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Mesmerized, laid mentally idle by a voice that feels like it’s at the nerve endings of your romantic heart, Lizzie Berchie has a vocal tenor that is impossible to ignore. On her latest EP Night Shift, this East London throwback artist we’ve admired for a while now, has sent us a peak neo-soul, vibe-laden, slow dance ready effort that will pair with whatever your version of the night shift is. Ever so curious about what inspired this absolutely bag of goodness, we caught up with Lizzie about the EP, life in London and what's the best weapon for the zombie apocalypse:

OnesToWatch: First question I always ask is, why are you an artist? Why do you do such a difficult, but obviously rewarding career choice? 


Lizzie Berchie: I ask myself the same question all the time. I knew you did. That's why I was like, "I better ask.
Get this out of the way." Do you know what? It's one of those things that's like a tortured love to have. I can't imagine myself doing anything else. It's the thing that's brought me the biggest joy and the biggest pain, but I think it's all a part of being an artist. I'm here for the journey, really. 

Were there any other versions of creative expression – also known as tortured love, as you so eloquently put it – that competed for musical expression, or was it always music? 


Do you know what, growing up, in my early teenage years, I was great at athletics and I thought that was going to be my life. But, you know, teenagehood takes over and is like, I don't want to go training. I want to go out with my friends." 
And that dream very quickly died and I found music, which saved me again, I guess. 

Well, spoil us with some knowledge, what sports were you amazing at? 

I was doing the Pentathlon event, so track. Javelin was my best one. 

Okay, so if there's an apocalypse, watch out, you have a wicked spear throw. All right. How long have you been writing songs or creating music? 


I've been writing and recording and kind of producing songs since I was 15 years old, but I never released anything up until like, three years ago, which is crazy. So, I went almost a decade just hiding music on a USB. But everything has its own divine timing because that's just how it was meant to be. 


In that time, have you developed a process of any kind? Does songwriting come to you in a certain format? Is it with ideas, colors, melody, or does it change depending on the moods, the situations, the inspirations? 

I like to explore different writing techniques. I'd say my comfort zone is starting with piano and a melody and kind of seeing what kind of lyrics come, but sometimes I like to experiment when I'm in the studio. Maybe we’ll start with a bass line, or the drums, and see what inspiration we draw from that. Sometimes I’ll even start with the song title. I’m not one to do just one thing, I see what sparks the mood and creativity. 

Is that deliberate, or is it just an instinct to switch it up?

I’m just someone that easily gets bored. So I need to try something new. I also feel like our bodies have muscle memory, so if I start a song the same way as another, I’m going to repeat the same song. For some reason, my body wants to play everything in D minor, my band always teased me. My musical blood type is D minor, for sure. 

You mentioned you produce, which I think is amazing and evident in your music. There’s definitely a discussion out there about the lack of women in the production field, and I’m curious what your take is. Is it because of a barrier for entry, a preference, gatekeeping? Why do you produce, and are there roadblocks for female artists to produce? 

I was producing before I even understood the social conversation around women in production. It’s just something I picked up while I was in school. I wasn’t doing the music I’m doing now, it was very much electronic or classical and orchestral, because that’s what I was studying at the time. But as an adult, I can completely understand why it would be intimidating for a woman to enter that world. When I was in school, in studio labs, I was probably the only girl there, but I was maybe too young to care or notice. As you get older, though, you become so much more aware, and there’s fear you have as a young person that I’d imagine would stop women and girls from entering rooms like that. But that should never be the case. Always have the confidence to go and learn something new if it’s something you want to do. Even if it’s just so you understand the process, so that you can have a bit more confidence when you are working with other producers. To be able to direct in a language that is understandable for everyone in the room is a great skill to have. 

Let's dig into your upcoming EP, Night Shift. Tell me about it. 

Night Shift is a story of me working a full-time, 9 to 5 corporate job, but also living my Hannah Montana life of being an artist. This music was created on the night shift, basically. 

What was your corporate day job?

I was an undercover agent at a major record label, Warner. I had a really great boss who was so, so supportive. 

Wow, a real night shift undercover experience then. How old are these songs, when did you put this project together? 

The oldest song in the this EP was written in 2012 shortly after I released my first EP. It’s called “Pressure,” and it opens the EP. But, there’s also a song that I wrote at the beginning of the year that’s on the project. So, it’s a bit of a mix of things.

How do you choose the songs that end up on a project?

I like to encapsulate a message and a theme. I want to explore different genres in projects upcoming, though. Maybe an ode to hip-hop, or a neo-soul or acoustic project, something rootsy. I want to explore sonics. 

I love that approach, as opposed to themes. When you’re creating these projects, are you thinking past it? Are your works communicating with each other, or are they singular moments in time? 

No matter what, they end up speaking to each other in the future. I do reckon that there is an invisible thread that will be undeniable because it’s all coming out of my mouth. I try to keep the themes separate, but looking back at the last two EPs I’ve done, and this one coming out, there is a thread between them. So I can only imagine that future projects would have a similar vein. 

If you could transport your biggest superfan to the best place to listen to your music, where would you put them? 

In an open space home, with wooden beaming and a nice burnt orange sofa. Gold lamps, no overhead lights. There’s a vinyl turntable and they have a glass of wine, it’s 10pm exactly. 

What do you do to relax, separate yourself from the work? 

I love cooking, but it’s more out of necessity. I love a massage. I will find any excuse to have a random person stand on my back and pull me apart, it’s just very relaxing for me. I still torture myself training every now and then in the gym. 

What’s your workout preference as of late, as I’m assuming you’re not throwing javelins at the park anymore? 

Regular strength training, though I have been being a Gen Z babe and going to pilates. Let me tell you, them cute little skinny girls are strong. Putting me to shame. 

Pilates is no joke. If you were to put together your dream lineup – alive, dead, they can be nonexistent cartoon characters, whatever – who would it be, and where would you love to perform? It could be again, in any time, anyplace. 

Jill Scott. Lauren Hill, Erykah Badu. 

This sounds like a roots picnic. 


Oh, a thousand percent. But there might be some D’Angelo in there, if they can be in the same room together. Who else? Then I'd have an up and coming artist set on another stage. That would be fun. I'd have different stages that I just owe to all my different phases in life. I’d have my little indie stage with Tame Impala. That would be my dream. 

Last couple of questions. If someone's having a bad day and you're like, okay, I'm taking over, I'm taking you here, where would you take your friend to mellow out?

Yeah, massage. But then also maybe something cute, a picnic in the park.
I love greenery, finding a good park somewhere in London, get some strawberries, some fruits, and we just sit and chill. 

Amazing. What are your hopes for this EP? Where does it bring your career, in your wildest dreams? 

Ideally, I’d love to go on tour again. I did my first tour last year and that was such an amazing experience. So I’d love to do that again – headline, international, supporting another artist. Just getting to work with more people, musicians, producers, that’s always the goal for me. 

Last question, at OnesToWatch, we love when artists put us on to their favorite artists. So, who are you loving lately?

I’m going to shoutout some UK girlies. Love Summer Banton. Natanya, she's going to dominate the pop world. 

Those are great. Thank you so much for chatting!

Thank you.