Lizi Aquilina Visits Section 36 Music!

Section 36 Music has another visitor! I'm sure you all know Lizi Aquilina from her incredible recent single, "Set Me Free". I was so excited that she wanted to visit with us to discuss the single, her musical goals, and more!

So, let's see what happens when Lizi Aquilina visits Section 36 Music!

I just love your recent single, “Set Me Free”. What can you tell me about it?

First off, I am beyond overjoyed you like Set Me Free! Set Me Free in many ways is my personal anthem and reminder to myself. I have been in quite a few relationships where I let a lot of things slide which I now realize I shouldn’t have. Me and my dad joke a lot that we tend to overlook people’s flaws and shortcomings to the detriment of ourselves. We forgive and forget but at some point, it becomes too much and you feel like you're forfeiting a bit of yourself every time. So- this song for me is in many ways a reminder to myself to fight for my own peace and seek out what I want, not bend myself to give other people what they want from me. 

What do you enjoy most about performing on stage in front of an audience?

For me, performing is the reason why I decided to pursue music. Connecting with an audience especially whilst performing original material is something truly out of this world, and to be able to pursue that as a full time career has been nothing short of wonderful. Besides that, another aspect of performance for me is self expression. As a kid, I would burst into song and dance at any time of the day- when I was feeling happy and joyful to when I felt sad. Once I grew up, talking about my thoughts and feelings became a lot more difficult and so my outlet for expression went to music. Although I’ve grown and better understand my feelings, music for me continues to be my favorite and most authentic form of communication and expression. 

You are attending Berklee College of Music. What made Berklee the right choice for you?

I am! But in the beginning, I was unsure if Berklee was the right choice for me. During my first semester, I struggled a lot with the distance from home, my personal relationships and handling the coursework on top of having my first job. After my first semester, I was really tempted to transfer and go back home. But after coming back for the spring, I met some wonderful fellow students and faculty who have made my experience at Berklee the best thing for me. Their support means the world to me and I am so beyond grateful for everything they’ve taught me and let’s just say I am feeling a lot of emotions entering my senior year here at Berklee. 

Who or what would you consider your biggest musical influences?

This is a really hard question- I think one thing I am so grateful to my parents for, besides taking care of me and everything, is the amount of musical exposure they gave to me all throughout my childhood. I grew up listening to classic rock, musical theatre, blues, jazz among so many others thanks to them. And I think you can really hear it in the music that I create. For instance, my newest single, “Set Me Free,” has a lot of influence from 70s rock especially in the later half of the song. If I were to name a couple of artists who come to mind that have really shaped my sound, I would say The Doors, Joni Mitchell, Sarah Kinsley, Don Mclean, & Cass Elliot among a lot of others haha!

What is the most challenging part of your music career?

The thing that I am struggling with the most since I’veI started my career is knowing who I am as an artist. Being an independent artist in today’s world, we have to wear a lot of different “hats,” something my professor kind of put it as. Because we don’t have the backing of a management company, we are in charge of everything we produce and put out into the world. It's been very daunting as I am not as knowledgeable in marketing, editing, and content creation. I am slowly learning and am very grateful for the knowledge that I do have but it’s definitely still a challenge.

What are your immediate music goals?

My immediate music goal after Berklee is definitely performing and writing/releasing more music! I hope to either move back home to LA or move to New York and just live! Experience the music scene, meet other like-minded musicians, work with the wonderful people I know now and just keep doing what I love. One idea my dad mentioned to me this past summer was the idea of applying to perform at the Olympics in LA and while I know it may not happen, I want to try anyway! Cause why not!! Regardless, I know I am only just getting started so to whoever is reading this, I hope you can join me on this wonderful journey that is yet to come! 

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I'm wishing her the best of luck on that goal!

As always, I want to thank Lizi for visiting with us, and for sending along the pictures to accompany the interview.

I'm sure you’ll all want to follow her and see what she has going on. I would follow her on Instagram, and Spotify to make sure you don't miss a thing. 

Thanks, Lizi, and good luck reaching your goals!