lionel Richie on his “All the hits, All night long Tour”. If that’s not an accomplishment then I don’t know what is!
I was lucky enough to be able to interview Larissa Eddie:
This year has been a very exciting year for you as an artist, having toured with Lionel Richie on his ‘All the hits, All night long tour’. How did you prepare yourself for such big dates and huge venues? Touring with Lionel Richie has been the most amazing experience EVER! Playing such huge arena’s throughout the UK and Ireland supporting such a legend has honestly been a dream come true.
Lots of preparation went into preparing for this tour. I spent a lot of time rehearsing with my band which consists of my Brother Rawnsley on drums and our good friend Joe on Guitar. I love being in rehearsals and running through new material. It is so exciting to think that what we practice in a small rehearsal room is going to be taken to a large stage such as the O2 Arena!
Sound checks and late nights are all part of the fun of it and something that I’m used to, I actually really enjoy not being in a set routine.
It is important for the audience to get to know ‘Larissa’ the person as well as the artist, how do you introduce yourself to the audiences you meet? I always love to connect to the audience, that is one of the best things about performing songs that I’ve written, as I get to share real life stories/experiences with people and know that they are connecting and relating to them. Music for me is all about moving people and thats what I aim to do.
I can imagine Lionel Richie being quite protective and interested in your musical career, being not far off the age of his daughter Nicole. Has he given you any invaluable advice on tour that you can say you’ll never forget? Lionel Richie has been so amazing towards me. After our Dublin show he requested that we met and said it was lovely to put a face to the voice he had been hearing each night at the shows.
He has been so supportive and has given me the blessing of supporting him on tour which I am so grateful for. Opportunities like these are few and far between and I feel so lucky that he chose me to join him on ‘All The Hits All Night Long Tour’.
As a musician you must have been influenced musically by countless artists, throughout time and often it is difficult to distinguish precisely which one you take the greatest of inspiration from. Can you give at least three artists or bands that you can say inspired you the most and explain how they did? Elvis Presley played a huge part in my childhood. His music and films really played a massive part in my musical upbringing and ever since I went on a family holiday to Nashville I really got into country music and blues. I believe Elvis was one of the great performers and his stage presence and energy live is something that I try and bring to my performances.
Christina Aguilera is an artist that I have always admired for her voice. She inspired me so much vocally when I was first getting into singing, her power and tone is something that I loved and always made me push vocals to the best of my ability.
Pink is an artist that I love. I saw her live a few years back and her live show was rocking! She nearly always performs with a live band and that is something I love to do too…I love playing with my band which consists of my Brother Rawnsley Eddie on drums and our good friend Joe Colburn. The live element is so important for me and Pinks live show are always dramatic and visually amazing, this is something I would love to incorporate into my stage show later down the line.
Have you been writing or recording whilst on tour, can fans expect an E.P or Album from you in the coming months? I love the writing process and I was doing this back to back right up to the start of the tour. At the moment I have a song up on SoundCloud called ‘In Love Alone’ that people can listen to.
https://soundcloud.com/larissaddie/in-love-alone
There is no immediate plan for an album but watch this space !!!
You’ve written with Matt Cardle in the past, which must have been an amazing experience as a songwriter. If you could write with any musician or songwriter who would it be? I think Labrinth is an amazing songwriter, he writes amazing ballads as well as up beats tracks and I would love to write or collaborate with him sometime in the future.
As a songwriter myself I find it interesting that many other songwriters find lyrics hard to write, whereas I find them the easiest part of writing a song and I read that your lyrics are described as ‘Poetic’. Do you find the lyrics easy to come by? And how do you approach lyric writing? I really don’t have any set formula. Every time I listen to a song it is always the lyrics that jump out at me, so when I’m co-writing I often just freestyle over the music..I find it easiest to sing a melody and then let the lyrics flow over the top of that. I also sometimes write from a song title which can prove useful as often the subject matter is already there.
In your musical career so far, what would you say has been the best venue that you have played and why? One of the most amazing venues I have ever performed at has to be The London O2 Arena. The size of the venue is breathtaking and I have always dreamt of performing at arenas.Do you suffer badly from stage fright? I rarely get nervous as the excitement often takes over. But currently I’m on an arena tour supporting Lionel Richie and walking out onto the O2 Arena stage in front of 20,000 people definitely gave me some butterflies!!
How do you prepare yourself before you get on stage, do you have a pre-stage ritual? By the time I am dressed and ready I am psyched up to go on stage, its such an amazing buzz. Myself and the band normally do a little group hug on the side of stage before we go on!
You’ve already made such great progress in your career these past few years and it is important to keep your fan base visually updated on your progression. Will you be shooting any music videos soon? Yes I am hoping to get some more videos up online soon. The last video we shot was a cover version of Labrinth’s ‘Jealous’ I really got to put my heart and soul into this version, It’s a song that I really connected with.
Here is the link to it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zI-Eeb8IvtM
Touring with Lionel Richie must have been an experience that you’ll never forget. But what would you say in your career so far has been the highlight?
Touring with Lionel Richie is just the most amazing and exciting experience EVER! The highlight for me has been meeting the legend himself, he has been so warm and welcoming towards me I am so grateful to be on tour with such an amazing man and also performing twice at the London O2 Arena !! I can’t explain the buzz you get walking out onto a stage in front of 20,000 people and throughout the whole tour I would have performed up to 350,000 people..that concept is just mind-blowing! Also I am so happy that it has gained the attention of the national press to see myself featured in The Sun and The Daily Mirror was so cool.
Can you play any instruments? I know enough chords on a guitar and a piano to busk a song or to write a song. Where do you see yourself in five years time? I have lots of exciting things in the pipeline, but one gig that I’m particularly excited about is supporting The one and only ‘Tito Jackson’ on the 17th of July at ‘Under The Bridge’ in Chelsea. It is a one off,rare London solo show, where he will be performing his classic hits as well as some new material from his solo album! This is a show not to be missed and I can’t wait to be a part of it and support such am amazing showman.
How would you describe your sound? It’s edgy Pop with strong vocals. For me it is all about the voice and delivering the meaning of the song.
Can you give us a brief history on your musical beginnings? Music was always a big part of my childhood….My Mum tells me I was practically singing before I could talk! And after leaving school and going to study music at BIMM (The Brighton Institute of Modern Music) I took it upon myself to get into bands and gig as much as possible. Networking was key and after a few years of hard graft gigging on the local scene I found myself building up lots of great contacts and performing at the right places.
Dreams are made to be fulfilled and if you work at them for long and hard enough you will get there by the end. Larissa is living her dream now, she is playing her music on stages where there is an audience to listen. That is all she and others alike ever want. Every opportunity and every success that Larissa has from this point on, is an added bonus and proof that she is determined to live her dreams because she is passionate about what she does. I personally wish Larissa all the best, and who knows? in time it could and most probably will be Larissa headlining arenas all over the world.
To find out more about Larissa Eddie and her future gigs and progress, follow the links below and keep yourselves updated:
Instagram:@larissaeddie19
Written By: Samantha McQueeney
treblewiththebass@outlook.com